Celebrating at Mufindi Children’s Village

By Lily Hue

This week started at Mufindi Children’s Village where we continued working on the projects we started the week before. Our days were long but full of rewarding and purposeful work that left us tired but content at the end of the day. We all got a chance to work in the garden, hoeing and weeding the vegetable garden that makes up a large portion of the children’s diets. The rest of us hung out with babies and got to know the wonderful women who work as house mamas and teachers.

As a group, we struggled with health this week. Nine out of eleven people got sick (shout out to Finn and Adele who managed to get through it unscathed. Go Team Healthy!) It was rough but we all made it out and everyone has recovered nicely.

There was a birthday this week! We had a nice candlelit dinner (due to a power outage, but I personally thought the candles created a festive mood) and then there was cake! Anna and one of the girls from the children’s village baked a vanilla confection and Matt and Michele got a chocolate cake from Mufindi’s Finest. It was rather makeshift but we all loved celebrating Ella.

On our last day, we had a seminar in which we learned about HIV/AIDS and how it affects Tanzania and this community in particular. This NGO is doing some amazing work but they are completely funded by donations and right now they are only funded through the rest of this year. I will attach the link to their organization’s website below and if anyone wants to check it out I know they would greatly appreciate it.

That evening all of our host families came and we had a party. We danced and tried to communicate as best we could with our little bit of Swahili and lots of hand gestures and laughter. It was such a nice way to wrap up a memorable and fulfilling week.

After a short bus ride, we find ourselves in Iringa. It is a tourist hub and we are all enjoying eating some familiar foods and replenishing our stashes of snacks and shampoo (which almost everyone ran out of a long time ago). That’s all for now. Next up: SAFARI!

Since Adele left you all with a joke last week I thought I would do the same.

Q: What did the ocean say to the beach?
A: Nothing, it just waved!!! hahahahahaha

Link to Children’s Village.