Manual Labor Project by Allie and Theresa

Every Africa trip, the kids do a manual labor project. We usually do it at the Women’s Group, but unfortunately we were unable to do it there this year. Instead we have been helping the Uru Secondary School build a basketball court for the students to play on. When we arrived the first day it was a bit overwhelming. They instructed us to move many giant piles of dirt with about 2 shovels, a pick, and an old wheelbarrow. Although it seemed impossible, we went straight to work with what we had. After awhile we gained some bags and buckets to help move dirt. It’s been very challenging, but also very rewarding because of the friendships we have all created. Some have made such strong friendships that will last into the future. Doing such hard, demanding work has really brought all of us together. One of the days we even came together to make an assembly line to see if it would increase the speed of moving the dirt. The work has been so laborious that everyday after working we come home with mounds of dirt coming out of our shoes and we’re all ready for a nice hot shower. The most recent workday Baba Dick finally made an appearance and really worked hard. He shoveled a few times and carried one half bucket full of dirt. We showed him our bruises from previous work days and we asked him where his were and he said they were all hidden. Even though he may not have done a lot of work at the site, he did a very good job at keeping the spirits lifted of those working. Working wasn’t the only thing that we’ve done at Uru. This past Friday we went to the school to participate in their classes. We each got into groups of three and got to pick to either go to business, geography, biology, chemistry, or history. It was interesting to see the different teaching styles and atmospheres of these classrooms. The kids were very excited to see all of us join them in class. Almost too excited because they kept asking us questions about American and how we like Tanzania, which didn’t make the teachers very happy, but everyone still had fun. It was really sweet, one girl handed me a piece of paper and asked me my name, age, what I like about Tanzanian culture and tradition and culture, what I didn’t like about Tanzania, and the differences between America and Tanzania. They all wanted us to be their best friends and obviously all of us agreed. It’s just really cool to see people that we’ve just met act like they’ve known us for years.  We’ve made such strong connection that on these last few days it’ll be hard to say goodbye to all the Uru students.