Last Posts from the Field

BLOG:  March 1, 2013

After two long days of travel, we were excited to get off the plane and start our adventure in Tanzania.  We arrived at the Kili Lodge, happily went to bed, and woke up ready to explore the area of Kilimanjaro National Park and surrounding villages.  After breakfast, we learned about the irrigation system that the nearby villagers use.  We also were educated about the “stingless bees” in the region that create honey that is used to treat patients with HIV and AIDS.  Learning the culture has been interesting, but the hike to Kilimanjaro National Park and the view at the top were fantastic.  We then went back to the Kili Lodge for lunch and reviewed what we had learned that morning.  Our journey continued with the bus ride and arrival at our new home for the next six days – The Amanihaus.  The Sisters welcomed us warmly and some of us then went on a run or leisurely walk to explore the grounds.  Dinner was excellent!  We went to bed without a peep and with anticipation for the next day.  We are excited to see the kids at the Faraja School – to see old friends and to meet new ones. 

Tuta Onana (See you later)!

Olivia R. and Bronwyn on behalf of the Tanzania Team

BLOG:  March 17, 2013

Today we left our home at the Convent and headed off to the Ngorongoro Crater.  We stopped to eat lunch and shop.  On the way, we saw giraffes and zebras on the side of the road.  We ended at the African Sun Star Lodge after a five hour drive.  En route we passed the midway point between Cairo and Cape Town.  We sat down for a wonderful dinner, and prepared for the Safari the next day.  Can’t wait!!

-Mary and Chloe on behalf the Tanzania Team

Earlier Posts

Hey KPS friends and family! As I've said before, the internet in Tanzania is very intermittent and we've been posting the blogs as we receive them from the World Leadership School office. Unfortunately, there's no way to back post blogs, but here are some posts from earlier in the trip! As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at (303)679-3412.

Christina, Program Coordinator

World Leadership School

After two long days of travel, we were excited to get off the plane and start our adventure in Tanzania.  We arrived at the House of Kili, happily went to bed and woke up ready to explore the area of Kilimanjaro National Park and the surrounding villages.   After breakfast learned about the irrigation system the nearby villages used.  We also were educated about the stingless bees in Africa that create honey that help to treat patients with HIV and AIDS.  Learning about the culture was interesting.  The hike to Kilimanjaro National Park and the view at the top were fantastic.  We then went back to the House of Kili for lunch and reviewed what we had learned that morning.  Our journey continued with the bus ride and arrival to our new home for the next six days at the Amanihaus.  The Sisters welcomed us warmly and some of us then went on a run or leisurely walk to explore the grounds.  Dinner was excellent! We went to bed without a peep and with anticipation for the next day.  We are excited to see the kids at Faraja -to see old friends and meet new.  Tuta Onana (see you later)!

Love,

Olivia Reiter and Bronwyn Olstein

On behalf of the Tanzania Travel Team

Today, March 11^th, was our first day at the Faraja School. Everyone’s excitement was palpable on the bumpy drive to school. There were already smiling faces the minute we drove in to the driveway. Many children were walking by and waving, and some of the members of our service team recognized them from the past service trips to Tanzania. We had the opportunity to work with the kids in their classrooms. We noticed that all of the children were very eager to learn despite their physical disabilities. We also noticed drastic differences between Kent Place School’s school supplies and Faraja’s school supplies.  After working with the kids, we moved onto beginning our service project.  The field that they showed us was divided into sections that we each worked on.  We started to cut into the soil and dig large trenches around the area that would serve as the storage unit’s foundation.  It was hard work and tiring when the dust bothered our eyes and the sun heated our backs, but at the end of the day, we realized that it was so much fun because we were doing it together. We can’t wait to go back tomorrow!

From,

Natasha and Zoe on behalf the KPS Tanzania Travel Team

Today: March 14, 2013

We woke up early this morning in order to both teach the students and work on our massive service project. We started out to energetic music from the CD in our bus. Group A started in the field and B in the classrooms, switching after Tea Time at 10:00 and continuing until lunch. After lunch, we went to a community of women who had their own micro-financing business. Their perspective on leadership and community was very inspiring because they especially focused on how women, with the support of proper education, are capable of doing anything they set their mind to. One of the women expressed her gratitude towards her father for providing her with the chance to go to a private school and receive a complete education. After tea, we returned to our house and discussed the characteristics of leaders. Our personality reports, which every one of us filled out, were used to reveal the leader in all of us.  The mood in the house today is gloomy because we are heartbroken to be leaving the children we can now call our friends.

Hakuna Matata !(no worries)

From,

Lily Peterson and Kathleen Brody on behalf of the Tanzania Travel Team

Market Day!

Jambo everyone!

Today, March 13, we went to the market in Sanya Juu.  We were each assigned a specific item to buy (for example: rice, vegetables, or spices) and were given 10,000 Tanzanian Shillings.  1 USD is equivalent to 1,600 Tanzanian Shillings.  We all bartered for our items which was exciting, but also scary at the same time.  Not being able to communicate well was definitely a challenge, but with a limited vocabulary from Tim, hand gestures, a notebook and pen, we managed to get pretty good bargains.  For instance, one pair bought garlic for 200 shillings instead of 500.  It was a good experience to meet even more local people than just the children at the school.  Some of us even made more than one rafiki (friend)!  After the market, we went back to Faraja for lunch.  We talked with Pastor Kileo, the Head Teacher, about his life, how the school is run, and how disabilities affect children in Tanzania.  One powerful message that stuck in all of our minds was that "disability is not inability."  Even though most of the children are different in some way, they are all independent, hard-working, and open-minded, which is something we all admire.  For example, during playtime, Michael was amazing at soccer even though he is a double amputee. He insipired us all with his fearlessness, agility, and speed. Other children played on the playground, talked, or did wheelies in their wheelchairs. They really enjoyed the hand games we taught them and loved the new basketball hoops that we had assembled yesterday. We certainly are having as much fun as they are, and we are all making new friends.

 

Everyone says hello to their families and friends, and all hope you are doing well!

Tuta Onana,

Bri, Alyssa, and the rest of the Tanzania Travel Team

Day 2 in Tanzania!

Today we visited the Faraja School for the second time where we both worked in the field and the classroom. In the morning we split up into two groups of nine, and we (Mackenzie and Megan) had the opportunity to go the Kindergarten classroom. Visiting the Kindergarten class was definitely one of our favorite parts of the day. The children are so bubbly and excited. They were happy to have us there and we were so happy to be there.We met a wonderful girl named Naomi. She was very shy in the beginning, but the more we talked to her the more she opened up. She ended up teaching us a lot of words in Swahili such as pua (nose) and duma (cheetah), and we taught her all the different colors in English. We definitely connected and became very good rafikis (friends). In the afternoon the children got to work with Montessori materials, and it was very cool because we remember working with the same materials. Another special moment was when we gave Emmanueli our notebook, and he drew pictures of Megan, Mackenzie, Anoa, and Melissa. He also wrote his name and had each of us write our names with rafiki next to them. We are about to go play games outside and do chores with the children. We also built a basketball hoop so we know it will be a lot of fun! We are so excited, and we look forward to spending the rest of the week here.

- Mackenzie and Megan on behalf of the Kent Place Tanzania Travel Team  

First Day in Tanzania!

Hello Kent Place Families and Friends! I know you've all been anxious to hear from your world travelers! I can report that everything is going well and that they've been having some trouble with their internet connections. They've sent us a few blog posts that they've written from a field which I'm happy to share with you. If you have any questions, please call World Leadership School at (303)679-3412.

Thanks,

Christina Martin

Program Coordinator, World Leadership School

Today, March 11^th, was our first day at the Faraja School. Everyone’s excitement was palpable on the bumpy drive to school. There were already smiling faces the minute we drove in to the driveway. Many children were walking by and waving, and some of the members of our service team recognized them from the past service trips to Tanzania. We had the opportunity to work with the kids in their classrooms. We noticed that all of the children were very eager to learn despite their physical disabilities. We also noticed drastic differences between Kent Place School’s school supplies and Faraja’s school supplies.  After working with the kids, we moved onto beginning our service project.  The field that they showed us was divided into sections that we each worked on.  We started to cut into the soil and dig large trenches around the area that would serve as the storage unit’s foundation.  It was hard work and tiring when the dust bothered our eyes and the sun heated our backs, but at the end of the day, we realized that it was so much fun because we were doing it together. We can’t wait to go back tomorrow!

From,

Natasha and Zoe on behalf the KPS Tanzania Travel Team

In Tanzania!

Hi friends and families of KPS!!

The students and faculty have safely arrived in Tanzania. They enjoyed a light dinner at the West Kili hotel and will get some much needed rest tonight. They will start updating the blog regularly tomorrow. Please call with any questions -303.679.3412.

Erin Lasky
Director of Operations