Teresa O’Neill, Eileen Moeller and I, (Cassie Parkhurst) arrived in Tanzania. Our journey started on May 20th from Wisconsin/Minnesota through North Carolina to London, England. We had a 12 hour lay-over in London so we went into the city to enjoy a walk on the South Bank of the Thames River. We saw the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster. We also enjoyed Teresa playing Lady Gaga for the locals and tourists. We flew from London to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and finally reached Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on time, with all luggage in hand.
Babu (Grandpa in Swahili) and Albert were waiting for us at the airport and words cannot describe how great it was to see them. The air was thick and the sun was hot but it felt good to finally arrive. The three of us were running solely on adrenaline and the ride from the airport to Bunju A village felt like it took days. There were many aspects of Dar that were still the same: the traffic, pedestrians everywhere and the air pollution smell. However, the most noticeable difference is the growth. New homes, schools bus stops, gas stations were everywhere. Seeing Bibi (Grandmother in Swahili) and all other friends and relatives was so amazing. The children were so excited to see me again and were very enthused to see more volunteers. All of our hard work and sleepless nights became worth it again.
Our first couple of days were spent resting, getting Teresa and Eileen acclimated and seeing old friends. We were able to spend some time at Fanaka Memorial Secondary School and ELA Nursery School. The past year was long but in so many ways it felt like I have never left these wonderful people. We are all very excited to start building the libraries, fixing the school bus and laying the plans for the projects to come. We met with the planning committee, including ELA and Fanaka Staff to set up the budget and plans for all upcoming projects. As soon as the road dries, we will be headed to visit Olof Bethsaida Secondary School and Orphanage to start the library there.
The 20ft sea container filled with books, sports equipment and school supplies arrived in Dar on May 13th. Due to problems with ‘duty-free’ paperwork, we have been accruing unexpected fees of about $500 USD at the shipping port. Unfortunately, this amount is taken out of our budget which would have been other used to address serious needs and projects. We are hopeful the container will arrive sometime next week so we can start building the libraries immediately.
Plans for this week: Preparing for teaching assignments, tutoring students for upcoming examinations, Staff meeting, finalizing budget estimates, preparing the soccer field and addressing all shipping problems.
