Archive for July, 2008

The hole outside my window

Thursday, July 31st, 2008


The first night I was in Tanzania, I had not really slept for 40 hours. I had set up a bed and was very excited to try it out. Hours after dark it sound like a troop of dogs were fighting outside the house. It felt like hours later I finally fell asleep.

The next morning I found out that someone had cleaned out the kitchen and threw some old food in the trash. The trash is one of the hardest things to understand from a westerner. It is a whole in the ground next to the house. Dogs and other animals find there way through and after a few weeks they light the pit and let it burn.

Posted in Stories | No Comments »

Our impact on others

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

I was speaking with a good friend and mentor today. He was commenting on how great things were looking and coming together for the project. Which I thanked him and commented that I could not have done it without his help.

A few weeks ago he helped me through a mental road block with the book and there are many things that he taught me over the last 20 years that were in every part of this book and photography. His help a few weeks ago and the seeds that he planted years ago helped make this project look the way that it does.

Interestingly, this idea is one that actually got me to Tanzania. When my daughter and I were talking about the donation that she had given to the Tanzania Hope Fund, her feeling was, “if we can change one child’s life, to become like Dr. Sam think of the impact we can make”. Dr. Sam is the head Doctor at Nkoaranga Hospital and by sending a child to school, we can in the future create another Doctor, Teacher, Guide and many other professions that will make Tanzania more self reliant.

We have a profound ability of impacting the future.

Posted in What is going on | 2 Comments »

The Greeting Cards are here…

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

It all seems to be coming together. The greeting cards came in this week and they look great.

I have posted them on the “Eyes of Tanzania” Etsy site.

You can see them and order them at http://www.tza2007.etsy.com/ >>>

Posted in Images, What is going on | No Comments »

Nkoaranga Hospital Canteen

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Almost all the nights that I stayed at the Nkoarang Hospital, I would end the night with beans and rice and a coke at the canteen. The volunteers all gathered down there at the end of the day, put in there dinner order and come back 2 hours later for it.
Towards the end of the trip, there was a need for something other than beens and rice and somebody ordered “something with potatoes”. Hours later, came for each person at the table a large bowl of mashed potatoes. It was like tasting a new food, they were mashed and full of butter. I don’t remember eating anything that quickly.

Posted in Images, Stories | No Comments »

The box in my backseat

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

One of the hardest things about helping out in Tanzania is getting what is needed to the location. My case and point is in my backseat on my car (bound for my trunk by tomorrow) is a box of kids books that I collected. It is not a huge box, but a box of 40 or so kids book for the new school that BCB has set up for there kids. My issue is that it would take $80 dollars to send the books. $80! the books are not even worth that much,  there must be a cheeper way, but yet I have not found it and till then I fear the box will sit in my car.

This is frustration trying to help, and  sometimes it feel like I am being blocked at every corner.

Posted in Books, Stories | 2 Comments »