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 sky.

Thursday was Ruth’s 18th birthday! The entire expedition team worked at the Marangu site today, building a home for Elisoni. The access to this site is more difficult than on Mama Kanza's worksite, and so we are able to help the fundis (local builders) transport the building materials up the hill to the site of the new house. We had some music on site – Miss Loudon’s ‘tunes’ seem to have been approved by the team, and lots of singing and dancing made the time pass quickly! We had a wee cake for Ruth on site, and a larger cake at night as part of the celebrations, which included a stop at a hotel on the way down the road for a quick soda.

Friday saw us all return to Marangu, where we had 250 breeze block bricks to shift up the hill (once all the beasties and furry caterpillars had been brushed off!). To Ben and Richard’s surprise – it only took us an hour and 20 mins to breeze through this (no pun intended!), which gave us time to shower and head into Moshi.We visited Nakumatt (the local supermarket), iCurio (the souvenier shop) and then Union Café where we enjoyed some coffee, cake, and wifi (almost crashing their entire network in the process!). 

Friday night was a time to sort the many donations that have been brought over. Some of the donated items will be given to the families we are building homes for, some will go to the children’s homes we have visited, and others will be given to the ELCT (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania) and TAWREF (Tanzania Women Research Foundation) to be distributed to those who need them most. Thank you again for all that has been given – it was an amazing sight to see it all piled up!

Saturday was an emotional day for Miss Loudon as we headed to Fuka – the site she first visited in 2012 with Vine Trust. This is an amazing place, with a school, vocational courses, and a children’s home. They support 350 pupils through primary education, all taught in English to give them the best possible chance of continuing their studies in secondary school. Ednant, the headmaster, explained to us that of these 350 pupils, 313 are classed as ‘orphans or vulnerable children’. School is a constant in these children’s lives and allows the local parish church to identify and support the families who need the most help. 

We did some maintance work on the home – Miss Dickinson leading a team who mastered the art of ‘filling’ in the walls. The rest of us painted the inside of the home – using rollers and watered down paint. As you can imagine it was pretty messy, so others had the job of wiping up the floor as we went! In the process of mopping up some paint, Laura’s roller fell on Miss Loudon’s head and back! So, if she arrives back from Tanzania with grey hair – it might not all be attributed to spending two weeks with these children! Mr Donlin and Mr Walker joined in a many-a-side football game – with a few others following their lead!

We’ve had a quiz night tonight, and most of us are choosing to go to church in the morning before we head to the gate where many start climbing Kili. Two other schools arrive over the next few days, so we're looking forward to welcoming them!

Its dawning on the pupils that this time next week they will be home! Hopefully they will make the most of their last days here in Tanzania and prepare many of the stories to tell you when they return.

We will hopefully manage one more update before our safari - we will do our best!