Final Day at Magereza Nursery School

What an amazing day! In the past few years I have been fortunate enough to have had some amazing experiences...all of which have changed me in some way...in different ways. This experience was definitely a unique one and definitely has had a significant and long lasting impact. It is hard to believe that in 2 short weeks I could have met so many wonderful, kind people, learned so much about a culture I knew very little about, had a small impact on some children's live and developed what I believe will be long lasting relationships...I can't imagine not coming back to Tanzania.
On our final day we played with the kids and did our morning lesson. We brought juice and treats for the kids for their morning break...I have never seen kids so excited about juice...really makes you think. And then...well it was Nate and my last day and we were overwhelmed with the send off we received. With the little money the teacher's have, they bought us each a Kitanga...it is like a wrap....worn by the Massai men over their shoulder. The children presented them and the teachers put them on us. The teachers and children then sang to us and we all danced for quite some time. They all hugged us and commented that they were very sad to see us go. It was very hard to leave. It's funny....I was a little hesitant to go initially for fear of the unknown but after this experience I don't know of a place where I have felt more welcome and had such a desire to return. I guess we had more of an impact on the school then we thought as the teachers enjoyed the various ideas that we had. We exchanged emails and promised to help out as much as we can. Life really is about making memories and giving back. I think we all got so much more out of this experience than we gave but it was a huge first step towards perhaps having a bigger impact. Please email contact me if you are interested in volunteering in Tanzania...I will make sure you get all the info you need. I hope to get back in a couple of years if anyone is interested.
J
PS - flight delayed in Kilimanjero 24 hours...finally made it to Amsterdam. It's funny...after this experience, even getting delayed wasn't a big deal and the other interesting thing is all the other volunteers felt same way. Land back in Halifax 4pm Monday.