Friday 19th October

The team arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport after an enjoyable flight, despite the early start. We practiced 'Jambo Bwana' as we made our way to Umoja Hostel. We enjoyed our first Tanzanian meal of chips, rice and stew before heading to bed for a much needed sleep.

 

Saturday 20th October

On Saturday morning we started with a breakfast of pancakes and egg and then attended our in-country orientation with Louise & Ben to go over cultural points and our health & safety induction.

After lunch we made our way to one of the two sites we'll be building on over the next two weeks. We will be supporting the construction of a home for Novat (15) and his brother Sila They have lost both their parents, who are buried close to the site where the new home will be built. They currently depend on relatives and neighbours to support them.

Novat and his brother were at school when we arrived, as they attend school until 3pm on Saturdays, but we were able to meet their uncle and a neighbour who were very gracious and excited to see the work begin.

We met a number of the local children and were challenged to a game of football. After a mere 15 minutes, our team were already sweaty messes and ready for a shower.

We finished the afternoon by a fascinating wander around the food markets in Moshi. We were greeted by exciting new sights and smells, as well as many friendly Tanzanians with whom we were happy to practice our newly-learned Swahili greetings. We walked past stalls full of ripe tomatoes, green mandarins, dried fish, unknown exotic fruit and flip flops recycled from old car tyres.

Another dinner of stew, spaghetti, rice and fish later, we were able to catch some live local music close to the hostel. We headed to bed excited for the morning, as we had been invited as local guests to attend the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Lutheran parish at Nkwarungo Machame, close to Machame gate of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Sunday 21st October

The group had the opportunity thanks to local Coordinator Ben, whose father is a local retired pastor, to attend a religious service to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the arrival of some European Missionaries to found the parish at Nkwarungo. There were almost 5000 attendees at the outdoor service which was taking place around 45 minutes from Moshi and it was quite spectacular to see so many people, including many European visitors, in brightly coloured dresses and shirts. Richard was regretting not wearing the shirt and shorts combo that he had purchased the night before!

After the procession we were shown to our seats which were in the front row with a great view of the service. Many of us made a good attempt at singing the hymns; Mohammed probably managed best given his Arabic background.

After the service, which was held mainly in Swahili, we had our packed lunch in the garden of a nearby restaurant before heading to Machame, which is one of the gateways for people climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. It was interesting to see and was made more exciting since two members of our group are climbing it at the end of the trip – good luck Richard and Ian!

The bus journey home gave us a great opportunity to view the local scenery, enjoyed quite a sing song with Anita (who is very good) or catch 40 winks.  Beware on this one, there is a rumour that someone is building up a photo gallery of the group napping!

In the evening we had our first meal out at a local restaurant, Deli Chez, which was a short walk from our hotel. The food choice was excellent and delicious. We ended the meal singing happy birthday to Ben who had celebrated his 30th birthday a few days earlier. Anita had very kindly managed to arrange and sneak along a birthday cake for him which was enjoyed by all.

Monday was going to be a big day, with our first day on the sites, so early to bed was the order of the day and everyone was looking forward to getting started on site.

The team must be getting used to the hostel because on the bus Gary said he was looking forward to getting home – meaning the Umoja Hostel.

Monday 22nd October

Up at 7am, after taking the ice-bucket challenge (well, the shower had no hot water this morning but at least it had water!) we were set for getting to the sites.

After a quick breakfast Louise told us what groups we were being split into and which site we had been allocated for day 1. It is good that the groups are going to be mixed up over the next 10 days which will give everyone a chance to buddy up with different people.

Before we arrived at the site we visited the TAWREF office and were made to feel really welcome and very humble. The team there introduced themselves as did the Highland Spring Group and we were mutually delighted to share our stories of visits from the royal family over the last few years; Princess Anne as patron of the Vine Trust visited in 2014 and Her Majesty The Queen visited Highland Spring last year. We had a chance to buy some great souvenirs (lots of sarongs and elephant pants so a fashion show is in the offing). Then it was time for the groups to go their separate ways.

Group 1 headed to the nearby site and were welcomed by Novat and his family. After welcomes and a visit from some local dignitaries and pastors to blues the site, it was down to business at last. We cleared the site of rubble then after lunch we worked really well together to dig the trenches for the foundations that the fundis had marked out. That was the hardest part of the day and working in teams with a buddy helped get the trenches ready for the rocks which would form a crucial part of the foundations. When it came to moving the rocks from the pile 15 yards away we established a great “chain” and moved hundreds of rocks and boulders in a very short space of time. That was the tasks done for the day and it was gratifying because we worked side by side with the Novat and his family to start the foundation for this life changing opportunity for him and his brother, Sila. We were heading home to the hostel for (hopefully) a shower and a nice meal but we were all conscious that this was not the case for our helpers today.

Group 2 took the minibus along the hour journey to their site; the last 10 minutes was up some pretty narrow tracks into more of a tropical area.  We met Haimid who showed us his home which he shares with his brother Munguatosha.  This was a single room hut beside where their cow is kept.  We were introduced to the fundis and Francesca, and Rehema, relatives who were helping us today and a little sing song together was a fun start to our day’s work.  The task today was to level off the steep area behind the brothers' new home including cutting down some banana trees; we learnt the word for “timber”…”mbao”!  We got busy with pick-axes to loosen the ground and break up rocks then worked our way across the site to bring the earth to the bottom.  It was a pretty steep area!  But working in chain gangs for some of the day helped speed this up.  We filled lots of buckets with earth then passed these along to the end of the line and created a huge mound ready to be levelled out on the next day.  Then before we knew it we were back in our minibus and heading back to the hostel.  A few of the team grabbed a quick nap on the journey.

 

Tuesday 23rd October

Day 2 on site and the groups were mixed up a bit. Towards the end of the hour long drive the group heading to Site 2, for Munguatosha,  were met by a closed road on the hill to the site so a slight diversion was required. What a road! The mud had made it very difficult for anything other than 4 wheel drive vehicles to pass so the large lorries struggled to make it and eventually our mini bus had to be abandoned and a steep half-mile walk ensued. Fortunately for Anita, Fiona and Gary, who were leading the charge, they hitched a lift on the back of a small truck which took them all of 30 yards before sliding into a ditch! If only Anita had gotten as friendly with the JCB driver on the way up as she did on the way down – a whole new career for you Anita, you handled the digger very well!

Site 2 is much smaller than site 1 and is set right in the middle of the “jungle” surrounded on 2 sides by banana trees. Fiona, Julie, Val, Tom and Les, who had been on site 1 the previous day, got quite a shock. We met the two boys, Ahaimidiwe (Haimid) and Munguatosha, who we were building the house for and emotions ran high as we went through the site blessing and the aunts and uncles of the boys referred to the group as the “new family” of the orphaned boys. The family started the process for the day with the first dig.

It was a hard but rewarding day with a huge pile of rocks to be moved 150 yards from the bottom of the hill to the site and the foundation trenches to be dug. Ground conditions are much tougher at site 2, with lots of roots and rocks and the tropical rain certainly didn’t aid the process. The “chain gang” attempted a game of Chinese Whispers to pass the time but the loud voices of some of the team prevented that from working! At the end of the day the sense of achievement was great and the group ending up working longer than expected to move the rocks up the chain. Fiona kept us motivated counting down from the last 50 handovers.

The team had lunch in the cowshed due to tropical rain. We were all happy to share our lunch boxes with the local team members to be given to the family but as Kenny kindly pointed out when Les offered up his banana, we were in the middle of a banana plantation so the eggs would probably be more appreciated! Les had slipped his boiled egg into his jacket pocket for the journey home and was gutted to see Fiona using the jacket for a cushion to sit on when the rain stopped after lunch; yes, she had flattened it. Les didn’t fancy it but it didn’t go to waste, being his contribution to the local diet pack.

There was time for a quick stop on the way home to see the oldest tree in Moshi which is the 200 year old Baobab tree which was quite the sight.

Site 1

While on the way to the site some of us within todays group were excited to see the progress that had been made. Many of the previous group had commented that the foundations had been dug and the site was much more advanced than site 2. Upon arrival the weather had changed, it was wet and overcast and conditions were cooler but much better to work in.

We started our day by forming a chain and moving bricks closer to the site of the house. Rich commented on how open and accessible the site was versus site 2 which he and many thought was a little claustrophobic. We worked well as a team, and progress was evident. The weather did change, and it was time to put our team Trespass rain jackets to good use. We continued and started mixing wet concrete, firstly transporting buckets of gravel, followed by sand and then finally water, all transported in buckets in yet another chain, quite often to the sound of our melodic tones “Don’t Worry About A Ting” keeping our spirits up. We then saw the first round of the blocks we had moved now being placed to form the foundations and took our turns cementing them in place, not quite qualified bricklayers but we definitely passed our first test.

That took us to lunch when we had the best packed lunch yet; cold burgers, but boy were they tasty. Billy then had a well deserved 40 winks and we couldn’t miss the opportunity for a team photo that he had no idea was happening. Gemma and Rich then had their daily plank off with some blocks on their backs for a different level of difficulty, and although Gemma is small, she is mighty, poor Rich is still a bad loser, better luck tomorrow!!

The afternoon was then spent doing more chains and passing blocks and cement, and as we were finishing for the day, we all had the opportunity to do our handprints in the foundations with our names.

The children then came to site and we spent time playing and getting to know them and used the time as another photo opportunity. The affection from the local families and the children is infectious even though Sandra nearly took the wee boy out with a piece of fruit that had fallen from the tree, we used it as a ball, but her aim was a bit too accurate while it bounced off the top of his head, but he found it amusing as did we.

As we were ready to leave the dirt was so compacted on our boots so we all queued up to be treated to a luxury boot cleaning service with a machete, maybe need to consider that on tomorrows risk assessment ! we then bid our farewell to the Fundi’s for the day had our short drive home for a well-deserved shower and all felt a great sense of achievement and a great team effort. 

Our second night out at a local Mexican-style restaurant was a cheery affair being seranaded with some singing from Maggie, Anita and Ben at one end of the table and plenty of happy chat around the room. The team had an early night after a very physical day.

Wednesday 24th October

The groups were split again today with 12 of us heading to site 2 and 6 heading to site 1. After a very rocky journey that felt more like a rollercoaster ride than a drive, the lucky 12 arrived to site 2. For Billy, Maggie, Nicola M and Julie (newbies to site 2!) it was quite an eye- opener as the sites are very different. Site 2 is in the middle of a banana plantation so feels like a rainforest – especially as we had a few tropical showers over the course of the day – and the rain jackets kindly donated by TRESPASS came in handy (apart from Rich who forgot his back in Scotland!)

We started off the day by passing boulders along the narrow dirt track to the site, working efficiently in our chain-gang with one end of the group grooving along to Louise’s Ibiza dance tunes and the other end of the chain-gang having an old-school sing song. 'Ten Green Bottles', 'Delilah', 'American Pie' and 'Thank You for the Music' kept us going. Not sure what the local Fundi’s thought, mind you!

After a short refreshment break, we headed to the long mud-track to move sand and breeze blocks up the 150+ yard hill between the road and the site. We strategically placed ourselves along the track – using our trusty chain-gang formation. The local girls helped out at the start of the chain, working in flip flops in comparison to our strong walking boots (which are all now covered in muck!). While the work was tough the team worked well together and were delighted when ‘lunch’ was called!

We thoroughly enjoyed lunch and happily gave our leftovers to the fundis and local helpers. Gemma and Rich had the daily plank-off. After 2 minutes, Rich, ever the gentleman, called a draw and magnanimous Gemma agreed. A draw was called but we all know who the real winner was…

After a back crack from Rich for Maggie and Gemma, and Les inadvertently pushing Maggie into a banana bush, we were revitalised and ready for the afternoon! Another few hours of lugging sand and breeze blocks up the mud hill, and a power run up the hill by Ian and Laura (Ian in training for Kilimanjaro), we all congregated as a team to see the progress of the site. The fundi’s had done a grand job of laying the outline foundations of the house and the team enjoyed congratulating each other over the progress and everyone working hard together!

We all left achy but happy with what we achieved today – and the daily napping commenced on the bus journey home (the ‘napping’ photos should definitely not see the light of day!) 

On Site 1, it was the first time on site for Gary, Kenny, Anita and Nichola G. We certainly enjoyed the shorter drive, joined by Sandra and Mohammed. We started the day by flattening the earth in each of the rooms, which consisted of a various number of Swahili and English dances – ending with the conga. This resulted in some confused and amused looks from the locals.

During one of our well-deserved water breaks, one of the workers on site who lived nearby treated us to some homemade Banana beer, which was delicious – Mohammed was a big fan. 

The majority of the day was spent pick-axing and shovelling the earth to clear an area for the family beside their new house - back-breaking work. We finished the day with a walk around the village, guided by Johnson, our 11 year old volunteer who worked like a trooper all day. The house was in a great state by the end of the day. It is really starting to look like a home and not just a few trenches. It will be great to see how the house progresses.

The evening finished with a meal in the hostel and some of the group having a games night in the dining room.

 The rain is due to get even more monsoon-like in the next few days, but we are keen to see how much progress we can make on the houses!

Thursday October 25th

Torrential rain this morning changed the plans and we weren’t able to make the difficult journey to Site 2 so 12 members of the group headed to site 1 in their waterproofs. It was great for those that hadn’t been to site 1 since the first day to see how much progress had been made; the walls are up to windowsill level so the vision of a real home is one step closer. It reminded us how much progress there was still to be made on site 2. Hopefully we are able to get there soon but the weather forecast isn’t looking great.

We spent a tough few hours chain-ganging boulders and breeze blocks to make the foundations for the yard in front of the house and floors for the 3 rooms. Fortunately eagle-eyed Julie spotted a spider in the bricks which was the biggest spider we had seen in the wild – Ben later told us it could kill if it had bitten us so the group are eternally grateful to Julie!

The power cut when we arrived back at the hostel soaked to the skin was bad timing, so it was cold showers for many. 

After lunch back at the hostel most of the group headed to a completed house and participate in a celebratory service since this was the 100th house that the Vine Trust have built in partnership with Tawref. It was a very humbling experience and we got to look around the house which is the home of 10 year old Eva Mary and her grandmother Rose. The house was surprisingly roomy and a real improvement from the broken down building next door which was their previous home.

Gemma and Fiona had a few gifts of toys and a shirt that they gave Eva Mary and Nichola G gave her a piggy-back ride on the way back from the stream where the family do their washing. Nichola then gave Eva Mary her rain jacket which I’m sure she will grow into.

Richard later reflected that what struck him was that many of the people we are seeing are just existing; back home we have opportunities to fill our days in so many ways but over here, without electricity or clean water, it is just about existing and surviving – this made our short power cut at the hostel earlier feel very trivial.

The weather is still poor and we are not going to get on the sites tomorrow. A meal in the hostel this evening then some games and a chilled night for most. Some of the team are feeling a bit under the weather and there was a general tense feeling about the group – probably the weather and concern over lack of progress on site 2. An early night ready for the school and orphanage visits in the morning.

Today (Friday 26th) we will be visiting Fuka school and Sarah Hardie's house, then going to see the children at Kimashuku home once they have returned from school. The weather looks like it should dry up from this afternoon onwards, so we're hoping to be back on worksites tomorrow!

Friday 26th October

Unfortunately we weren't able to get on to either of the sites today due to the heavy rain, and we are a few trees team members down due to illness. We headed off to Fuka to the school / children's home. There are 400 pupils who attend the school, including some from the home which is built within the school grounds. We were welcomed by the headmaster who has been at the school for 10 years. He told us about how the school was established and the part that the church and is congregation has to play. The large unfinished church next door has been a work in progress for 7 years and as donations come in, more of it is completed.

After an incredibly enthusiastic welcome by over 400 school pupils we introduced ourselves then headed for a tour of Sarah Hardie's house. This is an orphanage which was built in the name of a young Scottish girl who tragically died of cancer age 11.

We had a fantastic hour playing games with a large group of school children. Kenny was a superb children’s entertainer and his “I’ve Got The Ball” game stuck in our heads all night.

After a short rest at the hostel we headed off to Kimashuku which is another home built by Vine Trust volunteers. This had quiet a different vibe to it and meeting most of the 23 kids (6 boys and 17 girls) was such a pleasure. Their English was really good and the singing at the welcome in the orphanage library made more than just Val shed a tear. Our “Walk 500 Miles” got a rousing response. Kenny was back in the role of children’s entertaine was on top form again and Gary got the opportunity to do his missing thumb trick with the kids – only two children left in Moshi to see that one! - LOL

Anita got everyone singing the trip anthem “Every Little Things Gonna Be Alright” and showed the hope and ambition with the children in the orphanage. We sincerely hope everything is going to be alright for them but it is going to be a tough life.

In the evening we ate at the Keys hotel and the live band went down well, as did the pool table.

Everyone is looking forward to getting on site 2 tomorrow and keeping their fingers crossed for a dry day.

Saturday 27th October

A bright start to the day and the whole group headed off to site 2. What a shock we got at the extent of the progress since Wednesday; the walls were up to waist height. We hadn’t quite believed that this house would get built and the space felt much bigger than we could have imagined. Really please for the boys and it was great to see Munguatosha smile when we arrived, he has really come to life since the first day we met him.

It was a tough shift moving more than 200 breeze blocks which can weigh up to 20kg. The “chain” worked really efficiently and we got the bricks moved the 150 yards up hill by lunch time. A quick packed lunch of finger sandwich and the usual boiled egg and it was back to work. We had to move the bricks through the trees and onto the building site. This was hard but reasonably quick then a final hour on “chaining” the sand up the hill. By 3pm we were ready to call it a day. The tiredness affects you after a while and everything feels so much heavier.

Les and Laura had the opportunity to lay some cement and a brick, not sure they will make the final cut of the house but it was good to get an opportunity to physically build part of the new home.

Mama Luka, aka Anita, has established a real bond with the locals and they managed to get her into a some very fetching headgear.

Sunday 28th October

The nicest morning so far weather-wise and a great view of Kilimanjaro from the grounds of the hostel.

Early start for church for most of the group whilst the rest went off to do some early shopping. The church service was held at our local representative Ben’s church. The church is attached to a university and hospital and our 2 hour service was in English. Really uplifting with some great voices in the choir and well supported by our group. The area around the church was a lovely suburban area and everyone going about was well dresses. The contrast from the muddy area around our hostel and the building sites was immense.

Back to the hostel by 10.30am to pick up the rest of the team then of to the Chagga Caves. The bus journey took around 90 minutes and was back into the hills of Marangu area. The guide painted a great picture of life over the centuries and as he told them in a hut that had been restored to act as s live museum. Liasons before marriage resulted in a particularly harrowing double execution involving a yuka plant made into a spear and forced through the hearts of the indiscreet young couple. The story around the caves was fascinating and the journey into them scared both Julie and Richard who fled back up at a pace not seen since Usain Bolt retired. Richard did face his fears and returned.

We then learned how coffee beans were roasted and we were about to grind our own beans to make coffee and a mixture of coffee powder, condensed milk and sugar which was delicious. The souvenir shop was one of the better ones and a lot of purchases were made. Everyine was pretty tired and at 4.30pm we headed back to the hostel, a few slept but the chat around the bus made me realise how interesting we had all found the day.

We had a short hour between arriving back at the hostel and a special dinner. Richard and Les managed to use the time to experience a local TukTuk and grab some essential from the supermarket. The £1.25 bill made them re-consider using Uber in the future!

We then had a great evening in the hostel with a meal to thank the local helpers and TAWREF. After a chicken dinner which was made from fresh chicken (Les can testify to this since he saw the chef take the live chicken to the kitchen for a “walk” early this morning) the group had a couple of short speeches and everyone was thanked.

Louise thanked the Highland Spring team on behalf of the locals and Les responded with a special thanks to Billy, Sandra and Maggie for all of the organising over the last year. He closed with the thought that whilst we couldn’t change the world we could change the world of the boys we are building the homes for; a thought that will stick with him.

The team from TAWREF presented the Highland Spring team with a small memento. It was great that Maggie, Ben, Anita and Val entered the spirit of the Halloween season and wore some costumes. Ben really suite the tights in his pumpkin outfit!

After some dooking for apples, which even some of team Highland Spring were bamboozled with, we had a great Strip the Willow led by a kilted Kenny and his dancing partner Laura.

Another early night to get ready for our last day on site. Monday will be a packed day on site, with some last minute shopping before we head on safari Tuesday and Wednesday!

Monday the 29th of October

Last day on site and 11 group members headed to site 2 with Elli and 7 went to site 1 with Louise. Les and Kenny managed to be allocated the executive car transfer so a very comfortable journey for them although they were a bit nervous at being locked in the back with the front windows open and the keys in the ignition while the driver got left them at a busy garage!

The guys at the nearby site 1 were on the job by 9.15am and were concreting all day, a tough but worthwhile job. The team at site two didn’t get on-site until 10.30 and it was more passing sand up the long hill to the building site, a repetitive but necessary task. The work finished on site 2 at 1.20am and after a few site photos to show the wooden roof edges being put in place and some photos with Munguatosha the younger brother, it was back to Moshi. The group managed to stop for a quick drink at a garden bar on the outskirts of Moshi which was appreciated by all.

Back to Moshi and most met up at the Union Café for coffee and cake before heading back to the hostel to get ready for dinner.

 

This is the last official day for building and the group had the option to pay for a two day safari including a night at a nice hotel. All of the team, excluding Richard and Ian, who took the ever so slightly more expensive and tiring optionof climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, signed up for the safari. After the evening meal at Deli Chez and a few words from Ian and Richard followed by an awards ceremony hosted by Nichola G and Laura (awards for all) we had Safari orientation given by Ben and Louise which got everyone in the mood for a change of scenery.

A careful walk through the dark streets and back to the hostel with an early night for everyone. We are all looking forward to a change of accommodation for a night before we return to Moshi and a final farewell to the sites and the families we are building for.

Tuesday 30th - Safari

The group minus Richard and Ian left the hostel just after 6am for the 5 hour journey to Tarangire Game Reserve. We were split into 3 spacious jeeps and the long journey passed quickly and one of the jeeps stopped for a picture with some young Masai warriors, blacked faces and white lines – pretty scary! After a few stops we arrived at the game reserve around 11am.

The scenery was fantastic and we very quickly lifted the roofs in our jeep and were standing on the seats to see what animals we could see. Through the day we saw beautiful giraffes, zebras, elephants, monkeys, ostriches and many more. We had lunch at a picnic area over-looking the reserve. It was all we could do to stop the monkeys stealing our lunches and we almost managed, fortunately Les didn’t fancy his burger!!

Arrived at Eileen’s Trees Lodges around 6.40pm. Quick, but hot and pressurized shower then off to dinner. Lovely meal and nice atmosphere. The 4 poster beds were also a treat but we knew we were getting up very early to leave the hotel at 6.30am. A few drinks by some around the fire pit on the terrace outside the main part of the hotel then off to bed.

Wednesday 31st - Safari

It was another early start with a nice breakfast at Eileen’s Trees at 6am before heading off to the Ngorongoro reserve at 6.30am.

The scenery in the crater was quiet different from yesterdays reserve and we started by a climb to the top of the hill to look into the crater – great view, it felt like we were at the top of the world.

Another amazing day and after seeing a black rhino, hippos, wart-hogs and many other creatures we were rewarded with a really close view of 3 lions – truly spectacular. A great day with our picnic boxes enjoyed over-looking the hippos watering hole.

The journey home started around 1pm but we didn’t get far before one of the jeeps suffered a puncture. The 7 girls in the jeep were impressed that they didn’t need to get out of the jeep for the guys to change the tyre, everyone must have lost weight on the trip! The same couldn’t be said when the boys’ jeep suffered a flat about an hour out of Moshi on a very busy, pitch black, road. The drivers did an F1 Pitstop tyre change and we were back on our way. We arrived back at the hostel around 8.45pm and had a late supper.

 

Thursday 1st November

Last day and we have a fairly busy one planned. We all headed off to site 2 after buying some gifts for each of the sites. We had settled on a gas stove for each house together with some rice and sugar. When we arrived at site 2 we were greeted by many of the helpers and Munguatosha. The house is really coming on and after some photos and more than a few tears we said our goodbyes and headed to site 1 for more of the same. The family members at site 1 were just as grateful for our help and gifts.

The group then split in two so that some could do some last minute shopping and others could head to the hostel. Fiona and Les jumped out of the mini-bus at the supermarket and grabbed a Tut Tut (small 3 wheeled taxi) back to the Panoma hotel next to the hostel for a final drink. They were joined fresh out of another Tut Tut by Sandra and Julie then Billy, Laura and Tom made it as well. Back at the hostel everyone did their last minute packing and had a quick meal before the bus left for the airport at 5.30pm. Hard to believe it is almost over, a year of planning and fund-raising, two weeks of hard work and unique cultural experiences we are heading back home – changed a little I suspect and a real sense of achievement – Anita aka Mama Luka managed a few bars of “everything’s gonna be alright” – I sincerely hope it is.

The Highland Spring Team Tanzania would like to thank everyone who has supported them over the last year including family, friends, colleagues, businesses and individuals for their donations to help fund raise and particularly the Vine Trust and the team at TAWREF for supporting them locally before and during this memorable trip.

Hakuna Matata!