Itinerary
Feb. 12 - Monday visit Pathfinder International in Dar es Salaam addressing violence against women and children.  Blog Entry
Feb. 13 - Tuesday fly to Zanzibar - Check in at the Al-Johari Hotel  then visit SOS Kindergarten  and play 
Feb. 14 - Wednesday - visit Pathfinder Projects 
Feb. 15 - Thursday - visit/UNFPA projects and later in afternoon play soccer with New Generation Queens
Feb 16 - Friday - International School of Zanzibar (Sports tournament) afternoon visit Darajani market    
Feb 17 - Saturday - CAC in the morning at Amaan Stadium with Haile Selassie Students, Scavenger Hunt in the afternoon.
Feb 18 - Sunday  - Jozani Forest in the morning 
Feb 19 - Monday - SOS kindergarten school and secondary school girls soccer - fun match
Feb 20 - Tuesday - SOS School morning, BHS students mix with SOS students in classes, Prison Island in the afternoon.
Feb 21 - Wednesday - Madrassa in the morning then Tanwir School, dhow ride in evening.     
Feb 22 - Thursday -  Beach and Spice farm.  
Feb 23 - Friday - Open, evening (dhow ride)
Feb 24 Saturday -   fly home. ​

After breakfast, we started off our day by going to the Haile Selassie school where both of our discussions would take place. Our first discussion was about physical education classes and sports where we learned that the Haile Selassie school has different sports available such as basketball, volleyball, cricket, and tennis. We were told that sometimes they have difficulty running P.E. classes and sports games due to the quality of equipment (e.g. their basketball court is worn). We then got a chance to ask the students from the Haile Selassie school some questions and they got to ask some questions back, mostly about sports and what fitness classes are like for both of us. After this meeting, we went into another room in the school for a second meeting. This meeting addressed different topics: the history of the English Club, the history of Zanzibar, a drama skit, and a discussion. The speaker gave us an overview of the English Club and how it grew over time. He also talked about the advantages of the English Club as it gives students the opportunity to travel more around the world.  However, he acknowledged the English Club has its struggles due to a lack of teacher support.  Next, a different speaker spoke for the history of Zanzibar and brought up many different subjects such as agriculture, political issues, infrastructure decreasing, culture, and education improving. The drama skit focused on gender inequality. It was about a father who clearly favored his son and wanted him to succeed while he treated his daughters poorly. In the end of the skit, the son failed a test while the daughters passed and the father was extremely disappointed with his son. The father then asked his daughters to forgive him for the way he treated them and that from now on he will treat every child equally.   The last part of this meeting was a discussion where BHS students talked a lot about how going to Africa is a big eye opener because we aren’t really educated about what life is like in Africa, let alone Tanzania.   We also had a Q&A where students from the Haile Selassie school asked BHS students five questions and BHS students asked Haile Selassie students five questions. That was the end of discussions and our day concluded with a dinner at the SOS school with faculty.  We had many conversations with SOS teachers during our final dinner in Zanzibar.  ​
​- Annie

February 18th
This morning we set out on the bus to the Jozani Forest. And, after slipping on sunscreen and putting on our hats, we were ready to go. Though initially disappointed by the number of muzungus also out to see the jungle, the beauty of the forest quickly dissipated these sentiments. Once out of the bus, we walked soft jungle paths surrounded by walls of greenery. The trees towered over us like buildings in a city creating an uncharacteristically cool oasis under the canopy. It was even more stunning than I had imagined it would be, almost indescribable. The lushness of the forest was pristine as the park has grown untamed since 2005. But, as our tour guide told us, these plants and trees were so much more than just aesthetically pleasing. Along with their scientific names, our guide told us the medicinal purposes of the plants. Ranging from curing hiccups to inducing labor - the plants around us held more than the average pharmacy.
Then came the wildlife! We saw so many monkeys. We couldn’t touch them, but they were very calm and posed nicely for our photos. We also saw crabs running around the gnarled roots of the mangrove trees.

Once we said farewell to our tour guide, we were headed to the beach for a little R&R. But getting there proved all but relaxing. The sun shone brightly, beating down on our shoulders as we struggled to find lunch (or our bus driver as he had dropped us off at the wrong resort). Luckily, I had my new wrap (not to be confused with the rap Mr. Kahrl did on the bus) which I turned into a makeshift sun shield. I got many a compliment on this innovative look. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Lunch was delicious! It was nice to have some fresh and crisp lettuce, a welcome change from pasta and sandwiches.
After lunch, we went out on the tidal banks, which turned out to be a muzungu idea since we got stranded as the water rose around us. It all ended well though as we floated back to shore on the current and over schools of fish and sea Urchins.
We had another magical dhow ride while the sun set. Once again, we jumped off the boat, this time in bathing suits. It’s important to note that not only did everyone jumped off the top deck today, but also that our tricks have improved, today brought dives and flips. I even got to help raise and lower the sails, and the owners of the boat so kindly promoted me to captain. We sailed into shore as the sun disappeared over the horizon, the perfect end to a perfect day.
- Emily

Nick Dahlborg

Finally, a late start to the day! We woke up around 8:00 AM to prepare for a day that would be filled with physical activity. We ate breakfast around 8:30 AM at the roof of the hotel, which consisted of sausages, eggs, toast, fruit, and (not so typical) hibiscus juice. Then we all went back to our rooms to prepare for the first activity of the day - soccer. 
We left the hotel at 9:25 AM in a typical taxi van. It took us 25 minutes to get to Amaan Stadium, which was a fairly large stadium with both a field and a track course inside of it. We waited about 20 minutes outside of the stadium with soccer balls and so much water that we could have filled a tub. I took out one of the balls and passed it over to a kid I saw standing off to the side with the others. He passed it back, and came over and began to juggle with me. To my surprise, he was the advanced one, and I was struggling to keep up. He taught me a new move, and I taught him one as well. We entered the stadium and saw 2 u16 teams playing at an impressively fast pace. Many of us thought they were anywhere between the age of 12 and 20. There was 1 team wearing a full orange uniform while the other was wearing red and black. The game didn’t produce any goals until late when the orange team went up by 2, and the crowd roared in celebration. While the game was going on, a couple of students met with a dozen or so young girls and did sprints and stretches with them (some of them had ran a half marathon!), as well as learned to count to 10 in Swahili. Meanwhile, Wilson and I met with some of the boys for some more juggling in a circle, and in the end, both the girls and boys built a larger circle for passing.

The larger soccer game finally ended around 11:30 AM, and we were able to get onto the field with the group from CAC (Coaches across continents) for their PE class. It was hot, 90 degrees. The BHS students were wearing shorts and sport tops while the students from the Haile Selassie School were wearing long pants and long sleeves, and in addition, the girls were wearing hijabs. We started with a group stretch and warmups around the center circle (Wilson seemed to struggle with the counting), then transitioned into passing a ball around in a circle in our hands while naming things in English (animals, soccer players, foods, etc.), then did a blind walk with a team giving directions, and finally some keep away. During keep away, each person had a partner that they had to hold hands with at all times, and I met three girls named Kauthar, Fatma, and Juwairiya. After this, we ended the session with penalty shots, in which I gladly volunteered to play goalie.  I was pretty impressed with how well many of the kids could kick, and even when I was trying, ended up letting in a few bad goals! We all took some pictures and said goodbye to our new-found friends. 

We left the field around 1:00 PM and had a pretty hard time getting back in the van and saying goodbye. After arriving back at the hotel around 1:30 PM, we all quickly changed into swim suits and ran to the beach. We swam out to a floating restaurant on which we sat and rested for a while. As we swam back, we met a group of about a dozen 10 to13 year old girls swimming in full clothing and hijabs. They were so sweet. We said hi, played tug of war with them, had a water fight, counted to ten (in both English and Swahili), and learned their names. Finally we told them we had to leave, to which they all yelled “We miss you!” As loud as they could.  
​
We dried off, took showers, and got ready for our second activity: Scavenger Hunt. We were all sunburned at this point, and had nothing to lose from running around the entire city in groups of 3 or 4 with no guide, just to find different landmarks. It would be impossible to explain every wrong turn and crazy mistake everyone made, but to sum it up, the hunt required purchasing Ubuyu, a dashiki, dancing with locals, singing a song from the band Queen, and more. It even required making a purchase of a fruit that could be eerily be compared to a drug deal. We started at 3, and by 5:00 PM, we had finished and met at Mercury’s Zanzibar to get well needed drinks and to figure out who had won the hunt, which ended up being a two way tie.
To end the day, we went back to the hotel, got changed out of our “drenched with sweat” clothes, and went for dinner at 7:00 PM at the Tapería right next to our hotel. We ate great tapas, and satisfied, returned home at 8:20 to conclude the by far most physically active, sunburnt day.

Another hot and wonderful day here in Zanzibar! Today, we visited the SOS Children's Village School in the morning, before heading out to the sandbar for some beach time! 

After waking up and the usual crossaints and hibiscus juice on the rooftop of our hotel, the group walked through the winding allies and streets to the Hailie Selassie School near Darjani Market. We waited there for a while for Fatma, admiring the white and blue pillars of the school. We then crammed into a small bus (which to me, looked more like a van) with about 15 seats. Fatma informed us that this is the cheapest, and most popular form of public transportation in the city, with a fare of 300 TSH, or roughly 14 cents, per person. 

After the bus trip, we arrived at the SOS Children's Village school (or the Hermann Gmeiner Primary and Secondary School). There, we admired the expansive campus and sandy stone buildings, especially the central field containing a large mango tree (under which many of the school's students found shade). While waiting to meet with the headmaster, the group of high schoolers joined a PE class for 5-6 year old students. This was perhaps the highlight... We were able to play with about 30-40 young children. Milena was the most popular of the guests by far; the children gathered around her waiting for her to blow bubbles, then screaming and chasing them across the field to pop them when she did. One little girl even took off her hijab so she could swat at the bubbles with it! 

When PE class ended, the group returned to find Mr Kahrl, Ms Knightly and Fatma nowhere in sight! Perplexed, we wandered around the school grounds recieving the occasional high-five before eventually we found them and rejoined the group. We then joined a kindergarten class for a meeting in an open air hall. There, perhaps 50-80 kids were assembled, sitting on the ground divided into rows of boys and girls, all dressed in school uniforms of red and yellow. As we entered, the children reached up to touch us and say hi (one little girl even grabbed my hand and kissed it when I said "rafiki", or friend, to her!). We then stood in a line at the front of the room as the teachers led the children through a series of songs in English. The entire group was especially impressed by the words to one song; the teachers, smiling widely, sung "you are special, everyone is special". The high school students were asked to teach the children our own song, so we belted out a few lines of "head, shoulders,  knees and toes", "baa baa black sheep", and "itsy bitsy spider". The children, while unsure of the lyrics, seemed to enjoy the sing-along. Needless to say, we were very sad to leave them! 

We went on to meet an official of the school, who explained to us what SOS Children's Villages does for the community. He told us that SOS has many locations around the world, and that the Zanzibar location opened in 1981. While their goal is to provide healthcare and education to disadvantaged (often orphaned or abandoned) children, a large part of the work they do centres around the "Family House" program. In this program, orphaned or abandoned children are selected by an admission committee to live in a family house and attend the school (which is one of the best in the country). As he explained, a family house is a house on campus where up to 10 children (under the age of 15) live under with one "mother", a woman who cares for and guides the children. After that, they transition to a Youth Hostel, where they can live until the age of 23. 

He then took us to meet one of the "mothers". We met "Mama Fatma" in her house, sitting down in her living room to discuss her 25 years working as a mother with the school. She told us that she has 9 children, of varying ages, under her care, and that the older children often act as mentors for the younger students. When asked what her favorite part of the job, she replied that she loves helping needy children. The word "Mama", she says, means to her not only carer but teacher, organizer and motivator, and that is what she hopes to do with her children. She seemed to me  a wise and passionate woman, who has dedicated her life to caring for and guiding children who might otherwise have been lost and alone. When touring the rooms of the children, I was struck both by a sense of sadness at how few possessions the children had (only a few feet of space to store their folded clothes in) and how lonely they must feel without family, and a sense of joy that they had been given such a rare and wonderful opportunity to get ahead in life. After all, Mama Fatma informed us that the first children she cared for 25 years ago are now working for Microsoft. 

After the school, we took the bus back and had a brief lunch before heading out again to check out the sandbar, a sliver of sand about 100 meters long in the middle of the bay. The boat ride itself was choppy, with the small shaded wooden boat rocking back and forth on the waves. However, it was enjoyed by all (except for Wilson) and soon we arrived on the picturesque beach. There, the sand was a shining white, and the water a crystal clear turquoise in the shallow water surrounding it. We all quickly waded in, relishing the bathwater-like temperature of the ocean. There, we swum and splashed about for almost an hour, undeterred by the occasional mystery pinching sensation (and a small crab that hitched a ride on my swimsuit). We eventually left the sandbar exhausted but relaxed. 

In the evening, we headed out to dinner at the  "Spice Mistress", a Swahili restaurant tucked away in the backstreets. After climbing several long sets of stairs, we emerged on the roof of the restaurant, rewarded with a spectacular view above Stonetown. From our vantage point, we could even watch a dance competition going on in the old Portuguese fort, and were amazed by highly synchronized dance  troops and  backflips. After dinner, we decided to look in on the competition, and joined the crowd just in time for the awards ceremony. As the show was ending, we made our exit, and ended the night with ice cream in Forodani Garden. 

What an incredible first day. Wow

We were all awoken by the call to prayer at about 5:20, as our hotel happens to be right next to the local mosque. After some of us managed to go back to sleep, we all went to breakfast: a combination of American and Tanzanian cuisine.

We then all piled into two vans to go to the Pathfinder International office of Dar Es Salaam. We were met with a very gracious welcome. All of the staff gathered with us around a large table, and introduced themselves one-by-one. The country director, Joseph, talked about the amazing projects that  Pathfinder International is currently working on in Tanzania. He also included some shocking statistics:

54% of Tanzania’s 50 million population is under the age of 20.
The average age of first time mothers in 19.
The population is expected to double in size by 2050.

Pathfinder has opened numerous family planning clinics, youth centers, and launched campaigns against domestic violence.

After a quick tour of the office, we split into two groups to go out “into the field”. My group went to the Tabata Family Planning clinic in West Dar Es Salaam. The main doctor of the clinic greeted us and told us about the successes and challenges the clinic has met since its opening. Since the opening, there have been less referrals to the local hospital, as the clinic is equipped to treat non-emergent cases. We had the opportunity to talk to staff from every section of the clinic. We talked to the health care providers, who showed us all of the contraceptive methods they offer. We also talked to the post abortion care team. Abortion is not legal in Tanzania, so women find illegal and unsafe ways to self-induce abortion. This part of the clinic helps women after an abortion is attempted. The main health care provider pulled out all of the equipment for a manu -vacu-aspiration, and demonstrates how it worked using both a vaginal model and a water bottle. It was incredible that she took the time out of her schedule to show us exactly how they help women every day. We then went to the labor unit. Unfortunately, all the laboring moms had been discharged for the day; however, we were able to tour where the babies are delivered and kept before discharge. We learned that women usually deliver and leave in the same day, as Tabata only delivers non-emergent cases. Finally, we sat down and talked to the Community Health Workers who go out into the community to bring women into the clinic for contraception. The group of women told us that they often face resistance from religious families, people who believe rumors that contraception leads to cancer, or families who are adamant about sticking to their traditional birth control methods.

After we took some pictures and thanked the staff for taking time out of their incredibly busy day, we headed off to the market with Pathfinder staff. We arrived at a bustling food market, where vendors shouted energetically. As we walked by, many of the people jokingly yelled “mzungu”, meaning white person. People seemed to be fascinated by our visit, wanting to take pictures, or with one man, wanting to propose marriage in return for an entire cart of tomatoes.

After the staff finished their food shopping, we headed to a more touristy market. Some of us managed to hone our bartering skills to get the best deals on animal print pants and canvas paintings. We headed back to the hotel before dinner, and some of us were able to squeeze in a quick nap.

We hopped in the van to a restaurant to meet all the Pathfiner staff we had met earlier that morning. After some delicious juice, we had a buffet-style Tanzanian cuisine dinner. Mr. Kahrl encouraged us to interact with staffs members, so we each sat alternating with staff. The woman I sat next to told me all about how she got into Pathfinder International. We also got to ask her for recommendations for our trip to Zanzibar. She, along with everyone else we talked to, said going swimming in the ocean was a must. I also sat near a little boy named, Benny, who told us all about how he loves Justin Bieber.

With one last round of thank-you’s and pictures, we headed back to our hotel for some much-needed sleep.

It is absolutely crazy to think this was only day one. Cannot wait for tomorrow...

-Lyra

The other group had the chance to visit a family planning consultation area during our time at the clinic where we saw a procedure room for IUD insertions. We were all amazed and a little terrified as a nurse pulled out the tools involved with IUDs from a menacing looking measuring device for the uterus to a speculum. The entire group erupted into laughter as the nurses used different body parts to model the process, from their own fists to their heads. Their enthusiasm and determination for us to understand their passion made the process enjoyable and engaging. As we left the building, we passed a young women who was entering the procedure room and one of the pathfinder employees explained that she was about to undergo the process we just learned about. She then asked if anyone would like to observe, and we all laughed, believing that she was poking fun at our astonished reactions. Once we realized that this was a serious offer, I raised my hand. I waited in the office for a moment while she checked with the patient to see if they were okay with an observer, and then she ushered me into the room, leaving me alone with two nurses and the young woman. I quietly shrank into the back corner unacknowledged and watched as the nurse explained how the process would work, and then did a series of arm raises that I later learned was to check for masses in her breasts. As soon as the nurses began the procedure, they waved me over, saying that I couldn’t possibly see from all the way over there. I slowly inched closer until one of the nurses finally pointed to a spot a foot behind them and told me exactly where I could stand. Now with an unobstructed view about two feet from patient, they began to talk me through what they were doing as they measured out her uterus to size the device correctly, inserted the IUD and then finished by swabbing the cervix to check for cervical cancer. The entire process took about ten minutes, and at the end, I graciously thanked the nurses for letting me have this opportunity and then stepped out to rejoin the group
- Milena​