Hujambo worried families,
We are having the most amazing time here in Tanzania! On Saturday we left the lodge we were staying at in Kilimanjaro and drove two hours to the second biggest city in Tanzania: Arusha. Once we arrived in Arusha, we visited a non-profit school in the city, the Centre for Women, Children, and Youth Development (CWCD), that promotes and protects human rights among the disadvantaged women and youth of the community. The organization takes vulnerable children off the streets and provides them with a home and education in an attempt to break them out of a cycle of homelessness and poverty. We had the chance to visit a classroom of class sevens where they were preparing for their nationwide exam that will determine if they can move to secondary school, aka high school.
—Emily
After visiting the school we stopped at Pizza Hut for lunch, which was the most American thing we have seen so far on this trip. Nonetheless, the pizza was yummy and gave us a little taste of home. For dinner we celebrated Tim’s daughter, Upendo, as it was her ninth birthday. We ate traditional Tanzanian food at a nice restaurant and took part in her birthday festivities. First, Upendo’s family and friends sang their own version of “Happy Birthday” that included energetic dancing and singing. Then we all sang the American version of “Happy Birthday” as Upendo cut the cake. Unlike American culture, the birthday girl cut the cake into small, bite sized pieces and fed the cake to her loved ones. Upendo was also fed little pieces by her family and friends. It was a beautiful moment unique to Tanzanian culture and I felt so lucky to be apart of it. As a gift to Upendo, we all practiced singing a beloved American classic, “Party In The USA” by Miley Cyrus. We even choreographed moves to go with our a capella version of the song and to my surprise we actually sounded really good. Upendo loved it and was dancing along with us. I think we all were reminded that sometimes it’s the simplest of gifts that can mean the most. I know I can speak for all of us when I say we were so grateful to be included in Upendo’s birthday celebration and it was an amazing experience.
— Izzy
