Mambo!
We are SIHA’s 2017 International Team. We consist of 6 travel members: Megan Jamieson, Grace Quaale, Steven Lin, Stephanie Koshka, Ryan Gwynne, and Jun Jang. Accompanying us are the project managers, Morgan Scheves and Jacqueline Noga. SIHA is a student-run organization through the University of Alberta that focuses on health based projects and partnerships in the field of non-governmental public health. We are currently operating out of Mlandizi, Tanzania to expand and evaluate local health initiatives.
We hit the ground running our first week in. We landed in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday, where we stayed for two nights at the YMCA hostel. Here we organized phone plans, made a trip to the market, and got acquainted with the area. On Wednesday we braved the scorching heat (30+!) and made the trip to Mlandizi where we will be situated for the summer. On arrival we were greeted with warm smiles to our temporary new home and office!
The next few days were filled with trips to the local market, enjoying meals made by Mama (home keeper), an endless pit of jokes, and familiarizing ourselves with the projects we will potentially be working on for the summer! During the next few weeks we will further discuss which projects we will be taking on and decide the direction in which we want to see SIHA international go. We will also be making a trip to Morogoro to visit SON international to gain more insight into a well run non-governmental organization.
The concept of ‘Tanzanian time’ essentially means doing things on your own time. We have all adjusted well to this idea but we will still be updating this blog once a week!
Kwaheri!