Traveling to Tanzania to volunteer, build a house for a family in need

Jambo Bwana!

After many hours of travel, our team of 16 intrepid volunteers landed in Moshi, Tanzania! We were off to a superb start, in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro, warming up for a fantastic week partnering with the Tanzania Women Research Foundation (TAWREF) to help a family in need of decent shelter.

Formed in 2010, TAWREF conducts community driven research to create evidence-based interventions to transform the lives of marginalized populations—particularly children, youth and women. People living in abject poverty, or with diseases such as HIV and AIDS, orphanhood, and disabilities are still often shunned and pushed to the margins of society. Our team is coming alongside a group of dedicated men and women who are working to change that through education, healthcare services, housing and economic opportunities.

Orientation

On our first full day we attended an orientation at the TAWREF office, learning about all the good work they do and specifically about the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Shelter Project, for which we would be building.

The atmosphere was so welcoming and electric, we all got the feeling right away this project and these people were special. They have built many houses over the years and our team represents the 154th house, helping them to achieve their UN sustainable development goals. Elly (pictured below left) who has led the Shelter Project for the last ten years is quite the singer and taught us a welcome song.

Meeting Our Host Family

Enter Mama Dickson, a widow with five children, two of whom are disabled, one of them requiring full time care. As a widow (and one of three Maasai wives) to her deceased husband, life is particularly difficult. With no husband and no prospects for earning money to support her family, she leads a subsistence lifestyle, contributing to and relying upon her Masai community for help.

All three wives and their children live in what is called a boma, a traditional Maasai homestead, consisting of several small mud or brick huts arranged in a circular formation, usually surrounded by a protective wall made of thorny bushes. Families live, raise their children and animals. This is not simply a way to maintain their cultural traditions; communal living is a means of survival.

One man, a teacher at the area primary school, meets Mama Dickson, and learns of her dire situation. And that teacher knew of TAWREF through a former colleague, the very same American woman I met two years prior. Together she and I hatched a plan to bring a group of volunteers to Tanzania to fund the building of a house to replace the tiny mud hut Mama Dickson had been living in since 2016.

Needless to say, having a safe, clean and healthy home will make a huge and immediate difference in improving her quality of life. Shelter is a basic human need not a privilege. Volunteering to come alongside others is a way for us to help in a way that respects a person’s dignity and fosters respect among all human beings.

Mama in her small mud hut with some of her children

Opening Day!

We began our first day on site by meeting our construction supervisors, many members of the community, and most importantly, Mama Dickson and five her children. Her smile is broad and bright, her embrace warm, and her children wide-eyed and beautiful. It’s worth noting that the weather was spectacular in September.

This is the first time in all of my years of building houses that we began the first day from ground zero. Meaning there was not even a string line on the ground to determine where the house would be placed until after we arrived! The village chief and some other dignitaries determined on the spot where the house would be placed on the property. Once the lines were set it was time to get digging in the hard, rocky earth.

We dug the holes for the footers of the foundation and moved quite a bit of rock. As we were leaving, supplies for tomorrow were being delivered: bricks and bags of, you guessed it, cement. More tough physical work ahead.

Our awesome team exceeded Elly’s expectations, as he is accustomed to working with teenagers (wink, wink).

Learning About Our Host Community

Many of the Masai in the area still live a nomadic lifestyle herding their animals. Young children are often sent out to look after them rather than attending school. In Masai culture, it is traditional for a woman to be called after the name of her first-born son. Therefore, Mama Dickson, is known as such because her first born son’s name is… Dickson.

After only two days, we feel so connected to this very special community. We moved bricks (heavier than they look), mixed concrete, and our masons started to lay the first lines of bricks. It’s already starting to look like a house! Amazing progress.

You can tell that everyone in the community is starting to feel more comfortable around us wazungu—white people. After all a few of them, especially children, have never seen one of us before.

Hump day!

The walls continue to grow. It’s very satisfying considering we started from digging the ground just three days ago. We knocked off a little bit early today to spend some time at Machame Nkwesho Cultural Tourism to learn more about the Chago community that lives all around the base of Mount Kilimanjaro.

This cooperative began in 2008 as an alternative source of income for women, domestic goddesses and cultural caretakers. We were welcomed with singing and dancing, ate a delicious traditional lunch prepared especially for us, learned a bit about coffee and banana farming and then actually roasted our own coffee beans, ground them and drank coffee made from our efforts! It was such a wonderful way to learn about everyday life in Tanzania.

[Participating in the coffee roasting ceremony]

The Walls Are Growing Tall

What a difference a few willing travelers, who dared to do what no North American team has ever done with TAWREF, can make! Today was our final workday at Mama Dickson’s. The progress—from placing the house and digging the foundation, to seeing the walls grow so tall, has amazed all of us.

One of the most unexpected outcomes has been that a physical therapist was able to come and assess the eldest boy’s disabilities, which are severe. The therapist also believes that the second son may qualify to go to a special school for children with disabilities, which, if it happens, could change the course of his life for the better forever. Access to help, which is readily available to those who live in developed nations and have means, are absent in communities like this one. Even when wrap-around services exist, people may not know how to take advantage of them. These are the ripple effects from our partnership.

The Bittersweet Farewell

In just five short days, we have formed a bond with the members of this community. We believe that none of us will forget one another. I’m so grateful for all those who said, “Yes!” to this experience.

At the end of the week, we had our farewell ceremony and left the completion of the house in the very capable hands of the leaders at TAWREF. It less than a month all the work will be done.

Transforming Lives

Many people with disabilities are shunned in Tanzania, hidden away in dark corners of tiny houses. Because we spent a week in this community word got out and more people came to see how they might get connected with local services.

Of all the trips I’ve taken to help people in need, the ripple effects of this project are the most obvious and potentially far reaching. All of my expectations were exceeded and hopes for our time together fulfilled.

Happily, I’m planning to return with friends to Tanzania!

A few weeks after we left, we received this photo of Mama Dickson in front of the finished house!

Planning to visit Moshi? Here are our recommendations!

HOTEL: We loved our digs in Moshi at the Panama Garden Resort. Clean rooms, working AC, friendly staff, good food and bar, swimming pool, within walking distance to a couple small shops and grocery store. Perfect!

RESTAURANTS: Some of our favorite places to eat were…

Union Café (great option in downtown Moshi)
Courage Café (amazing food with a mission)
Moshi Pazuri Bar and Restaurant (can accommodate large groups with buffet of delicious local fare)
Maisha Khalisi (with amazing views of Mt. Kilimanjaro at sunset)
Jackfruit Café (everyone’s favorite)
Panama Garden Resort (offers solid food day and night, full bar, and buffet dinners for the group were terrific)
Blossoms Café and Wine Bar

SAFARI: Check out my post on our optional R&R!