Expedition blog from Perth Grammar School, Arran High School and Carluke High School Given that we head off on safari at 6am tomorrow, this may well be the last blog from our expedition before we leave Tanzania on Friday night to return to Scotland on Saturday. Sunday saw most of the group opt to attend an English-language at the church linked to Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), the local hospital in Moshi. KCMC is the second biggest hospital in Tanzania, and a major teaching hospital in this area, so many medical students from across the African continent choose to study here. The 2 hour…

Expedition blog from Perth Grammar School, Arran High School and Carluke High School It's been a very busy couple of days, so I'm afraid we haven't had much time to update our blog! On Wednesday, the teams switched back to the worksites we first visited on day 1, and we were immediately able to see the progress that had been made. After a busy day of home-building, we enjoyed en evening meal at Deli Chez, and got to experience ‘Moshi at night’ with all the hustle and bustle, as well as that ‘tropical’ night time noise - the buzz of the insects - and the star filled…

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…

Expedition blog from Perth Grammar School, Arran High School and Carluke High School A busy couple of days in Tanzania has seen us visit the offices of TAWREF (Tanzania Women Research Foundation), one of Vine Trust's local partner organisations, for a presentation on the community development work they undertake in Tanzania and a spot of shopping in their charity shop, while the remainder of our time has been spent getting our hands dirty on the home-building worksites. While at the offices of TAWREF, we heard more about the two families for whom we are building new homes. All of the team have spent time working on…

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…