Home Sweet Home

June 13th


So after about a week we have finally settled in. We know our way around, we are speaking a little more of the language, we know the walking shortcuts, the cool places to go and we are starting to make friends.


The rest of the week went well. Only a few hiccups and frustrations - to be expected really. The big challenge of the week was picking one village for start up. You see the problem was two local women’s groups from different areas wanted to be the ones to start the kitchen. It is amazing that there is such interest but we only have funding for one kitchen at the moment. So after many back and forth discussions the location was decided – Ngaramtoni – of course the furthest location possible from where we live. So it looks like we will be getting in shape this summer too haha. The women’s group in Darjab Mbili where we live are still very interested in opening a kitchen and are looking themselves for potential funders – who knows maybe we’ll open two kitchens haha.


With a location solidified we needed to find an actual store front where the yogurt could be made, packaged and sold as well as women to operate the kitchen. Through meetings and discussions this past week it looks like we have six interested women and a few possibilities for a location. The women have been tasked with finding a selection of locations for reasonable rent and in the coming week we will meet again and pick a physical location. Once the location is finalized we will be shopping for equipment to get this up and running! Below two pictures of the main street and surrounding area in Ngaramtoni.










Our biggest road block right now is finding a lab and lab technician. On our arrival we had a Doctor in mind who we assumed already knew all about the project and was ready to receive and culture the probiotic. Unfortunately however, as absolutely wonderful as our contact is, he is not accustomed to probiotics and is not able to culture the stain himself. To add to this, Marta and I are certainly not science students so we are not able to offer advice. He has offered usage of this lab, although we are still unsure if it is equipped properly for this project. We also still need a lab technician who is able to deal directly with the probiotic. This will be our biggest challenge moving forward.


As our first week in Arusha came to end, things were looking very good despite some immediate roadblocks – nothing we can’t handle though. Saturday we met some fellow North Americans and British students living in Arusha for a few months, volunteering in various capacities. We all met that evening to watch the USA vs. England World Cup Game. I must say it is quite exciting being in Africa for the World Cup. Although we are not where all the action is happening, the energy that exists here in Tanzania is so much fun to be a part of. Obviously being a member of the common wealth, us Canadians were forced to cheer for England, much to our American neighbours chagrin. It was a fantastic evening despite the tied results of the game. Below, Marta and I with our new friend from Queens University cheering for England.Tonight we just arrived home from the most wonderful dinner with the Doctor who is helping us with the project and his family. He is a very well respected man within the Arusha community and he is just so lovely to be around. His family is just as fantastic and it was so nice to have a family dinner. We talked to him about the project and then watched some of the world cup game. I felt completely at home and a part of the family. A wonderful night, to end our first week in Arusha!