Friends and Family!

 It’s happening! Africa is calling and I have to answer!

Those of you, who know me well, know the importance of both travelling and volunteering in my life! This year, I am taking this chance to combine both and visit Tanzania through this volunteer project called My Quest, organized by extraordinary people that I really really love, and had the opportunity to work with during this summer.  I will be venturing out in the Tanzanian planes and forests, together with a group of fellow change makers, to visit a little village named Gongo. And I need your help! With your contribution, you will help us support and sustain the projects that have already been running in the village from the previous years, as well as start new ones that will improve the living conditions of the villagers even more. You will also help me cover some small costs of the trip!

Let’s get into some detail:

We have Elpis and Dora and their organization Wheeling2Help, and we have Kostas Coucoulis and his organization SANA (Saving Africa’s Nature).  Those two organizations met roughly 5 years ago when Elpis and Dora where crossing Africa, supporting places and people in need. Since then, together with Kostas and groups of passionate volunteers, they have built a kitchen and toilets for the village school, a women’s cooperative where girls and women obtain skills and knowledge that help them become more independent, a chicken coop that helps people create sustainable income without destroying the surrounding forest and have organized numerous activities for the people and the children in the village, that help create a more sustainable way of living and a stronger society.

This year we will catch up with how the previous projects are going and further elaborate on the more practical skills we can share with the community. We will support the school with more activities, exchange tools and methods with the Mamas in the Cooperative, dive into the knowledge and information about forest and nature conservation, offer our services in the management of the chicken farm and spend quality time with all the members of the community!

You see this is why I like this project. Because you can make actual change when you return. Not much can happen when you pass by like a comet.  So I’m going! I’m going to mingle with the people, learn Swahili, taste the food, sing traditional songs and dance in the rain. I’m going to see and feel what it feels like when all things we consider a given, are not. I’m going to support the people, learn their traditions, listen to their stories, and help them create a better future.  And I’ll take you with me! Better yet, I challenge you to make the move and actually join!

Invest some of your time and watch an amazing video from a previous Quest: https://vimeo.com/267551554

Join Elpis and Dora in their journey through Mama Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9rU-MWhbcM

Learn about SANA and their wonderful work: http://www.karibusana.com/

Meet Wheeling2Help: https://www.wheeling2help.com/