Tanzania: The Power of the Blog

When writing the blog to send to our indomitable blogmaster Laurie Guay, we are always struck by the comments that have come from far and wide.  So often they are from Sleeping Children Around the World volunteer travellers, many of whom over the years have been in tanzania.  They have experienced Mama Wandoa and her team of young volunteers who toil endlessly behind the scenes every night to ensure that we have the right number of mattresses and bags to give to the children the next day. they have worked for months to make sure all is ready for us when we arrive to take the pictures for our donors.

The comments to our blogs may be from family and friends concerned about our welfare so far away from home.  This warms our hearts as we are experiencing so many new sights, smells, tastes and smiles as we travel through the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam.  We seem to be in suspended animation here as we work with the children and then return to our hotel to shower the dust off that swirls around us at each distribution site.

We know that there has been an election in Zimbabwe, the former president Bill Clinton has been in Tanzania to look at his funded projects for sustainable farming and that many American embassies have been closed around this part of the world (but not the one here), but we seem to be so engrossed in our daily activities we are almost unaware of the world around us.  

Our  friends in SCAW whom we may even have travelled with understand the power of the distribution on each and every one of us.  Whether a first time volunteer traveller or a fortunate multiple-time ones, we all share the understanding of the emotional highs of making a difference in the lives of 7,000 children here in Tanzania.

As this distribution draws to its close our feelings of sadness at its ending and the satisfaction of working hand-in-hand with our Overseas Volunteer Partner becomes more difficult to describe to those who have not had this privilege of traveling for the 100% charity, Sleeping Children around the World.  The blog comments often come from our brothers and sisters in the charity who understand the experience.

Getting ready for our second last distribution
before the sun is up

For those reading the blogs, looking at the videos, and following our stories, it is heartwarming to hear your comments and questions about the distribution.  We look forward when we reach our homes to present to groups small and large, friends one on one and in small groups to talk about "our story."  Be prepared for our excitement as we relate our Team Tanzania 2013 experiences. Just ask us, "How was your trip?" and be prepared for a fulsome story of an experience of a lifetime, an experience that changes each and every one of us.

Leslie Banner
for Team Tanzania 2013
Post your comments here:

Talking to the 700 boys and girls who will receive a bedkit today
and their families, mostly mothers and grandmothers

Our ladies trying out the bench for the pictures

Arranging the bedkit for the children