"You will fall in love with Africa," was my repeated response to IHSM applicants when asked about our mission in Tanzania, E. Africa. Eleven high school student volunteers participated in our July/August 2006 program. They came from Barnstable, Hingham, Norwell, Scituate, and Sharon, MA, as well as Montpelier, VT. They, along with our co-leader, Janet Davidson, did in fact, "fall in love with Africa"!

 

Upon arriving into Bukoba (situated on the northwest coast of Lake Victoria), Father Jovin, our host, met us and welcomed us with open arms and a great big smile! He was anxiously awaiting our arrival, as he had spent several months preparing for our visit. We made our way further west (40 miles from the Rwandan border) to the district of Kagera and the Chabalisa Formation House that served as our homebase while in Tanzania.

The people of Tanzania are so warm and seemed genuinely elated to have us with them. Throughout our stay, we met many people who welcomed us always with kind greetings and great big smiles. The handshake is very important in Tanzania and very often, our hand was held throughout the conversation! Most of the families in the Kagera region live off the land, and when precipitation is "normal," they grow corn, beans, bananas, and peanuts, in addition to raising a variety of livestock, including cows, goats, and oxen. Most homes are constructed of handmade bricks or woven stick frames with mud walls, thatched roofs and earthen floors. Daily activities in each household include drying and grinding corn, harvesting bananas, fetching water from great distances, and caring for family members. Life in the region is simple and serene, yet the level of poverty places a severe constraint on normal living.

 

Our primary goal while in Tanzania was to deliver much-needed food to hungry, if not starving, families who have suffered the effects of a devastating drought. We purchased and delivered 200 lb. bags of maize to many desperate families who were overwhelmed with joy at this unexpected and very precious gift.

 
 

June through October marks the hot, dry season in Tanzania, and our visit fell at the peak of this season. Amazingly, on our fifth or sixth day, the rains came (often quite hard) and continued sporadically for the remainder of our visit!

 

Other projects that our volunteers worked tirelessly to accomplish included preparing a hospital for a water harvesting system, tearing down and replacing a ceiling in a patient ward, beginning construction on a new kitchen at a medical clinic, painting the inside of a surgical unit, assisting in the building of a home for a paraplegic man and his family, and the most moving gift of all was that of a secondary education to twin boys, paid for by the funds our volunteers raised prior to leaving Boston.

 

 

Our volunteers also visited Kuleana, a shelter for street children. While at Kuleana, we heard heartbreaking accounts of the tragic loss of parents to HIV/AIDS, abandonment, abuse, and forced labor - factors which drive increasing numbers of children to live in the streets.

 

A final fruit from this extraordinary IHSM program was the establishment of a small collaborative of women in the craft of basket making. Something as simple and small as this can radically change the annual income for a family who is supported by handcrafts. Be sure to watch our web site for news about the women's basket collaborative and how you can make a purchase. 100% of all sales will be directed back to the women's collaborative!