Mon, 22-June-2026

Site: 1 (Ellys site)

Today we went to our worksite for a full day where we passed buckets of sand and stone along in a chain, which was sort of physically tiring, but gave us an emotional and moral boost as we were working with the local Fundis to help the family. The way we kept our moral high was by playing music, dancing and singing along, which kept people and the kids in the worksite smiling and laughing. Another way we lifted our moods was by naming the rocks and buckets; even though it was silly, it kept us smiling with people we never thought we would. We gained friendships with people that we had not been very close with before this trip.

We saw Mount Kilimanjaro unexpectedly, we were all starstruck by the beauty of the mountain which today stood out especially because we have not seen the Kilimanjaro yet in our trip so far.

The best part of the day was seeing the young kids from the neighbourhood stopping by the worksite to help us. Even though they are so young and most of the time did not understand what we were communicating, they were happy to be there. They generously gave us their time to support our site, we found their kindness truly inspiring.

Shout out to Erin who was suffering from a stomach issue, which caused vomiting, she was able to bring herself to the site. And also Rauridh who worked really hard while also helping the teammates.

-Vimashi and Matthew

Site: 2

We carried a lot of sand and played with the Watoto'sWe spun them around by their arms which they loved. As a team we switched roles of shovelling and bucketing to stop of from getting too tired. We also made sure to have lots of water breaks sopeople weren't getting dehydrated.

and then went back to Barea, had dinner and washed clothes.

Shoutout to Matthew because he carried lots of buckets of sand while also holding the Watoto's hand.

-Cobey and Ben

          

Sun-21-June-2026

The day started early in the morning getting ready to leave for the church ceremony, singing songs, listening the the preachers and saying prayers. I really enjoyed the church ceremony, i was looking forward to it all week and really enjoyed the singing. During the prayers there were many people with tears in their eyes which made me understand how much God means to the local people of Moshi. The whole experience was different to Scotland but amazing, I learned a lot from the preacher especially about how important Father's Day is to them. After the ceremony we came back to Berea to get ready to leave for the mines, the mines were beautiful and surreal. We then went directly to the Chagga caves after the mines, here we learnt a bit about the history of the Chagga people, then came back to Berea for a late dinner. 

-Matthew

Sat, 20-June-2026

The day started with a birthday celebration for my 18th birthday in the catering area of Berea. We then travelled to Darajani Primary School and worked with the local community to plant a bunch of trees to provide fruit and shade in the school grounds and meeting a lot of excited Watoto's. We took turns pickaxing and shovelling holes together, and filling water buckets for them. The Watoto's whilst very adorable tried to engage in the physical lifting and work which was unsafe for them, so we were challenged with trying to keep them away from the worksite and out of harms way. To combat this a few members of the group temporarily stopped their work to go and play games with them in a seperate area.

The school and community presented many new songs to us which showed us how vibrant and unique each community is in the area of Moshi. The chairman of the school and science teacher also told us how the lack of jobs impacts those who graduate school restricting graduate students from finding work in their sector despite studying for years.

In the evening we then went out to eat at Blossom's cafe where we had a lovely meal.

        

Shoutout to Katy for getting me birthday cake, this made my day in the morning.

- Logan and Ruby

Fri, 19-June-2026

Today in Moshi we returned to our site and continued to help the fundi's. We helped with the construction of the house by moving materials such as bricks and sand. During this time the Watoto's joined us and helped move the materials along with a bubble party. As well as multiple sing songs to the Jambo song. Today was particularly special as it was our first official  interactions with the local community and really allowed us to connect and work as a team throughout the day.

       

Shoutout to Ben as he continued to work hard regardless of the extreme weight of the bricks, long walk and heat. As well as building sandcastles with the Watoto's again and again to keep them amused.

- Brooke and Miah

Thurs, 18-June-26

It was our second day on site today and we continued to work with the fundi making long chains of people to carry rocks and bricks to the site to make the foundations of the house. We made up silly games to keep our energy up. We also had regular water breaks to refresh ourselves and play with the children. We noticed that we were able to keep pace and make progress much faster than yesterday. However, due to the weather we had to be extra cautious when walking. Today stood out for us as we got more of a chance to connect with the family we are working with, especially the kids.

Shoutout to Hannah, Leah, and Matthew C for their high spirits and jokes during the hard work on the site, passing bricks and making us laugh.

-Olivia and Erin

Wed, 17-June-2026

Today was our first day visiting the sites and breaking ground. We worked as a team to dig up the soil and move the bricks from one area to the site. We achieved this by standing in a long line and passing each brick along to one another. The local children also helped, they are much stronger than us. In our group, half of us used pickaxes and half of us used shovels to dig up the foundation. We got the amazing opportunities to meet the families and played with the children during our water breaks. They are very fond of bubbles.

When we returned to Berea, after dinner we gathered all of our donations from home, and organised them into groups of what items would be most beneficial and appropriate for each site or organisation.

We felt as a team, everyone was brilliant at looking out for eachother and taking over for each other when one of us needed a quick break. A challenege we collectively faced as a group was trying to suppress our emotion when going into the families current house. Many of us underestimated the impact it would have on us, given that we had already seen images online of the house, however squeexing into the space, experiencing just five minutes of the heat and smell, we were all hit with a wave of shock.

Shoutout to everyone in our group for their hard work today, most notably Logan M, Vimashi, and Aga as they connected really quickly with the children, blowing bubbles with them. A shoutout to the young leaders, leaders, and teachers should also go out as tehy made sure everyone was safe and happy throughout the day.

-Hannah and Leah

Tues, 16-June-2026

We headed to the Tanzanian markets in the morning, where we explored the Tanzanian culture through the bustling and maze-like streets and allies. We also visited the train station, where it was explained that was the only way to get to Dar Es Salaam without paying unfair fees for oil. Whilst it was interesting to see, it was difficult to know that this was their only way to make a living, yet still only being paid the bare minimum.

Once done in the markets, we got on the buses and headed to the waterfall. There was a fun and playful atmosphere as it was the very first day and no one could deny that they were excited for the next few weeks. Looking out of the window, you could see all the beautiful scenery and plant life of the country, along with all the children and adults waving at us as we drove past them.

Once at the waterfall, we all piled out of the bus and saw a beautiful oasis ahead of us; trees reaching the sky, flowers climbing up them and any buildings around. Once we had all collected by the entrance to the hall of Chagga culture, we had a lovely guide tell us about the story of how the Chagga tribe came to be and their settlement in Kilimanjaro. We were split up into two groups.

The second group in which we were in were then taught of the different routes up Mount Kilimanjaro and the many different plant species growing by the waterfall, including coffee, sugar cane, guava, and the 'Peace Plant', which lives up to its name as it has been used to settle neighbourly and other such disputes for centuries. Once we had learned about these, we headed to the hall of Chagga culture, where we got to see many statues showing the story of their origins-these statues were old and covered in moss, giving the whole experience a very deep feeling. We then headed down a few set of steep steps, seeing the gorgeous view all around us as we went, yet none of us were ready for the beauty of the waterfall. Falling from high above, the glistening water just gave you the feeling of peace whilst also making you want to dive in for a swim. Lots of pictures were taken,  but no number of photos could show the sheer elegance and grace of our view. We all then gathered with the other group and got a photo of us all by the hall of culture. 

     

The bus ride back to the college was filled with the same buzz that was in the air when we started our day, but with the additive of us all being whisked away by Tanzanian beauty. And once back, we had a great dinner prepared by the very lovely chefs followed with various games of cards and many light conversation between us all.

We all shared the feeling that this would in fact be a trip of a lifetime.

We are most looking forward to being on the sites for the very first time tomorrow and beginning the journey to providing a better living facilities for the families we will be working with. We know that it will be an emotional day, with seeing the homes of our families being likely to make a lot of us feel almost helpless, but with the help of our groups and the Vinetrust leaders we will be able to power through. Meeting all the children at the site will also be exciting, sharing sweets and giving them many high-fives!

-Lily and Robyn