Six strangers came together this week to a continent that is unfamiliar and a county that is not their own. With them they brought the sum of their experiences and radiated apprehensive excitement in anticipation of experiencing Tanzania in its entirety. Their initiation into this alternate lifestyle was for the most part unclear as the majority of volunteers are experiencing Africa for the first time. Essential survival skills were soon developed by all including precision aiming when using the choo (bathroom/toilet) which consists of a modest hole in the ground sandwiched between 2 foot blocks.

The bittersweet goodbyes said at home by anxious volunteers was soon countered with incomparable hospitable welcomes from the Tanzanians. They have opened their door to their African homeland and invited us to stay for 4, 7 or 10 weeks.

Week one has been preparatory, with the intention of exposing us to the culture that we are fully immersed in. The language training has been essential and our four intensive days of KiSwahili and culture has left us with a basic understanding of the language. We have all mastered “Hello my name is….” and the essentials like “yes”, “no” and “beer”.

The 14 hour bus ride has brought us from Dar es Salaam to Singida Town. The journey can only be compared to a sardine in a tin can, riding a rickety rollercoaster. Nonetheless, the experience has been unforgettable and at the end of week one, the ride has just begun!

We'll post news of our first week in the village very soon.

There was nervous excitement as we drove by Land Rover on Sunday (30th May) to the Volunteer Africa (VA) camp in Mampando Village. The 1 ? hour journey from Singida town was along bumpy and dusty roads through countryside that initially appeared desolate and empty but was on closer examination teaming with life of rural Tanzanians going about their daily life. Hassan, our HAPA driver, announced that we had arrived at our destination to which we all looked at one another in great surprise as we appeared to be in the middle of absolutely nowhere. I had learned another lesson - villages in Tanzania are very different to villages as I know them - houses are not found in clusters but are dispersed over a much larger area.

The VA camp consists of a cleared maize field enclosed by a fence constructed from dried sunflower stalks (a popular cash crop in this region). A welcoming party of around 50 children greeted us on arrival, although they initially screamed and ran away when we went to say ?habari? to them. It was difficult to say who was more intrigued by whom, but the children?s friendly faces and intrigue is a memory that will stay with me for a very long time. Sleeping and cooking tents were erected by the volunteers with military precision whilst village carpenters constructed camp table and benches and village fundi?s completed the rather luxurious the pit latrine and ?wash room?.

The camp is conveniently located about 70 meters from a well which supplies both our camp and much of the village with water for drinking and washing. The ?Wazunga? (i.e. volunteers) are providing hours of entertainment to the locals who stare into the camp for what seems like hours on end. I know what it feels like to be in big brother! Much of the first week in the village revolved around familiarising our self with the camp, (learning how to filter water, preparing culinary delights on a charcoal burner etc) and exploring Mampando village. Brown, the HAPA Construction Technician, took us on numerous trips around the village and surrounding area, to the school and construction site and village shop. Volunteers in the first week were involved in several football matches (and cut the school pitch with machetes!), demonstrations in local traditional weaponry and each had received numerous invitations into Tanzanian?s homes. The genuine warmth and friendliness of the Tanzanians is something that has amazed us all.

Pictures from the first week in Mampando
1) Children and some classrooms at Mampando School

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Pictures from the first week in Mampando
2) The new classrooms at the end of May

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Pictures from the first week in Mampando
3) The Phase 1 Volunteers in the Kitchen/Dining Shelter

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7th AUGUST 2004 - UPDATE FROM MAMPANDO

Well we have been here 2 weeks now and it's been fantastic... we were all met successfully off the plane at the airport, tho Faraji, the KUI guy who came to meet us was NOT allowed through to the immigration hall, instead he had to give our visa papers to the visa office so if you do not see him in the immigration hall, just go to the visa desk and ask if your visa has been delivered by hand. They should recognise u from your photo!

Then we were taken to the Salvation Army hostel where we stayed for 2 nights - funny little huts with 2 beds, shower and sit-down loo. The food there is also very good, tho order in advance as it takes about an hour or so to arrive. Then we got started with a few really busy few days in Dar es Salaam doing language training, last minute shopping and seeing stuff. We travelled about in taxis, or dala-dalas which are those tiny minibuses where they crowd 2-3 people onto a seat made for 1 and they drive like nutters so that is quite an experience.

We started our Swahili lessons there in Dar, and I'm really enjoying them it's quite a simple language to learn. And we have always had our Swahili teacher(s) with us the whole time so they have taken us around and shown us places like the non-touristy beaches, which are just beautiful, and eaten in local places which could be a bit high risk but my stomach has handled it all - so far!! We then left Dar at 6.30am Tuesday for a 10 hour bus ride to Singida (half on paved road, half on extremely bumpy dirt road). Well we thought it would just be 10 hours....

The bus was only slightly less crowded than the dala-dalas and if you imagine the smallest plane seat you ever sat on then reduced the space by half, that's how it was. There were also loads of people standing for the whole way in the aisles. Anyway about 2pm we got a flat tire right in the middle of nowhere, so as happens anywhere in the world, all the men got off and stood there looking at it for a while, but eventually a spare part was found to be needed and it would take an hour or two to collect it. But in the end we were there by the side of the road until 8am the next morning! So we got our sleeping bags out the bus and slept on the side of the road under the lovely African stars.

We had no food left by that time, so Gloria - our Swahili teacher, bought a live chicken from a nearby village, someone killed it, skinned it and barbequed it there and then. It was just delicious. Needless to say we all found the whole thing amusing rather than annoying and we made good friends with the locals on the bus and tried out our basic Swahili as in - how are you, what's your name and David Beckham. So take emergency food and water with you on the bus journey, and your walkman and a good book are essential too I think.

So we finally got here to Singida on the Weds and it's just lovely and miles better than Dar which I found a bit too busy, noisy and smelly for my liking, tho one of the places you definitely have to experience at least once. This is a really nice little town with market stalls everywhere. Bright colours and animals. Nice and sunny in the day and cool at night. Everyone is so friendly and smiley and they laugh at us all the time, especially when we try to talk to them. Internet access is here for about 60p a hour. You can also call home but it's expensive. One of the guys brought his mobile phone from home and bought a sim card for it in Dar,so he has people call him on that, and we can use it to text the UK very cheaply.

The scenery is lovely, really quite green with a large lake and massive rocks scattered all over the place. It is very strange to be in the total minority, but it all feels very safe. We are well looked after. We stayed that first time in a Roman Catholic guest house which is just lovely - twin rooms and a sitting room in the middle, showers and sit-down loos (a rare luxury)- then we met up with the other volunteers who were already here, did our food shopping at the market, then headed for Mampando about 2 hours drive from here.

We have spent our first week at the camp and it's much more luxurious than I expected (tho don't get your hopes up too high!). There is a large, pretty solid sleeping tent (old army issue I think) that has plenty of room for the 12 beds that are in there. The most comfy ones are the ones with the wooden slats and foam mattresses, so be quick to pick your bed! There are also mosquito nets provided. I bought a pillow - you can buy them here in Dar or Singida for about $2-4. Bring a warm sleeping bag and PJ's as the nights are cold - but just beautiful as you can see so many stars with no light pollution here - with shooting stars guaranteed every night. We also have a eating/cooking tent which you can see from the photo above. We have pretty much all the utensils and food we need - you will NOT lose weight here believe me, all we do is eat! There are places here in Singida, which you come to once a week if you like, that sell luxury items from heinz baked beans, to bounties/twix, bourbon biscuits, south african wine, pringles, ketchup.... We also have a shower stall and 2 of us brought out camp showers - big plastic bags with a shower attachment that are left in the sun all day to warm up, then hung in the shower. Maybe worth someone bringnig anotherone as they aren't that well constructed for so much use -they are about 10 quid think in camping shops. We also have a squat choo (loo) that is a big pit but with cement on the top, and it's really not too bad

Most days we work in the mornings 9-12, then the afternoon is free to do what you like, go for walks (the bottom of the rift valley is only 2 hours away), read, learn swahili with the guards, play with the children, visit the villagers for (long!) lunches, snooze... the work is not the hardest in the world, this week we sanded and varnished desks and window frames, hopefully next week we will be making bricks as we start to build the staff accomodation. We always have a guard at the camp and it is fenced in so it is safe to leave stuff there, and it helps give you a break from the kids - if you need one - as they are not allowed in. They follow us everywhere and are truly delightful. Some people here have brought crayons, postcards, games etc from theUK which go down really well and also they love to see photos of your friends and family.

So I hope this info helps in some way. One thing to know, despite what you have been told, do NOT bring steel toecap boots as everyone so far has brought them and not used them once, they have been a total waste of money and space. We wear trainers or flipflops or hiking boots to work. (Note from Simon: We very strongly recommend against wearing trainers or flip-flops on site. If you don't want to take proper steel toe-capped boots use an old pair of strong walking boots). Gloves are useful tho. All of our group are leaving the camp in 2 weeks time when the next group arrive but we will meet you here in Singida at the Stanley on the Friday evening, and give you the low down on how it all works, then help you with your shopping on the Saturday. Have a good trip and see you in a few weeks...

8th November and volunteers in Mampando are starting their last week in the village. Tell us the news someone - what's happening!

I've been told that work on the classrooms has finished and villagers and volunteers are now working on the new staff housing.

Scroll back up to see what the classrooms looked like at the end of May. Now they look like this:

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