Travel to Mbozi

Packed our bags and went off to the airport in Dar for the internal flight (rebooked with Air Tanzania) down to the Mbozi region. Fastjet flights are all still cancelled. Apparently this is an offshoot of EasyJet. Naturally our plane was very full. Sat next to a construction engineer from the UK who is involved in a major road building programme here that is being managed by the Chinese. Learned that the Chinese are managing lots of major infrastructure projects in Africa. Changes in scenery today from the traffic chaos of the city into more of a rural backdrop. You can start to see that this is a nation of local enterprise, mostly small-scale businesses. More hand-to-mouth living than we can imagine.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Blogger's Diary - Preparation

Image
Sorting out clothes and trying hard to be minimalist! Need to display modesty in dress too, so normal holiday gear won't do. Hadn't realised how many of my tops have low necklines - ooops. Biggest issue is not knowing size of plane for internal flights and therefore if a suitcase can go in the hold. This affects the amount of liquids I can take, especially mossie spray. Also, how many pairs of shoes does a girl need for a week long trip? Not sure if my small denomination US$s will be accepted for Visa or currency exchange. May decide to buy more currency, so many dilemmas Which Suitcase, Which Carry-On? Choices, Choices!!!  😔
Read more

Zanzibar - Childrens' Rights

Image
Save the Children is working hard to protect the rights of children. We heard that 67% of boys and 56% of girls are thought to experience some form of physical violence, with the estimated figures for the incidence of sexual violence believed to be well understated. A number of projects have been developed to support the bringing of perpetrators to justice, but of course turning the tide is no easy task. A child friendly court has been set up in accordance with international guidelines; and a One Stop Centre established for the confidential reporting of cases of abuse. We visited these sites, and a Child Rights Centre where young people are encouraged to Speak Out.
Read more

Songwe - Womens' Economic Empowerment Project

Image
This final visit of the day was a truly heart-warming one. Women are being helped to take more control over their lives. Not with cash injections, but with financial training to run their own Savings and Loan Clubs. These people would never get credit anywhere else, but through the support provided they have managed to save, borrow, grow and sell their crops and most importantly reinvest in their households - simple things like being able to buy school uniform for the grandchildren, or pay their bus fares. This way lies longer term growth and sustainability for the whole economy. We met the whole committee, and what a joyful bunch of ladies they were too. At the end they had us all up singing and dancing with them!
Read more