Finally!

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I'm finally doing it!! I regret not writing a blog during my adventures in Asia, so I'm doing it now! Better late than never right ? That's exactly how I felt about going back to school, which is actually the reason that I'm in Africa in the first place. Most of you know that I came to Moshi for an internship, but I'm sure a lot of you don't know exactly what it is I'm doing, I guess that's a good place to start...

I am currently working for an organization called Anza (previously known as Time to Empower Africa's Children) they have just recently re-branded to better reflect to focus of their projects. "Anza" is the Swahili word for start, begin, initiate, launch, commence. It is a capacity building NGO that is dedicated to strengthening communities in Tanzania, with a particular focus on youth entrepreneurship and empowerment. My particular project is the C4C project (Cyclers 4 Change) which is focused on the waste management problems in Moshi while providing employment opportunities to youth. Currently, most communities are burning their waste or shipping it in large quantities to China. There are many reasons why they're doing this, lack of infrastructure and the lack of knowledge of proper waste management practices and the impact it has on the environment and health are to name a few. The project that I'm working on will equip unemployed youth ( about 15 youth from the Pamoja Boys and Girls club) with the tools, knowledge and skills that they need to approach communities and take their used recyclables to buy back centres. The main goal is to offer communities in the greater Kilimanjaro region a structured and effective waste management alternative, while enabling unemployed youth to manage their own recycling/buyback business. I will keep you all updated with our progress along the way and post as many pictures as possible. Luckily, the internet has been good to me so I'm confident I'll be able to post frequently!

Swahili word of the day (and my favourite one so far):Pamoja which means "Together" or "Oneness" it recognizes that great change and growth is best accomplished in unity.

Peace&Love

- Lisa

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Photos

The Anza team
Here's a shot of a few of my co-workers who were in dress code. "On Tuesdays we wear check shirts"

A day at the office
...working hard, or hardly working ?

Comments

[Paul]

Utterly Inspiring
Waste management is Core when it comes to the way it is used or "re-used" especially the younger generation, they are the future and have the power to change this! Well Done Lisa! X

[Liza]

Love it!
Excellent blog Lisa! I look forward to reading more about your journey and progress in Moshi. Also, more about the development of the C4C project. Peace and Love be with you always!

[Megs]

Amazing!
Thank you for this so we can all follow along with you xo

[LVD]

Bravo!
Go girl go. Make a difference. Make the world a better place.

[nata]

Priorities
When resources are scarce, we must take the time to evaluate our behaviour, making conscious choices, so that our needs today can always be met in the future. I'm pleased to see that with limited power, jeopardizing your ability to eat and be safe, you used that last drop to update a blog. thumbs up :P