June 2009
26 posts
Going Home!
After spending the last three days in Nairobi, our final destination before we fly home, we have begun to mull over the question we know we’ll hear hundreds of times: “How was your trip?” Having visited 18 projects, criss-crossed East Africa, risked our lives more times than we care to tell our parents about, and met thousands of incredible people (literally), we know that it would be...
Five Things We Never Expected to Find at a Water...
5. A water park with a stereo stuck on repeat. “When a man loves a woman…”
4. A water park where the ground is essentially gravel (not exactly ideal for hundreds of barefoot guests).
3. A water park that asks you to create an itemized list of everything you put in your locker (tampons, t-shirts, pennies, etc.)
2. A water park that has no life guards manning slides, creating a free for all where...
Educate, Mobilize, and Empower Tanzania’s...
Location: Moshi, Tanzania
After visiting over 15 projects and traveling throughout East Africa, we have been struck, time and time again, by the lack of facilities and infrastructure for the disabled. Almost no buildings, public or private, have wheelchair access and seeing disabled member of society crawling or dragging themselves on the ground is not an uncommon sight. Sadly, the needs of the...
Educate 500 Orphans and Needy Children in...
Location: Rufiji District, Tanzania
Today we met the president, three doctors, a few parliamentarians, and an engineer. Well, they weren’t these things yet, but, thanks to CAMFED, the students of 10 districts across Tanzania will have the opportunity to achieve their dreams. CAMFED partners with local schools to sponsor children that would otherwise be unable to afford schooling by providing...
HeroRATS:Saving African Lives & Curbing TB Spread-...
“Hi, my name’s Rosie, I’m a HeroRAT. They tell me I’m saving lives by sniffing out landmines, which is all well and good, but I’m just in it for the bananas. Ever since I was little they have been teaching me how to find landmines and how to tell the people where they are. It’s a pretty good gig; I scratch myself and I get some food. Soon I get to go to Mozambique where I’ll get to find real...
Ode to Morogoro Regional Hospital
Saturday Alexis gets sick.
Alexis goes to hospital.
No doctor at hospital, it’s a weekend.
Nurse gives Alexis phone number.
Alexis calls doctor.
Doctor is in a loud place, says “text me!”
Alexis texts doctor bodily problems.
Doctor texts Alexis diagnosis and prescription.
Alexis goes to pharmacy.
Alexis shows text to pharmacist.
Pharmacist gives Alexis drugs.
Hooray! Alexis is better.
Always an...
Location: Somewhere in Western Tanzania
We left Kigali in the morning to get an early start,
We were trekking to Mwanza, we thought we were smart.
Four hours on the minibus was quite a pain,
But we made it to the border as it started to rain.
The fellow mzungu (white person) who picked us was funny,
When she dropped us she reminded us that we had no money.
She exchanged some cash and she sent us on our way,
On to Kahama where we wanted...
Feeding and Educating 50,000 Orphans in Rwanda:...
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
Help Rwandan School Children, run by CHF International, empowers Rwanda’s unsung heroes, the men and women that better the lives of the country’s many orphaned and vulnerable children, by providing them with financial resources and skills training. Theogere, a 26-year old, who has been caring for his two younger brothers since his parents passed away almost a decade ago,...
Location: Southwest Rwanda
According to our Lonely Planet guide book, there are five things you “must do” in Rwanda:
#1-See the gorillas. Too expensive
#2-Kigali Memorial Center. Been there.
#3-Rwanda National Museum. Done that.
#4-Gisenyi. Beach vacation sounds nice!
#5-Parc National Nyungwe Forrest. Never been to a rainforest before!
We had heard that Rwanda was a short four hour drive across. According to our...
Sports to Empower Women & Girls in Rwanda: Project...
Location: Kaninya School, Rwanda
As we stood amidst throngs of students (many of which were boys) that had gathered to watch their female classmates play football, we joined the noisy cheering. At the Kanyinye School, two of the top girls teams, ages 8-12 years old, faced off in a match that could not have possibly happened without AKWOS, the organization implementing this project. According...
Rwanda Conscious Social Change Program: Project...
Location: Kigali, Rwanda
During our brief time in Rwanda, we have heard about a broad range of problems: young girls being attacked in latrines; female business owners unable to read, write, or use a calculator; disabled women trading sex for water; women forced into prostitution to afford food for their children; and many others. How can one organization possibly address such a broad range of...