Mary Ann and Barbara in Tanzania
This is Barbara and Mary Ann on our first day in Tanzania. We are sisters of retirement age who decided to come to experience Tanzania through ELI's volunteer travel program. We found we were much older than the other volunteers, but our age was no barrier to full participation and enjoyment of the experience. We would encourage other people in our age group to consider this type of travel.
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Before leaving on our adventure we had a"shower" to benefit the orphanage. People brought gifts and money which were of great benefit to Nkoaranga Orphanage. Each donor received e-mails during our time in Tanzania giving them an update on how their gifts and money were used. After returning home, each donor received pictures.
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At the volunteer house we often sat outside and enjoyed the warm weather while relaxing.
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A local 4 year old visited the volunteer house and "fixed" Mary Ann's hair.
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Barbara is doing her laundry by hand with cold water with the satellite dish in the background.
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Volunteers sometimes shared a beer at a nearby store.
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We enjoyed seeing the local people in their colorful clothes, carrying their babies and household goods along the main road of Tengeru.
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Wednesday and Saturday are market days where a huge variety of merchandise is sold to the local villagers.
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Mary Ann is enjoying a pepsi in front of our favorite grocery store.
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Lake Duluti is walking distance from Tengeru and offers a beautiful trail around the lake.
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Spotted Monitors are commonly seen at Lake Duluti
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One walk to Lake Duluti included drinks at the Duluti Club.
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We had the opportunity to attend a church service in Tengeru. The service included lots of music and dancing, using a high tech sound system.
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This is Nkoaranga Orphanage, where we volunteered Monday through Friday. 22 children lived there when we first arrived and three more babies came while we were there.
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This is the school building where the older children ages 3-5 went to school each week-day morning.
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Here are the children watching a classmate show what he knows about numbers.
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The teacher is working with some children in school on writing skills.
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We posed with the school children during an outside break.
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Volunteers and one of the Mamas enjoyed being outside with the babies.
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Feeding the babies was one of the jobs we did daily. Other jobs included diaper changing, laundry folding, working in the classroom and giving the children lots of attention.
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Friends at home donated money for the orphange and the "shower" given before we left, and some of it was spent on custom made table and chairs for the children to use.
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Here are the children using the new furniture during lunch.
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A dentist at home donated toothbrushes and toothpaste, which the children enjoyed putting to use.
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We took the opportunity to travel to the wonderful parks that feature wild animals in their natural habitat. Arusha National Park is close to Tengeru, and we a day trip there oneSunday. Here a baby giraffe seeks protection from the father.
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Colobus Monkeys are seen exclusively in Arusha Nat'l Park in Tanzania.
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There are thousands of flamingos in Arusha Nat'l Park.
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Later we took a four day safari where we saw elephants in Lake Manyara Nat'l Park.
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Here is our "spacious" tent at a campsite a Nsya Lodge near Lake Manyara Nat'l Park.
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We had the good fortune to spot a leapord in a tree in Serengeti Nat'l Park.
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Here a lioness takes a drink near our vehicle.
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There are many beautiful bird in Tanzania. These are Grey Crowned Cranes seen in Serengeti.
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There are large variety of animals at the Ngorongoro Crater. Here we see zebras Grey Crowned Cranes and Flamingos.
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Young lions were seeking shade from the safari vehicle at Ngorongoro Crater.
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This is early morning at Ngorongoro Crater campsite.
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Spotted hyenas were sniffing out a nearby dead hippo at Ngorongoro Crater.
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We returned to the orphanage to say good-bye. Here the children are showing Barbara what they have learned about letters.
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Here Mary Ann is saying good-bye to Mama Upendo who is the director of the orphanage. One little boy is just enjoying the attention.
