We made it to Zanzibar—finally! After another high-class night at EconoLodge (The Waldorf of Dar Es Salam), we moved in with our last home-stay families. Interesting internships arose, including a world-famous screen printing opportunity with a Rasta God named Omi. Incredible Zanzibar painting at the Old Fort, wood carving which proved too challenging for the students, one of the higher quality internships was pillow making at the Zanzibar women’s cooperative… Read More

By Overseas Educator Matt Shamey Exploring bee fences as a means to mitigate elephant crop pillaging and doing some slashing of the grasses around the fences at the farm.… Read More

By Adele Early Monday morning we left on our journey to Mufindi, the town where the children’s village is. It was a long day of traveling on public buses and a very crowded Dala Dala. The next three days we dove into homestays in the village of Mufindi. During our respective homestays, we were able to practice our Swahili as well as teach our families some more English. Most of… Read More

By Finn Witt Hi everyone! Our past week began with a grueling 10-hour bus ride through the foothills of southwest Tanzania. While the scenery and wildlife sightings were spectacular, the cramped conditions and rarely-paved roads made for a less-than-pleasurable day. Arriving in Njombe late that night, we were treated to some well-deserved pizza, the best since leaving in September! The following day, we left for Ohana Amani, a holistic organic… Read More

By Anna Barrett Habari! For Nkula, the week began with nearly 48 long hours of travel as the group made the journey from Kigali, Rwanda, to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and finally arriving at the location of our first homestay, Junior Lutheran Seminary and Language School outside Morogoro. After some accidental exploration resulting from a desire to find the nearest functioning ATM, the group returned to the campus in time… Read More

By Overseas Educators Matt and Michelle Nkula leaders finally take a bath. It’s been a great week learning Swahili in beautiful Morogoro!… Read More

By Mali Hello friends and family! After several days trekking through the beautiful and formidable mountains of Lake Bunyonyi, we have made the 180-degree transition to the city of Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. Although we spent only a few days in Kigali, the city was characterized by its cleanliness, modernity, and (like everywhere in Rwanda) a significant amount of hills. Also notable were the myriad delectable foods and an interesting amalgamation… Read More

By Ella Our last days in Uganda were spent on the gorgeous Lake Bunyoni. One dala dala ride from SNEC and we were at Edirisa (“The Window” in Rakiga, the language of southern Uganda), a hostel right on the lake. A set of stairs carved into the dirt, and marked “Staff Only,” led us down to the hostel, which featured tents for us to share (and to continue sharing for… Read More

Ella and Mali move into a traditional hut in Huye. Matt conducting a business meeting from his office. Rafting on the Nile River. Nile River madness! Enjoying the beauty of Rwanda. Medical bike for an ankle sprain. Don’t worry…she’ll be ok!… Read More

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By Yina Chen We are three weeks into our trip now; this Saturday we will only have two months left. This past week our group drove from Kampala to Kabale. We went to a yoga class, as well as roamed around the streets of the small city before heading up the mountains for five days helping SNEC (Special Needs Education Center). It was an amazing experience as we taught classes,… Read More

Hangin’ with the children. OE Michelle in discussion.… Read More

Always on the lookout! Sunset on the nile.… Read More

Visiting the National Mosque in Kampala.… Read More

By Elle Nicholson and Karolina Putterman We were on our way to the Ziwa Rhino Reserve and as our bus was about to arrive—after nearly three hours of driving—we got stuck in the mud! All of us got out of the van and tried to push it out of the mud, but we failed badly and three other trucks had to come rescue us. They got stuck too! Eventually, we… Read More

Playing a game of “Birdy on a Perch.” Spotting a rhino! Stuck in the mud. Exploring in Ziwa.… Read More

Nkula girls hanging out on the van.… Read More

By Lily, Karolina, Ella, and Nathan Hello! Life is good here so far. We have seen lots of cute dogs and monkeys. Our group is getting along quite nicely and right now we are on a scavenger hunt around Entebbe looking for fun things. Yesterday we went to the Saturday market and walked around. There were so many new smells and colors. We saw a guy sharpening a machete with… Read More

By Yina, Elle, and Finn On day one, after 22 hours of grueling travel, we finally made it to our hostel close to 1:00 am. Despite being exhausted, we stayed up even later to get to know each other. The hostel’s been really nice, especially the “refreshing” cold showers. Breakfast was better than we expected. Everyone in the group has been awesome and getting along as well as can be… Read More