Team Tanzania are just going through passport control and therefore we anticpiate that they will be at LP at approximately 8am! See you soon!

TEAM TANZANIA HAVE JUST LANDED AT HEATHROW

Team Tanzania are happily 'in transit' in Nairobi!

Team Tanzania have boarded their connecting flight at Nairobi and will soon be en route to Heathrow..... I will update any changes to predicted arrival times at LP on this blog!

 

 

 

See you in a few hours at Field House car park :)

Team Tanzania are checked in!

Text from Inspire Leaders at 3pm:

"The group have checked in and are going through security now. Flight seems to be on time. They were such a great group and we will really miss them! Thanks for everything Team Tanzania!"

See you in a few hours!!

Team Tanzania Awards

Team Tanzania have been in Manyara and have seen hornbills, blue monkeys, more elephants and lots of hippos. Their last night was lovely. Great meal then group highlights followed by awards and gifts. The volunteer award was won by Beth. Fundi (builder) award was won by Josh. Master plaster award for Louise, Chapatti Queen award for Acadia and Tara and the Nigella cooking award for Chantel and there were more! Everyone got katenge purses or Tanz bracelets for the boys. Very emotional and fun last evening.

The group have just had their last meal (lunch) and are en route to the airport as I write!

Well done Team Tanzania - what a great trip. Very proud of you all :)

TARANGIRE NATIONAL PARK & 14 LIONS SPOTTED!

Team Tanzania have had a great day on safari. They spotted giraffes, warthogs, elephants, impalas, cheetahs and 14 lions! WOW! Monkeys shared the groups lunch.... well, tried to steal it anyway! The group are now at their lodge for their last night in Tanzania! Sleep well Team Tanzania 2012! Images below from Tarangire:

 

 

A problem with dinner last night...

Text update from Inspire Worldwide:

 

"We had a slight issue with dinner last night.... we ordered chicken and an hour later one turned up alive on the back of a delivery bike in Babati!!!"

 

The whole group found this so funny and knew their supper was ultra fresh and not 'fried!' Team Tanzania now understand the full meaning of TIA ("This Is Africa") because when their food hadn't been served two hours later they ventured elsewhere for supper! Classic Africa! :)

MONDAY'S TEXT UPDATE RECEIVED 2 MINUTES AGO...

Text received at 2.35pm (UK time) today:

 

"The team have now completed all their work on the project and they had a wonderful closing ceremony this afternoon with the teachers, pupils, school committee and local parents. The parents performed amazing local dances and the whole team were presented with kangas or Masai blankets"

Message for parents - Return time to LP:

It is still a couple of days away, but we anticipate that Team Tanzania 2012 will return to Field House car park at school at 7.15am on Thursday 1st November, provided there are no delays! I will post any changes or updates on this blog!

TANZANIA TEAM 2012 PHOTOS JUST RECEIVED FROM BABATI!

Team Tanzania 2012 photos finally just received from Babati from the last week or so. Really lovely images...

 

Church Service & Lake Babati Hippos!

Team Tanzania 2012 had another fantastic experience today. They attended a local church service this morning in Babati. There was amazing singing from the congregation and LPs two songs went down a treat - really brilliant! Ken and Sarah gave a speech to the community in the church and talked about Quakerism. Sunday afternoon was spent on the shores of Lake Babati for a relaxing afternoon of hippopotamus watching!

 

Lake Babati - Tanzania

 

Hippo in Lake Babati

TEAM TANZANIA TEXT QUOTES...

.. JUST RECEIVED (7.20pm)

Henry: "One of my worst experiences was goats ramming the door when I was trying to use the toilet!"

Chris & Jeremy: "We love all the fundis (local builders) and as a thank you we bought them hats and they were really happy!"

Josh: "An amazing moment was meeting a national treasure - Tanzania's silver medalist in the marathon at the Sydney Olympics!"

A lie-in on a Saturday & SITE WORK IS COMPLETE!!

Text update from Babati (2 hours ago):

"We worked hard this morning after a little lie-in! We then ventured out and hit 'the town' to buy fabric, vegetables and clothes from Babati market. Brilliant experience!"

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Team Tanzania 2012 (LP, Inspire and Tanzania Livingstone Trust on the ground in Tanzania, but also within the UK) for these amazing outcomes. I am so proud of you all and we couldn't have achieved what we have without the team work of all the parties involved! Your hard work, determination, team work and sheer attitude to such an awesome expedition has been first class from where I am sitting in the UK! Not to mention the positive impact that you will have all had on a special rural community in Tanzania.  Enjoy your much deserved safari Team LP!

Team meet the Sydney Olympics Silver Medalist Marathon Runner!

Team Tanzania 2012 enjoyed some home visits yesterday to visit local people/pupils from the school. Group tree planting and chapati making! One group were hosted by Tanzania's Sydney Olympic Silver medalist marathon runner! The group had a great party last night with a keyboard, recorder, guitar and some improvised percussion!!! Epic! Another fantastic day for everyone in beautiful Babati!

Inspire Worldwide 24 hour text update...

... Overview from last 24 hours in Babati from Inspire Worldwide:

 

"Good day here. Classroom 6 and 7 are now painted and a new floor has been fitted. The group mixed 80 buckets of sand into cement in one go! Seriously impressive mixing from Eva, Louise, Henry, Jeremy, Chris and Pak. Football and volleyball matches took place at the local secondary school and these were a real hit. Jody was amazing at volleyball! Masai visited for Chatel's birthday evening. Lots of dancing - India, Chris, Stephen and Pak enjoyed it lots! Today site leaders were Tara and Acadia. They did well. Some students invited by headteacher to teach a whole class on 'pronouns'. Super! More African dancing last night! Happy Days in Tanzania!"

 

Fundis (local builders) at work in Babati teaching students the skill of building!

Mobile phone signal problems....

At 11.45pm I received two text updates from Team Tanzania..... clearly one was sent at lunchtime today and one sent this evening as they will all be fast asleep as I type. The rural nature of Babati can mean than mobile signal is somewhat erratic, so nothing to worry about at all..... they have had another wonderful day since we communicated early this morning... and here are the text message updates:

 

"After a really busy morning on our project site we are now at Frederick Samaye Secondary School for football, netball and volleyball. Team LP lost the footy 0-1 but played really well in the scorching heat"

 

 

Followed by....

 

"Tonight the team are working on three songs to perform in church... Oh Happy Day a la Rose Scales, Mary had a baby and also Ken's specially written Team Tanz song"

 

FANTASTIC! :)

Time is going too quickly for Team Tanzania!

Update from Babati this morning:

Time is flying for Team Tanzania and they cannot believe that they are half way through their trip already... they won't want to leave! The team are grateful for cooler, breezier weather today. Students will be clearing classrooms ready for painting, some will teach English lessons at the school and some boys are developing a plan with the Headteacher to mark out a football pitch for the school this afternoon. Very happy days in Babati indeed and the community is still buzzing! A wonderful vibe is evident in the village. It is wonderful!

SURPRISE Text Update!

"Tonight our group had a fantastic opportunity. Justin, a friend of Charlotte's (Inspire Group Leader) came to visit us in the village as a surprise guest! He is part of the Masai tribe and he taught us some traditional Masai dances. He then answered our many questions about Masai life, traditions and culture. We have had a really great evening!"



Masai in Tanzania



Hot... Hot ... Hot !!

Text update from Sarah Ledger at 6.30pm this evening (ten minutes ago!)....

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS & SINGING!

"A very hot, hot, hot day today but everyone worked so hard. The local school gathered together to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Chantel and they presented her with a kanga (local wrap skirt) as a birthday gift. Curry and onion bhajis are cooking right now for dinner and we are having a birthday celebration this evening with a beautifully iced cake! Project work going well. The mural wall is almost finished and all of the classroom walls have been limed. A great day!"

Today's Text Update from Charlotte (Inspire Team Leader)...

"It is very hot but we are getting lots done and the evenings are great fun. We all enjoyed cooking yesterday - everyone got involved and we sat with masala tea watching the sunset yesterday evening. A raucous quiz night followed with everyone getting into the spirit of things! The local children from the school sang 'Happy Birthday' to Chantel today and the team decorated a room with balloons to celebrate. At the site we did liming and foundations today plus worked on the vegetable plot. Some real troopers in this group!"

Rural Managhat Community...

Below are some photos to show you where Team Tanzania are working today in rural Managhat community.

Internet is completely out of reach for our team but here are some community images to show you what they are seeing as they work and make friends in Managhat today...

Collecting water in Managhat community

Transporting water in Managhat community

Street scene in rural Managhat

Resting in the heat of the day in central Managhat

Right inside the village community of Managhat

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY CHANTEL !

The group woke early and started Chantel's birthday celebrations immediately with balloons, banners, cake (a real treat today), cards and lots of gifts! There are plenty more surprises in store for later too! Fantastic!

Have a great day Team Tanzania!

Tanzania Tuesday Text Update!

Message from Sarah and Ken... they have just finished work for the day.... it is late afternoon in Babati now:

"The team have worked really hard again today and we are getting to grips with the routine of the camp - cleaning, cooking, duties, etc. This afternoon we have visited a local brick making plant and have witnessed the process from start to finish from digging the mud out of the ground, shaping the bricks, stacking towers of 10,000 bricks to finally coating the tower of bricks in mud and then baking them!"

LP Musicians entertain in rural Babati!

Text received in the early hours this morning....

"Our evening finished with a sing-a-long of "in the jungle". Ken was playing his guitar and Sarah was playing a flute...... and Tash finished off by singing "Hallelujah!" What a wonderful voice!"

Team Tanzania Text Update...

... Text message received from Sarah Ledger at 6.25pm this evening...

 

"The group have just been entertained to homecooked stir fry and chips and sodas by the local ward councillor (politician), followed by a very interesting Q&A session on Tanzania! It was a beautiful walk to his home and we received a very warm welcome! Students all send their love to their friends and families! We are having a wonderful time!"

 

SLEEP WELL TEAM TANZANIA!

Text message update from Team Tanzania!

Team Tanzania Text message literally just received at 4pm today....

"Our first day of work today went really well with the building team. The art drawing team drew a giant mural on a kitchen wall. Lots of the LP girls have been entertaining the local children with songs and games and Pak has demonstrated his break dancing skills! Tonight the whole team have been invited to dinner with the Ward Councillor, who is the local MP"

Facebook Livingstone Tanzania Trust ....

Livingstone Tanzania Trust have posted Team LPs arrival in Babati on their facebook page...

 

https://www.facebook.com/LivingstoneTanzaniaTrust 

Team Tanzania start work at Managhat School!

Team Tanzania are in the local village meeting the local people and children at Managhat school as I write this post.

MANAGHAT SCHOOL - BABATI

Excitement is evident across the whole community! Happy working Team Tanzania!

SCHOOL CHILDREN - MANAGHAT SCHOOL

Stunning views from the village!

Team Tanzania's geographical surroundings are stunning - acacia trees and beautiful scenery!

The local community have warmly wecomed the team - happy faces and lots of new friendships are forming. Babati is buzzing!

Hot off the press....

Communication just received....

The group are now completely settled into their village and were welcomed by the students singing and dancing. The volunteers joined in teaching the locals ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’.  After their welcome, the group explored the project site and are very excited about the variety of tasks ahead in the coming days.

The team have created a spider web of string in their room for the group to hang their mosquito nets from! Some impressive pop-up nets also created some fun!

Football match and cooking were the main agenda items this evening!

All is well in Babati!

Tanzanian Culture!

Yesterday 'Team Tanzania' had an excellent afternoon at the Cultural Centre in Arusha, with some saying it was ‘the best museum I’ve ever visited’. The team had an early night ready for their journey to the rural village today.

On the drive to Babati the team were learning all about Maasai culture! They have been settling in today, sitting outside with the goats, listening to children singing and being taught some traditional dance by members of the local community. All in all, an excellent introduction to Africa for everyone involved!

Tomorrow the team will experience the first day of project work at Managhat School.

 

Text from Babati!

I received a text from the staff in Babati at 3pm today just after they arrived....

"We are all sitting outside with the goats, listening to the happy local children singing and they are trying to teach us to dance! Acacia trees flame-red blossom and wooded mountains surround us - what a wonderful introdcution to rural Tanzania and Africa!"

Students Sleeping Soundly!

Team Tanzania students are all fast asleep at the Briston Hotel in Arusha as I write, ready for an early departure to Babati to visit the project site and community early tomorrow morning!

Meet our staff!

Charlotte and Lindsey from Inspire spent a few days doing preparation work for us in Babati before the team arrived. As experienecd trip leaders they have assessed all of our planned activities and will continue to do so on a daily basis. They are integrated members of 'TEAM TANZANIA'!

http://www.inspire-worldwide.com/home/

The results of our efforts as a group will have contributed significantly to the current needs of the Livingstone Tanzania Trust  and given our group an incredibly rewarding Tanzanian experience. At the Trust,  Julian (who is an OL too - see image below) has supported us and guided us through our preparation phases and we thank him and his team for this!

http://livingstonetanzaniatrust.com/

Team Tanzania are settled in Arusha!

Team Tanzania have now met Charlotte and Lindsey (the Inspire Leaders) and have now transferred to their accommodation for a shower and to catch up on some well needed rest after the overnight flight.

Later today the team will be doing some in-country training and preparation, run by the Inspire team and they will take a trip to the Cultural Centre in Arusha. Tomorrow the team will transfer to their project site in Babati and settle into their accommodation, visit the local school, meet the community and the Livingstone Tanzania Trust staff who will be supporting them whilst they work on the project.

Team Tanzania have landed safely at Kilimajaro Airport

The team have landed safely in Tanzania and all now have their visas and are through passport control! Next stop.... Arusha! Students are tired but spirits are high and lots of excitement!

Team Tanzania are in the air!

Team Tanzania are 'en route' to Tanzania via Nairobi and lots of excitement evident at the departure gate! Happy travels!

Team Tanzania depart LP....

Happy faces!

Team Tanzania

Team Tanzania polo shirts are ready to head to Africa along with the team journal!