On July 14, 2007, our young IHSM volunteers came from every corner (almost) of the United States - California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Vermont - and gathered at Boston's Logan International Airport to begin their 3-week mission in Tanzania, East Africa. Once more, we had an extraordinary experience!

Our "safari" began when we arrived in the city of Mwanza, located on the southern coast of Lake Victoria. Here, we spent the next few days at Kuleana, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for children's rights and also operates a center for street children. Our volunteers were deeply struck by testimonies given by the children. One by one, each child described unspeakable acts against them that ultimately caused them to flee their homes and seek shelter and protection at Kuleana. Our volunteers, leaders, and the children at the center became fast friends! While at Kuleana, our volunteers undertook the project of rescreening and painting the boys dormitory. With additional funds raised by our volunteers prior to leaving the United States, five of Kuleana's boys received the special gift of uniforms that enabled them to return to primary school. In a show of gratitude for all that our volunteers did at the Center, the boys presented each of us with beautiful bracelets, hand made by them, some with our names woven in amoung the colorful beads.

We then traveled north to Karagwe District and the village of Chabalisa. While there, our volunteers enthusiastically took on various projects. At Nyakaiga Hospital, they delivered desperately needed medical and dental supplies and painted and refurbished the children's ward. Out in the community of Chabalisa, they constructed homes using natural resources, added a fourth classroom to the local secondary school (and our volunteers even made the bricks from scratch!), distributed 200lb bags of maize to many poor and hungry families, and visited two orphanages.

Our "safari" was not all work, however. We also made time for a short boat excursion to Saa Nane Island, which has a large variety of reptiles and small game, a magnificent tour through Serengeti National Park, and a visit to the Sukoma Museum where there is a spectacular drum collection and where the locals put on a riveting Sukoma Snake Dance, with live pythons!

We hope you will please take a moment and click on the images below to view pictures from this amazing "safari." (Please allow a few minutes for the files to load)