Tanzania Summer 2010 - Community Needs Assessment

This trip was intended originally as a follow up to the 2008 J-term program through the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota (see that blog). A colleague and I had received a university grant that would have brought a group of ten education students, a NASA shuttle pilot, and the dean of the College of Education to this remote area called Karagwe on the far west side of Tanzania. Our hope was to teach area students and the community about what lies under a microscope (and link to water purification) and what lies beyond the telescope (space travel). For reasons that still make me crabby, the grant was canceled. This was especially embarrassing given that the schools in Africa that would have hosted us, had changed their start and end dates for the academic calendar to accommodate us. In a feeble effort to not disappoint further, my husband Steve and I committed to travel to Karagwe during that time and conduct a community needs assessment to see if there were ways we could assist. I had already conducted one needs assessment at a girls' secondary school in 2008 and had raised funds for the school's first curriculum. The plans for the 2010 assessment were to be patterned after the framework set out by Bernard Amadei who founded Engineers Without Borders, U.S.A. My husband Steve was connected to Bernard through his work in Renewable Energy (Solar) for Mortenson Construction and through the Mortenson Family Foundation who sponsors the Mortenson Center for Developing Communities, which Bernard directed at the University of Colorado.
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Take me to the Educate Tanzania website: http://educatetanzania.org

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Trip Length: 3 weeks
Blog Entries: 16
Photos: 89
Words: 13947

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Blog Entries

Date	Blog Title	Location
July 1st 2010	DAY 1 - Minneapolis to Amsterdam July, 2010	North America » United States » Minnesota
July 2nd 2010	DAY 2 - Amsterdam to Entebbe, Uganda - July, 2010	Europe » Netherlands
July 3rd 2010	DAY 3 - Clinics in Kampala Slums & Wedding Extravaganza - July, 2010	Africa » Uganda » Western Region
July 4th 2010	DAY 4 - The Americans Sing for the Bishop - July 4, 2010	Africa » Uganda » Central Region
July 5th 2010	DAY 5 - "Officially Here" - in Tanzania! - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 6th 2010	DAY 6 - Nyakahanga Hospital - Small Place, Big Heart - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » North
July 7th 2010	DAY 7 - KARUCO Site Visit - Karagwe University College	Africa » Tanzania » North
July 8th 2010	DAY 8 - Bweranyange Girls School - and the Hansens - July, 2010	Africa
July 9th 2010	DAY 9 - Home Visits in Bweranyange - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 10th 2010	DAY 10 - Free Time in Kayanga - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 10th 2010	DAY 11 - SABBATH - 2010	Africa
July 12th 2010	DAY 12 - The AIDS Orphan Project - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 13th 2010	DAY 13 - "Everything is Black" - Kyerwa - July, 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 14th 2010	DAY 14 - Farm Visits - July 14 - 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 15th 2010	DAY 15 - KARUCO Ambassadors We Are! - 2010	Africa » Tanzania » West
July 16th 2010	DAY 16 - Tanzania to Uganda - Depart - July, 2010	Africa » Uganda » Central Region » Entebbe