Thanks for the checking out the blog for this Global Leadership Adventures program!
Here are a few things to know and expect:
- Blog posts are written by onsite program staff and/or students and sent to our Headquarters team who will post the blog on this page.
- We typically receive 2-3 blog updates per week from each program, so please don’t be alarmed if you don’t see a blog post every day – that’s totally normal.
- Blog updates received late in the evening or overnight will be posted the following day.
- Blog updates received on weekends may not be posted until Monday.
- Due to many factors such as internet accessibility, program staff aren’t always able to send photos, so some blog posts may contain text only.
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and we hope you enjoy following along on these unforgettable adventures.
For frequently asked questions about the blogs, please visit our Program Blog FAQ page.
-The Global Leadership Adventures HQ Team
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BLOG POST FOR JULY 6
Jambo families and friends
All students have arrived to our lovely homebase in the town of Moshi, in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. The first group of students arrived this morning and the next two groups of students arrived this evening from a total of 8 different countries!
Today the students have shared some delicious local food, settled into their rooms, and recharged from their travels. We are all in high spirits and eagerly awaiting the orientation day activities for tomorrow. This will be a chance for the whole group to become acquainted and learn about what we will be experiencing together in Tanzania over the coming two weeks.
We are off to bed for the night and look forward to updating you soon.
Kwa Herini
The GLA Tanzania: Heart & Soul of Kilimanjaro Programme
BLOG POST FOR JULY 8
Jambo friends and families
Today was our first day preparing for community service. In the morning, we went to the local school, took a tour, and observed classes. We were greeted with a warm welcome from the school children. They started the morning with an assembly filled with songs and joy. We introduced ourselves and our countries to the students and teachers, and received cheers in return. We sat in for an English lesson and watched as the bright students showed off their knowledge. After that, we started renovating the garden. The school aims to preserve their greens to provide children with food during lunch. To do this, we began by removing the waste in the garden and started building a fence. It is a work in progress, but we did an efficient job today!
We enjoyed some lunch and then made our way to the market. A very active area with all kinds of goods to be bought. We heard everything from the Tanzanian radio to Afro Music. Some of us even bought fabric, and a local seamstress came to the homebase to take measurements and make whatever clothes we desired. We ended the day with appreciating one another, followed by a dinner to close out the day. Overall, we had a great time and cannot wait to see what the rest of these two weeks will bring!
Signing out,
Safiya & Zhijian
BLOG POST FOR JULY 9
Jambo friends & families
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” — William Shakespeare
Our day began with breakfast and lesson planning before we went to a local school for a teaching experience. We spent one hour teaching English to students, who were excited and eager to learn. After a short break, we continued with a community service project, removing weeds from a garden and digging holes for a future fence. Morning rain made the work more challenging, but everyone worked together to complete the tasks. Lunch included potato pancake with egg, mixed vegetable, and a local fruit juice before a short internet break at a nearby cafe.
In the afternoon, students joined a cooking class and learned how to prepare a traditional Tanzanian meal using rice, garlic, onions, and braised beef called pilau, but we also prepared some western salad with onion, cabbage, carrots. The meal was enjoyed together after the class, providing another opportunity to experience the local culture. The day ended with dinner and an evening GLA activity, giving everyone time to reflect on a day with teaching, community service, cultural learning, and value leadership.
Thanks
Nailiang & Paula
BLOG POST FOR JULY 10
Jambo friends and families,
Today we had our last day with the kids for this week. We had a lesson planning session in the morning and went into classrooms to run a lesson. Lots of songs, dances and games were played. Everybody had a blast! Lots more progress was made on the garden; churning the soil, cementing the stakes, and preparing the wood. Hopefully we are good to plant next Monday! In the afternoon, we went to an art workshop for Batik painting, a traditional style of African art that involves wax, dye, and cotton fabric. It was a fun but lengthy process with lots of steps! We ended the day with dinner and group games. Looking forward to more adventures over the weekend!
Love,
Leaders of the Day: Ivy and Abby 🙂
BLOG POST FOR JULY 11
Jambo Friends and Families
Today the GLA students began with a scavenger hunt to better explore the town and get to know locals. After that, we partook in a talk with 5 HIV victims to better understand the struggles they go through with the illness, economy and community. It was a very educational hour for the students as it deepened our knowledge of HIV and AIDs. After lunch, we made a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up snacks and necessities before heading to a nearby coffee farm. We can all agree this was one of our favourite parts of the day as we took part in the process of making local Tanzanian coffee while singing and dancing with locals and local songs.
From Ludovica Basso and Cara Harris
BLOG POST FOR JULY 12
Jambo friends and family!
Today, we are here with the two leaders of the day, Blanche and Emma. Today was one of the most meaningful days of our journey in Tanzania. This morning we listened to Mama Simba that shared her inspiring stories on how she has helped the local community and what she has gone through in her life, to make us understand the reality and challenges of lives here. After, we had lunch with our host families, before visiting their homes where we experienced their everyday life, allowing us to ask them many insightful questions. They welcomed us very warmly. We also went on a walk in the forest with them, and played with the children. It was a very emotional yet fun afternoon, and many of us were deeply moved by their hospitality, teaching us an important lesson.
We are very grateful to be experiencing such a wonderful journey.
See you tomorrow for another blog!
Best wishes
Blanche & Emma
BLOG POST FOR JULY 13
Jambo friends and families!
Today we set off early to revisit the school. We spent a quick hour teaching the students and then worked to finish the garden. It is fun to see how much progress we have made in the past few days as we are almost ready to start planting. Many of the children watched us finish the fence for the garden and some of us began dancing with the children. After our trip to the school we came back to home base and had a traditional Tanzanian lunch of Ugali and Chicken- In the spirit of Worldcup, we set off to play soccer with the community children who went to school in a different village. The kids showed immense skill and quickly beat us. Shortly after we went to a local home and watched a traditional Tanzanian dance with drums. The dancers encouraged us to dance with them and even included a local pyro-gynism performing with fire flames on himself and even ate it! We came back to home base and had a delicious dinner.
Sincerely,
Giorgia and Tessla
BLOG POST FOR JULY 14
Jambo friends!
It’s Allegra and Virginia, today was a special day as we both had the opportunity to be team leaders! We spent the morning back at the school teaching the students everything we had been working on throughout the week before playing with them at breaktime. Soon enough they were all chasing us around and dancing with us, and we had so much fun laughing and enjoying ourselves with them.
Afterwards, we worked hard in the school garden, finally planting seeds and building fences to protect the plants against animals. Although it was tough work, we knew it would have a lasting impact on the school, making all the effort worthwhile.
Following lunch, some of us had our hair braided by local professionals while others collected the beautiful tailored clothes they had ordered earlier in the week from the fabric shop. We finished the day with an early night, ready for our exciting safari adventure the next morning!
Kind regards,
Allegra and Virginia
BLOG POST FOR JULY 15 & 16
Hello GLA friends and family!
After an early departure from home base to a beautiful Maasai Boma, the team arrived for an intensive cultural day. Between treks on the Savannah plains to engaging in traditional dances, the history of the Maasai tribe was shared with us as we were welcomed into their homes. Some engaged in spear throwing and others ancestral roasts, ending the day with handmade goods and jewellery purchases. Following a laborious day the team split into three groups and set out for a six hour safari on Ngorongoro Conservation Crater Area beginning the drive up the mountains. We spotted zebras, lions, wilderbeasts, elephants, rhinos, buffalo, ostriches, flamingos, monkeys, baboons, birds of all different vibrant colors, and so many more species. Together we spent lunch outside in front of the gorgeous lake and continued on our way, back down the mountain. After spending Wednesday night in the monastery lodge, we returned home after the safari for Ali’s delicious dinner.
Biggest hugs and best wishes,
Laila
BLOG POST FOR JULY 18
Jambo friends and families
This is our final blog as everyone will be leaving for home tomorrow. Over the last few days we have completed our garden project, said goodbye to all the pupils at Mnini primary school and completed a hike around settlements near the Marangu gate on the slopes of the Kilimanjaro mountain. Yesterday was an emotional farewell, and it was evident how much the children and our GLA students have cherished the relationship they built together over the last two weeks. The many interactive lessons that were delivered in the classrooms, the laughter and games, these interactions will leave lasting impressions on the children at Mnini. The garden is fully planted with four different types of vegetables and is enclosed by a fence and gate that the students helped design and build. This garden will be very beneficial for the school to help supplement the school lunch that is cooked for pupils daily. Hunger has been one of the biggest challenges Mnini school faces with an increasing role and many families not able to send lunch contributions. The staff and senior pupils there are super appreciative and excited to lead the garden project into the future to ensure more students get the nutrition they need to maximise their learning.
Today we started with an appreciation circle with all the students as a chance to acknowledge the impact our fellow peers have had on us during the trip. A nice way to set the tone for the day! Then we set off on the bus to go on a hike through some settlements on the slopes of Kilimanjaro near the Marangu gate. We trekked past a lovely waterfall with cool, clear water that we stopped to admire from the bottom.
Upon arriving back at homebase we got packing and had a farewell dinner with the local staff. The local staff engaged everyone in singing and dancing before we all got presented a special gift each, it was a named bracelet with our country flags sewn onto them. What a lovely surprise that was!
We wish everyone safe travels back home and may we all take alittle Tanzanian love with us.
Best
GLA staff team
