Advertisement
Hey friends and family! Greetings from Tanzania! To be cliche, summing up the trip thus far would be impossible with the amount of space and time I have. It has been both amazing and eye opening. For now, I'm going to skip the descriptions of what we have done and jump straight to my reactions.
The first, we all (I think I can safely say) had a blast. The kids were fantastic, fun and energetic and we got some good work done. While it was clear that the children's lives were difficult and riddled with the effects of poverty, I felt good leaving every day because I knew about the progress that had been made, and that will be made. Visiting the old school on that first day and then walking to the new school, it was amazing. That doesn't even do it justice. It was an infinite improvement over the old school, and allowed the children to take part in a real education. The idea of progress was something we experienced again this weekend. We visited the St. Jude school in Arusha. This is a school that was started from nothing, only 7 or 8 years ago, and now there are almost 1000 students at this school which can give them a genuine opportunity to make a difference. That blew me away. However, at the same time, when we visited the two orphanages on Sunday , it was an entirely different feeling. The progress was still there, but what the kids had and what they had been through was starkly different. I can't describe how selfless the two people are that started these orphanages, and how hard they have worked to have their organizations at the point they are now, but...I don't know. It's hard to swallow the idea that someone can work so hard, so tirelessly towards something so good and worthwhile but still be struggling. Now, don't get me wrong, they have changed the lives of the almost 80 kids whose lives they have truly bettered, but in comparison to St. Jude and definitely in comparison to what I have had the fortune to have throughout my life, it just doesn't seem fair. At all.
This point was driven home today as well. Today was one of the hardest days at the school that we've had. What we were doing was the hardest yet (we were doing manual labor), but also coming back from the two orphanages over the weekend, it got me in a state of mind that made it difficult to get through the day. The week before, the children had had hearty meals every lunch, as had we. Today, they were still all content as they usually were, but they all had porridge. I honestly could not eat what I had in front of me after looking at what I had and what they had. I just couldn't. It wasn't fair. I hate talking like this, because it is the classic "guilt" that people go through on trips like this, but this was more profound. Like people have been saying, I'm going back. There is no way that I could sit there eating my big, good lunch, watcing the students eat their porridge, and not have come to some conclusion. As enlightening as it was to see how much good people are doing, I can't just stand by and watch. I'm sorry for sounding cliche, but I can't. I'm coming back.
Sorry guys. Maybe not what was expected, but I'm in a whirlwind of emotions. The idea of being a tourist here is replusive considering now what I've seen. I cannot imagine going somewhere like here and not doing something.
Sorry again, my time is running out on the computer. I will try and post a brighter message next time, not a rant like this one. However, this experience has been so valuable. The conversations and interactions that I've had with people, especially from our group, are amazing. I feel closer now with my friends than ever, and I can't imagine a better end to my Senior year. I really think that this trip is going to cause all of us to do something with what we're taking away. That, I think, is certainly worth the $60,000 we spent getting ourselves over here.
-Tommy Brown
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0679s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Patty Washburn
non-member comment
to Tommy
Tommy, Thank you for your moving message....I think you will do great things in your lifetime ahead...and I hope you can return to Tanzania someday to help those in need. If it isn't Tanzania, there are many places/opportunities to make a difference. And, it won't matter when that time comes....may be while you are a young adult and the opportunity may not come for many years. Jim Lumberg was a father of two, successful businessman when he hiked with Teacher and made a promise to help the School....Your time will come! Patty