A Trip to Tanzania

A group of College House alumni recently travelled to Tanzania in a life-changing experience they will never forget.  Read their story here.

"Over the summer I travelled to Tanzania, East Africa, with a long standing Rotarian and a group of University of Canterbury students. Three of the four other students were also CH alumni: Tristan Braybrooke (CH#4958, 2010-11), Abigail Wiseman (CH#5292, 2013) and Jane Wishart (CH#5037, 2010-11). We spent three weeks in Maji Ya Chai, a small village in Arusha, where we lived with the Mamas and experienced total immersion into their culture and ways of life. We spent our time working on a vegetable farm, visiting an orphanage for street children, as well as having several trips to the local schools, and a memorable visit to Upendo Leprosy Home.

Living with the Mamas was an unforgettable experience, as we were totally integrated into their daily lives, getting a true taste of what life is like for some. Small things like showering from a bucket of water, cooking outside on open fires, and not having access to clean drinking water certainly opened our eyes to how different life is in Africa! The people were absolutely beautiful, and welcomed us so warmly into their lives. Although some things were hard to see and watch, the many ways in which Tanzanians themselves, alongside organisations such as Rotary are helping to transform their lives is phenomenal. Simple changes like implementing mosquito nets, testing water, and basic education can turn lives around in ways we cannot even imagine. The visits to the Sunrise of Life Orphanage were incredibly inspiring; seeing the work put in to get children off the street and to give them another chance at life was truly amazing to see, and has definitely motivated us to continue helping in any way we can. I think we have all come away from the trip with an enormous sense of respect for those who are not as lucky as we are, and a much greater awareness of what goes on in third world countries.

I would highly recommend travelling to Africa to anybody who has ever thought about it; it was such an eye-opening, life-changing experience and one I know I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life."

Emily Wilby (CH#5126, 2011-12)

Tanzania Photo 2

Helping harvest bananas on the women's farm in Maji ya Chai

Tanzania Photo 1

Group photo with members of the local community

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