Feels Like Home-Return to Tanzania 2011

It was great to return to Tanzania and the little town of Moshi. It has undergone some change since we last lived here in 2007 and although I travel here regularly, I noticed a big change from when we were last here. There are 3 new banks and several ‘high rise’ buildings (well, 6-8 floors) that house some more Western types of businesses such as hair salons and travel agencies and retail clothing stores that would be used by wealthier Tanzanians. Hannah, Jack and Malinga seem to have settled in well. Hannah has been enjoying the company of two visiting puppies named 'Chewy' and 'Simba'. They are staying with our security guard, Omari for a few weeks because our friend Lucas can't keep them at his house right now. Dogs are not typically pets here, they are either stays or guard dogs. Malinga is using some of his Swahili with the neighborhood children who come over to play soccer (or, try the iPods!). The house we are living in (which functions as the Pamoja Tunaweza Guest House-an income generating project for the women’s centre), is very comfortable. Roman has found a local place to play soccer in the evenings as he used to do at Kilema when we lived in Tanzania in 2007. There is a local hotel nearby that is used by Kili climbers called Keys’s Hotel and it has a pool and a new pizza oven…it has become one of our favorite places to go and hang out at the end of the day. They also often have Championship league soccer on the TV so Roman and the boys can catch the games and mingle with many of the locals. I have attached a picture of the Guest House where we are living. Roman has taken on several jobs such as renovating a bathroom and stripping some paint off the floors. He has found some great local guys who provide good work for a good price and they have worked on this house and the day care project (more on that later).

We live about a 25 minute walk from town in what would be considered a middle class area, so that has been a great way to avoid living like tourists all the time. We have made friends with many of the locals and have some great friends here who work with the women’s centre and it has been nice to spend more time with them.
The January medical caravan has come and gone and we have had a steady stream of volunteers and other guests living in the house with us.

The medical caravan was a big success (I have attached 2 beautiful pictures of Heather Haynes and her son Whit in Kahe Village with the school children who came out to greet us so enthusiastically...their smiles are infectious). The 'daycare build project' that also took place in parallel with the medical caravan was also a huge success. There was a lot of sweat equity invested in that building by our amazing Canadian volunteers: Brian Payne, Paul DeRosse, Jeff Montgomery, Roman Zablocki, Peter Morrin, Duncan Bourke and Monty Bourke. I can't thank our dedicated volunteers enough. These amazing people raised the money to come to Tanzania and worked themselves to the bone on a daily bases while they were here. There is of course some perks to a volunteer stint with us...the Serengeti and Mount Kilimanjaro, both which are in such close proximity that you can visit either or both. I have appended some pictures of caravan and the day care building as it looks now. It still needs walls and a cement floor. We have been focusing on finishing the new women’s centre building renovations so we can move the health clinic and offices over from the other building that we currently rent. The new women’s centre looks AMAZING!!! We are so pleased with the amount of space we will have for our staff and also very pleased with the way that the clinic area has worked out. The building was previously used as someone’s home and this has actually worked in our favor. There are built in cupboards for storing drugs and we converted the ensuite bathroom into a laboratory area. The plot is large (about 1 acre) with many fruit trees and a large space for a garden. The fruit trees include mango, papaya, lime, and banana. There is an outbuilding on the back side of the property that will be converted into our new shelter space with 2 dorm style rooms and an outdoor covered cooking area as well as a shower and toilet.
I have attached some pictures of the kids with their teacher Daisy and one of Malinga and Stacey Thompson, one of the CIDA interns working with the centre.
We will hold the official grand opening with ribbon cutting ceremony and all on International Women’s Day which is on March 8th. We have invited all the local NGO’s that we come in contact with or who work on related issued. We have also invited staff of the local government agencies we deal with. There will be lunch and music and dancing as well as information sessions on what we do and who we serve. We will provide tours of the new building.
I would be wrong to end this initial blog entry of our Tanzania 2011 journey without personally thanking Mr. Sadru Mohamedali as well as his wife Kairoon and the entire Moloo and Mohamedali families for their generous donation that has made the new centre possible. We are forever grateful and look forward to you returning to Tanzania to see what your kindness has accomplished.