Monday was a productive and emotional last day on our worksites. It has been wonderful to see the houses become homes over the past week or so. The team working on Efata’s site spent the day carrying water and rocks to the site for the fundis, learning new Swahili phrases and even being proposed to! On James’ site, the volunteers supported the fundis as they dug a large hole in the garden to provide soil to complete the floor foundations, enabling the fundis to begin pouring cement for a sturdy finish. Early on Tuesday morning, the T20 team set off on safari! We arrived at Tarangire National Park mid-morning and, within…

Our Robertson Trust #TanzaniaTwenty team has had a very productive couple of days, with plenty of rewarding moments. In light of the challenges faced in building Efata's new house, the full T20 team came together for one day to support the fundis (local builders) in the construction of the family's home. It was wonderful to share time together as a full expedition group on the worksite and, through strong team work in collecting water, passing bricks along the (very long) volunteer chain, and even  attempting to cement bricks, a huge leap in progress was made. Efata lives with her husband, supporting 5 young children - aged 3 to 15, with 12 year old twins, Noela…

We often hear stories of families in Africa walking miles each day to collect water, but sometimes this can feel like a distant problem to those of us living in the UK. Yesterday, for our team of Robertson Trust volunteers working on the site of Efata’s new home, this familiar story became a reality.  When mixing the cement for the building's secure foundations, many litres of water are required to create the appropriate consistency. The closest water source was a 30 minute walk away, through sunflower and maize plantations, over dry river beds, and up a steep hill via a twisty, red dirt track. The team spent most of the…

Jambo! The first few days of our Robertson Trust Tanzania Twenty (T20) Home-Building Expedition in Tanzania have been very busy and lots of fun! On Sunday, we visited Moshi Christian Children's Centre, where we were greeted by some beautiful singing and dancing, and enjoyed playing games with the children. Monday was our first day on the home-building worksites. We divided into two teams, with half of the group travelling to the site of James Chonjo and his brother Fabian's new home, while the others broke ground on a new house for Efata and her family. We also visited our local partners, Tanzania Women Research Foundation…

Vine Trust volunteer, Dr Jenny Langdon, speaks to BBC Radio Berkshire's Anne Diamond about the Jubilee Hope programme on Lake Victoria, Tanzania. Listen to Jenny's interview: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04hd0qm

Like me, you may have worked on board Amazon Hope in Peru and then booked on to Jubilee Hope, Tanzania, with a sense of curiosity about how the programme could work in a different country and culture. I was setting out with a friend who had been with me to Amazon Hope twice before, and 2 others who were completely new to Vine Trust. We had been informed that it would be different to, and much busier than, Amazon Hope. The staff gave us a really good introduction on our first evening on board, although we were all a bit…