These first days at Assalam have gone very fast. The main reason being that we haven’t stood still for a minute, and that everything is new for us. The environment is totally different from anything that I have experienced before- Being the first time that I live in an environment so “underdeveloped”, there are many challenges that you don’t find in the comfort of the “developed West”. But this is a part of the reasons that brought me here. A different environment induces you to rethink all your previous assumptions. Receive and give what you can.

On these first days we were participants of very different activities, and already took roles to help in the local organization. Having just arrived, we helped distribute compost in a new garden in order to establish good foundations for when it’s planted. A very physical but rewarding task. Later on, during the week we had meetings to set clear our roles in the organization. In these first days, together with Matteo, I’m helping with the story-telling for the “Spice Route Museum”, one of the main social enterprises that the local organization, Assalam, has established in order to help them with funding.

Volunteering Experience in Tanzania

Apart from this main activity, we are taking regular swahili classes, to take it a bit further than “jambo”! Also, we are aiding in the permaculture side of the organization. We have harvested eggs, collected tomatoes, milked a cow, and helped in creating a natural product that acts as fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide, called worm tea. Very interesting. Today, there’s a school competition with the theme of STEM on Assalam facilities. It’s great to see the direct impact of the programs developed by the local organization and others.

I’ll keep updating this post regularly with the different activities that I carry out!

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