Tyler Pica – After a long day of travel yesterday, we were all very excited to arrive in Himo late last night. We arrived at the seminary late last night, and to describe the scenery here would be an understatement. All of the landscaping here is absolutely incredible and all of the people we have met here have been extremely welcoming. For dinner last night, we started with banana soup, followed by rice, chicken, and a plethora of vegetables. I was extremely skeptical of the food here, but honestly it has been some of the best tasting food I have had in months. Everything is very fresh with amazing flavor. I am looking forward to the meals to come, which is not something that I have said since we have been here. Travel from Himo to Same was quite the journey, and it was much different than what we have seen in the southern region. In the southern region it is very dry and dessert like, and today we actually went inside a small forest to reach a watering hole which surprised me, I never expected to see that coming here. The communities were all very welcoming and it was more of an introduction today than anything. I am really looking forward to furthering the relationships here and seeing the facilities in the rest of the neighboring communities.
Kyle Krieger- Today was another day of back and forth travel but it was a good day of research. In the Himo region, it is obvious that the rainy season is sufficient to supply a village with a sufficient amount of water for a community for both agricultural and domestic use. All of the villages we saw today were small. There is a real sense of community and need in these areas and for me personally I can see the application of our engineering skills to a project one of these. I also loved the NGO today (KIHO) they were extremely prepared and I think they would be a great match for the type of projects that capstone encapsulates. Maybe coming from a small town I have a soft spot for smaller areas but I really think the smaller group of people in Himo would be able to really thrive with a water system we could design. With the proper implementation and continued education I think this is where we start as a university in making a lasting impact in Tanzania.
Anna – The Himo region is night and day from Dodoma. Compared to the arid and dessert like climate we saw in Dodoma, we are now surrounded by lush vegetation and significantly more water. That being said, within a few kilometers, due to the drastic elevation changes, we go from villages of adequate water resources and poor infrastructure to those in drier lowland areas with limited access to water. The diversity here makes the problems unique for every community and requires innovative thinking and ideas to solve each individual problem in the best possible way for the community. The NGO we met with, KIHO, has established good relationships throughout the communities in the Same region which made today a successful day of meeting communities and seeing the projects in development. I am excited to continue to explore this region and get to know the communities and at KIHO better.
Andy Goldfarb- After waking up to the extremely lush and green seminary in the Himo region, our day was under way after a drive over to the town of Same. We met with a new NGO who was very prepared with schedules and pre planned communities with a widely differing range of completion. After visiting the communities in Dodoma and visiting these new communities in Himo it became clear to me that there was a lot of potential in these communities to progress them forward either with design to bring water to a wider region or to develop a progressive community system to effectively collect funds from the successful water development. These first two villages we had lengthy community meetings with the leaders who were eager to show us their water sources. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum and really got me thinking about exactly how we can utilize our engineering skills to help these communities in a positive way and develop their systems both technically and at a community level.
James Phelps – The food and beverage at the seminary was a vast increase in quality and volume compared with meals earlier in the week. The members of the seminary couldn’t be nicer to us. They are very excited to have us stay with them. That welcome to the region has made the beginning of the Himo region part of the trip much more comfortable for all of us. We met with a new NGO who led us through the steps to put every step in the right direction. The manager took us to several villages where we were able to meet with community leaders and take opportunities to get to know people. This getting to know process is long and tough due to communication and language issues, but is well worth it due to the opportunity to help people. That is what is most important in these short windows we get to have face to face interaction. I know that the longer I stay here, the more I feel invested in completing something that genuinely improves the lives of people who live here.
Kyle Bramman – Northern Tanzania (Himo region and Same town) is much different than what we saw in Dodoma. Here it is much more vegetated, even more so than Moshi the first night. On the seminary grounds where we are staying, there are gardens with banana trees, avocado trees, and many others. The living conditions are much better than we expected, and the food is very abundant and very tasty.
Today, we drove to Same town which is about two hours away from the seminary, and we met with an NGO there that has a group of potential communities that could use an upgraded water sanitary and distribution system. We met with a few different people in the local government and brought the district engineer out with us to the sites. Despite not seeing much today, I was impressed with this NGO and think there are communities with situations that have the potential for better system implementation. I am excited to see what the last three days of site visits will bring.
John Conteh – Himo compared to Dodoma region is definitely different. After resting up from the long drive back, some of us were able to get up for mass the following morning. It was an experience for me because I haven’t been in one of those ever. As for the sites visits, I was overwhelmed at the same time sadden by what I saw. The fact that in some communities, the local citizens had to walk an x amount of miles to fetch water. Overall, I believe the NGO who is leading us to these sites could help us identify a potential solution for improved water systems.
Jonathan Ogland-Hand – Today we met with an NGO, met with two different rural communities, and saw a little of their respective water systems. Seeing people in such poverty was difficult but the hardest part was witnessing a man drinking directly from what I would call a large murky puddle. This “large puddle” was a spring fed water source that is approximately 15 feet in diameter. It took us about 10-15 minutes to drive to it and, according to the two community members that were with us, provides water to over 700 people. After drinking the equivalent of over a glass of water from this source, the man said that he did not see a need to boil it before drinking because the community does not boil any water from this source when they are using it in their homes. I have never had a more eye-opening experience that made me consider how much I take easy and unlimited access to clean water for granted.
Robert Pesarchick – Today felt very productive. We seek to form relationships in the region; so introducing ourselves to the NGO, the public works office, and a few communities felt like the most effective way to start. In learning a bit of Swahili before the trip, it was emphasized through several sources that introductions and pleasantries are crucial to the culture. It felt like the mood of the group was anxious. Anxious to get into the meat of the issues; anxious to weigh, measure, and calculate a scenario. Above and beyond that, I think everyone was taken aback by their surroundings. I know I was. Kilimanjaro Hope Organization is a brilliant set of workers, who are as compassionate as they are thoroughly organized. We’re unfathomably fortunate that people are willing to take time out of their schedules to show us their country.
Robbie, Ninukupenda <3