A Day in the Park-Chada, Katavi

The Rosa bus for our "Day in the Park" project has finally arrived in Katavi National Park-it is now fully registered under TANAPA, and ready to use.  This is very exciting news and I look forward to being able to update everyone on the progress of the project.

Pack for a Purpose

Nomad Trust has joined forces with "Pack for a Purpose"-a wonderful organization that encourages and directs people to use available space in their luggage to bring out supplies for communities they visit http://www.packforapurpose.org/.  We are very excited about this partnership as we are often asked what clients can bring out, we have tailored needs specifically to each community.  To find out more go to:

http://www.packforapurpose.org/docs/countries/tanzania/greystoke-mahale.shtml

http://www.packforapurpose.org/docs/countries/tanzania/chada-katavi.shtml

 

My first ever half marathon

I am thrilled to say I managed to finish the race on Sunday the 26th of Feb in 2hrs 17 mins.  It was a lovely course, 10 km uphill through a coffee estate, and then down the same road back into Moshi stadium.  It was incredible to watch the elite runners zoom by, lap me and finish a full marathon before I finished my half marathon!

 the start of the marathon

 Me setting off in my pink Nomad Trust hat.

Done!  Thrilled!  After the race I said I would never do another one, and today I wrote to Lewa to find out about entering for the Lewa Safaricom half marathon-so maybe the running bug has bitten after all.

Unfortunately I have still not raised the funds I need for the new solar system so please help contribute to this good cause by going to:    http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LaliHeath

The Kilimanjaro Marathon

The countdown has begun for the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon on the 26th of February.  I am training away-my guide to running marathons and half marathons suggests that three weeks before the event one tapers one training down-I seem to be doing the opposite in a bid to do my longest run of 15 km on Saturday and next week one run of 17/18km! I don't think my wonderful trainer understands that I am running to COMPLETE the race, I think he wants me to compete-he has obviously never run against Kenyans and Tanzanians!  Apparently our next stop is the Olympics.
 I am running for a great cause and when the burn and exhaustion sets in I just have to keep reminding myself that I am running for a solar system for the Usevya community center that Nomad Trust is building in partnership with Rotary International , The Besom Foundation and Professors from UC Davis, California.  Usevya, in Western Tanzania, has a population of about 14,000 people.  It is a very poor area, with one primary school and one secondary school.  There are no books in the secondary school, only chalk black boards. Teachers are often not paid for three months at a time, and when they are they have to travel to the distant district capital to collect their wages.  Students often study in shifts (either 7am-11am or 11am-3pm); after classes are finished they have little if any incentive to study further-they just don't have the facilities.  This youth center will assist in serving a critical need for recreational and educational support to this Tanzanian community.   
 There is currently no power in the village and solar is our only option for the Environmental Education Center in the Youth Center.  Initially we are hoping for a system to run a few evening light, DVD showings and funding permitting a set of laptops with internet connections.  Our quotations so far for a basic stand alone system without laptops start at $4,000 and with laptops goes up to $11,000.  It goes against what one reads about solar becoming increasingly available to people in the developing world.  So I am running for light.  To contribute go to:   http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LaliHeath.
   

Book Donations

I wanted to thank a number of people who have very generously donated books to our new environmental library in Usevya:
Annette Lewis for contributing so much as well as sending books from Amazon, Toni and Quentin Heim, Suzanne and Joy Barnes, Melanie Gowans, Linda Broome, and Janine Kleerup.
Your support in getting our book collection started for the Environmental Library has been invaluable-THANK YOU ALL. 
If anyone would like to make a contribution to the environmental library or has any educational material they would like to donate please contact us at: Nomadtrust@nomad.co.tz

Usevya Youth Center and Environmental library-Katavi

Nomad Trust partnered with Winters Rotary Club, The Besom Charity and Professors from UC Davis are building a youth center in Usevya, just outside Katavi National Park.  The youth center will provide a greatly needed educational and recreational outlet for the youth of the community.  
As part of this amazing initiative, Nomad Trust is sponsoring a small environmental library in the Youth centre.  The buildings are coming along nicely.

All the furniture for it is made and ready to move in once the building is finished and we are working on sourcing solar power for the center in order to run a projector and lights. I will be running, on behalf of Nomad Trust, the Kilimanjaro half marathon in Feb 2012 to raise funds for the solar system.  To donate to this cause please clink of the following link:
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraise/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=LaliHeath 
A number of companies have donated books and environmental material for the library already:  Our special thanks goes out to: The BBC for their wildlife magazines, Book Aid, Cabrini College and Cabrini College Philosophy Club.

Books for Kakuni Primary School-Katavi

Very kindly David & Gay Campbell and Bob & Mary Anne Budin donated money for Kakuni Primary School to buy school text books.

 Jerome-the head master of Kakuni- showed us all of the books he purchased with their generous donation he bought 45 textbooks. Jerome is very proud of these books and gathered them from the classrooms to be seen. 

If you look closely you can see the subjects written in swahili: geography (jographia), swahili, science (sayansi), civics (uraia), etc.  For a school without any prior books, this is a very big deal!