Day 71, 72, and 73

Day 71

This morning we travelled back to Moshi. Evodi picked us up at about 10.15. This journey was far smoother than our one on Tuesday. We called in at an ATM on the way, then stopped at MTAD to drop off our bags and finally got Evodi to take us to the ACTT Offices.

Today is the day the ACTT Moshi staff are having their day out. They have planned to visit the Materuni Waterfalls followed by dinner at a bar in Moshi. Robert is still travelling back from Kenya and won’t join us until the evening so Bruno has made most of the arrangements.

We arrive at ACTT soon after 12 just in time to find Mama Irene providing lunch for everyone. Then at around 12.45 we are ready to leave. It is decided that Bruno will drive Robert’s large car with us, Dommy and Mama Irene and Boniface will drive Bruno’s smaller car with Bakari, Vai and Winnie.

It takes about 40 minutes to reach Materuni village where we need to register and pick up our guide, a guy called Reginald. We then drive a further 20 minutes up a pretty rough track to where we can park the cars. From here we get out and walk to the waterfalls.

It takes about 25 minutes to walk through the forest to reach the bottom of the waterfalls, they are pretty impressive. 

There are plenty of photo opportunities - a must on ACTT outings. The boys are the first into the water but in the end everyone is persuaded to paddle and Bruno even goes for a swim. To be honest even though the water is coming down off Kilimanjaro it doesn't feel that cold.

Another must have for ACTT trips out are drinks and snacks, which we have brought with us from Moshi. Everyone clearly enjoys the visit and it is a really lovely setting.

While we are sat having our snacks some local boys come for a swim. They go straight in with no hesitation.

Eventually Bruno decides it is time to leave and we walk back to the cars. There is a stop for a few more photos on the way. I am not sure we really needed a guide for our trip (though I think you have to have one) but Reginald was very good at taking group photos for us.

Just before we get back to the car there is a stop to sample some of the local banana beer. Pete and I have tried it before and so decline it on this occasion as do several of the others..... although ofcourse we are still made to pose for a photo. Bakari, Winnie, Mama Irene and even Bruno however seem to rather enjoy it.

Once everyone has had enough of the beer and we have given what is left to a local guy we drive to a bar on the far side of Moshi, where Bruno has arranged for a meal. This bar has really lovely grounds providing more photo opportunities.

Robert has now made it back to Moshi so Boni goes and picks him up. They get back just as the food is being served.

After the meal Bruno speaks to the staff about the challenges and the achievements of ACTT over the last year and then gets everyone to say what working at ACTT and being part of the team means to them. Bruno has also prepared some Certificates of Appreciation which are presented to everyone including us which is lovely.

They even got a frame for ours.

At this annual event Robert also gives out a couple of awards. This year the High Performance award goes to Boni and the Highest Sales goes to Winnie.

The evening finishes about 9pm although we then end up in a bar with Robert and a friend of his. Mama Diana arrives back from Arusha about 10pm so also joins us for a drink, so we don't get back to MTAD until gone 11pm. 

It has been a lovely day. I think these events are always great for moral and team building and we always feel privileged to be included in them by the ACTT staff.

Day 72

Today we are up a bit later than usual and when we get down to breakfast we find the terrace covered in large bags.

Millie explains to us that the bags all contain maize, beans, rice and tea. They are going to be donated to an adolescent HIV clinic at Mawenzi Hospital in Moshi. They have enough for 50 young people to have a bag each. This is all funded by donations to MTAD.

We spend the rest of the morning booking our quarantine hotel in London and trying to get a refund from KLM. Hopefully we have now achieved both. We also make a first attempt at sorting out our stuff for going home.

Robert picks us up about 4pm and we go to a bar for a drink and some food. We have some discussion about the future of ACTT and how things may progress over the next year. We also discuss how our visit has gone this year and what we might do on our next visit.

Once we have eaten we head back into town to meet up with Abdullah and Evodi. We have a drink with them and say goodbye to them as we may not see them again before we return to the U.K. 

Day 73

Today is Sunday and a lazy day for us. We get up and have a leisurely breakfast on the terrace. I then spend some time updating my school files on the computer.

Late morning we stroll into town, go to the bank and then stop at Mimosa Bar for a drink and lunch. It is mid afternoon by the time we leave and really quite hot so Pete suggests we walk back using some of the side roads which we haven’t been down before. We pass this roundabout before leaving the main road.

As we walk on we notice that grass has been planted like this on the side of the road. We guess the bags around the edge are to stop the soil being washed away when it rains. Maybe they will be removed once the grass is properly established.

Using the side roads turns out to be a good decision as these roads are a lot quieter and offer more shade.

These roads are also quite residential and we pass a variety of different houses. One thing we have noticed recently is the variety of different coloured roofs we see. Blue seems to be particularly popular.

We spend the rest of the day at MTAD.