Challenges

Service work began on Monday at a local primary school to help in the building of a couple of classrooms.  It was here we experienced the great contrasts in our cultures and lifestyles. It was many hands on deck, and teamwork for all the activities which were all done with great gusto and lots of laughter.

Muscles have been discovered that we didn’t know we all had, and strengths we didn’t know about, have come to the fore also.

Most work included movement – of bricks, of sand, of gravel, of rocks. Equipment is basic but useful, and in reasonably good supply. Lots of reuse and sharing of tools – with some learning to use a pick and hoe and shovel for the first time, and using them with great effort.

It was good to stand back and see the results after a period of time – even though we felt it was taking forever to achieve anything at the time.

What was even better was when the kids of the school joined our lines and helped. Then games were played and faces were expressive, as laughter was shared across the cultures. Language lessons eased the tedium of the manual labour and time passed quickly.

A soccer game on the second day proved really popular, and the speed of the local students was amazing.

Can you also imagine a spontaneous game of ‘Duck, duck, goose’ with a wide circle of beaming faces – both ours and theirs? (This in the midst of the soccer field – where the macarena was also taught….) Locals were good at catching, and tried so hard to do their fastest run around the circle. Little acrobats showed how they could somersault, and we also tried a few cartwheels to match them.

Days of hard yakka and thoughtful reflection. Satisfied but weary faces at days end. Teamwork and laughter shines through. Friendships firmed across cultures and within the travelling group. This is Tanzania.