You're doing WHAT?

Well hello again! Last night, I told you about where I'm going, but didn't elaborate much about what I'm doing while I'll be there. I will be volunteering Monday through Friday at the Faraja Orphan Center in Moshi. I found a video that a couple filmed during their honeymoon, while they volunteered at Faraja, and if you would like to see where I'll be, you can watch the 5 minute video at www.farajafoundation.org.

What I know so far is that the orphan center was created by a couple in Moshi, who decided that they wanted to create a place where children could go each day if they couldn't afford school fees (which I understand to be about $50 per child per year). So, they opened their backyard to the children in their neighborhood. Many of these children have only one parent, so they have no one to look after them while their mother or father search for employment. Other children have lost both their parents, and live with extended families and grandparents. There are currently about 40 children at the orphan center each day, ages 3-7 years old, with two teachers.

There appears to be very little structure at this particular orphanage, meaning that I will be expected to take initiative in starting activities, lessons, and games. Due to restrictions from my organization (CCS), I am not permitted to bring anything from home to the center with me. At the home base in Karanga, there is an area where I will find basic school supplies that I can bring to Faraja for the children. They recommend that I learn lots of songs like Ring Around the Rosie and the Itsy Bitsy Spider, because the children like songs with movements and such.

Other than that, I have very little idea of what to expect on a day to day basis at Faraja. I have read that the center now has a roof and walls, made possible by donations from past volunteers. I'm sure it will be oppresively hot, and I will be chasing little children all over the place, so I am anticipating that I may really sweat for the first time. All in all, I know that what most of these children need is love and attention. Many volunteers I have spoken to have told me that the children will want to be picked up, they want you to hold their hands, they want constant contact, and those are all things I know how to do, so I am confident that I will be fine!

I am volunteering there from 7:30 AM until 12:30 PM, when the van comes to pick me up and return me to the home base for lunch. In the afternoons, the volunteers will attend cultural learning activities at the home base. They are only 1-2 hours in duration, and range from Swahili lessons to guest speakers from the community, to arts and crafts. The rest of my time is mine to do whatever I like. I can go into town for shopping and the internet cafe, I can read a book in the garden, I can walk around the village and chat with the neighbors, or I can just nap if I'm wiped out. I'm sure that I will be napping for a while until I get onto a regular schedule. This will be my first time really dealing with jet lag and a major time difference!

The weekends are free time, so I will most liekly be going on a safari, which is awesome! I hope to get to the Serengeti (which is a 5 hour drive from where I'm staying) and see the animals! Depending on the number of volunteers I'm traveling with and the deals we can find, we will either be staying in a lodge or tents during the safari weekend, and we will return 'home' on Sunday night. Going to Zanzibar is also an option, which is slightly more expensive due to the flights there and back. Zanzibar is not on my "must see" list, but I have not ruled it out either. Unfortunately I only have 2 weekends, 3 at most, so I need to be selective about where I spend my time.

I will be arriving in Tanzania on Saturday, Jan 17 at 9:30 PM, and have orientation activities on Sunday and Monday. My first day at Faraja will be Tuesday, and I look forward to seeing it and letting you all know what it's like!

I also want to mention that if anyone who is reading has any questions or wants to make comments, please feel free to do so, and I'll do my best to respond!