News from V's Visit to Tanzania in June 2006 |
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| Dear
Friends of Tanzanian Orphans, Nine guest teachers have just returned from teaching English and working with orphans in Olasiti Village. The program was organized by our program manager Zenana Gasper. All the participants traveled to Tanzania at their own expense, bringing school supplies and personal energy. Thanks to Dorobo Safaris and the Ujamaa Community Resource Trust for supporting this effort. We stayed at Dorobo Camp and walked or rode bicycles to school each morning. Each weekend, we traveled to one of the National Parks to see wildlife. Would you like to join us on the next trip? Contact V for information. |
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The village school
has no glass,
no electricity, no bookshelves, no books. The chalkboard is
one
wall painted black. However, this didn't stop the children
from
being eager -- including the ones who hadn't been selected, who
clustered outside the windows!
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| A
highlight of the experience was taking 32 orphans to Tarangire National
Park for their first taste of their national treasure, the unique
African wildlife which brings tourists from around the world.
Until now, none of these agricultural villagers had ever seen a
giraffe, an elephant, or a lion. One girl, Bahati, breathed,
"Oh,
my beautiful country. Look at the long grass." The
children
were astonished at the size of elephants. |
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| Mr.
Samuel, a retired teacher, works with the students in the Orphan Centre
after school. |
The
children are served maize porridge every afternoon. For some,
it
is their first meal that day. |
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| In
addition to the students who are sponsored to attend primary and
secondary school, students such as Amina are learning
tailoring.
With ready-made shops almost unknown in rural Africa, tailoring is a
steady job. |
Thanks to donations, the Orphan Centre now has a flock of chickens to lay eggs, providing protein to these children who subsist mainly on maize (corn) and greens. |
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