Tanzania: Mission Accomplished!!

We're done!

From Tanzania 2013

Tanzania Team 2013 is pleased to report that 7,000 needy children will tonight be enjoying a good night's sleep thanks to our donors, the efforts of our overseas volunteer partner, Upendo Information and Counselling Centre, and the Sleeping Children team.  Following the distribution we met with our overseas volunteers, and thanked them for their hard work over the last six months, and everything they have done on behalf of the children.  Today's farewell was emotional for our team and certainly for me, as this was my third and final year as Team Leader on the Tanzania distribution.  Tanzanian volunteers who in the first year worked with our Sleeping Children team as colleagues now feel to me as if they are family.  We did not say goodbye, but rather that we look forward to the next time we see each other.

 Many of Mama Wandoa's Tanzanian volunteers are Muslim.  Not only have they worked hard and long every day of the distribution, but as it is Ramadan they have not taken food or even water from sunrise to sunset. One volunteer explained they are happy to do this, since community service is an important component during the period of Ramadan.  The children who received bedkits in Tanzania are a testament to the service these volunteers, and others, have provided.

After our distribution, our team visited the historical city of Bagamoyo, sea-side destination of the east African slave caravans.  Our team saw the old fort where the slaves were held, followed by the slave market and port where slaves were loaded onto dhows to be transported to Zanzibar and then on to other countries around the world.  Today the dhows are still here, but now they are largely are used for fishing in the Indian Ocean.  Our guide told us that fishing is the major activity in the Bogamoyo area.  Walking on the beach we passed a fisherman who proudly showed us his catch of prawns.

From Tanzania 2013

Seeing this fisherman took me back to Mama Wandoa's volunteers, people of meagre means who volunteer to help the children.  Several days ago I had an opportunity to interview five of Mama's volunteers, and one question asked was how they made a living to support themselves and their families.  Two men said they would go down to the ocean at dawn, and wait for the fishing dhows that had been fishing all night to return to shore.  These men would offer their service to the dhow captains, to help them unload their catch and earn a small sum, and perhaps a few fish to take home to their families.

So even at Bagamoyo, with the distributions over, my mind was taken back to the amazing group of volunteers who make the Sleeping Children distributions possible.  I will not forget them.

Our team hopes you have enjoyed the updates, videos and photographs they have sent back over the last two weeks.  I can assure you they worked hard, and represented Sleeping Children and its donors well in all aspects on this trip.  Thanks to our team, we are bringing home hours and hours of video covering all aspects of the bedkit distributions, interviews with our overseas volunteers, bedkit recipients and others.  This video will be reviewed by Sleeping Children when our team returns to Canada.  Our team hopes this material will help spread the word about the charity in new ways, through new communication channels, that will help Sleeping Children ensure more children get a good night's sleep.

And so we say good night, and thank you donors.

Ted Swanston
On behalf of Team Tanzania
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