choba village children playing in school playground
children from Choba village, Tanzania
In January of this year I decided I wanted to do something for Canine Partners, the UK charity, training assistance dogs for disabled people.
So I committed to raising £2,500 for Canine Partners, plus £500 for Community Projects Africa, as well as travelling to Tanzania to lend my muscles (??) to a primary school build.
Well last week was the week of the build and I’m proud to say it all went amazingly well.
There were 9 UK volunteers all raising money for different charities and I hope we made a difference. The trip was organised by Charity Challenge.
We worked alongside local builders and villagers helping to build Choba Primary School. At present the older children and nursery children share one space, each using the room for part of the day. Creating this separate space will give the 7-11s a dedicated place to work.
Day 1 of the build
progress made over the week
sieving sand - hard work!
passing stones up the line
carrying concrete blocks with Patrick, the nursery teacher, on his day off
during a break in building we taught the local women the hokey kokey! - 'you put your right arm in'
and I was so pleased to find that the hotel where we were staying had a pet dog called Meg! My trip was complete!
To make a donation to Canine Partners please visit my Canine Partners Just Giving page. Thank You.
9 responses so far ↓
Gary Burt // October 20, 2009 at 10:09 am |
Looks an amazing time – well done Hil
xx
Andy Gordon // October 20, 2009 at 11:28 am |
Fantastic….. how clever are you babe, looks like you worked really hard but also had a great time, and i’m so glad you found a nice dog to play with
Rich and Wendy // October 20, 2009 at 12:43 pm |
Well done Hil – hope to see you before too long.
XXX
Leia // October 20, 2009 at 1:15 pm |
Well done Hil! Lovely pictures You built quite a lot in a week! How nice to find a freindly Dog too!
xx
Anwyn Griffiths // October 21, 2009 at 4:07 am |
You made it look very easy Hilary. Well done. You’ve been part of a great project which will benefit many people.
Hilary // October 21, 2009 at 8:39 am |
Thanks all of you for your great comments. Yes it was a fantastic experience and hopefully we made a difference. The school block will be ready to use in January ready for the new term. One day I hope to return and see it full of children
goodbear // November 14, 2009 at 6:35 am |
hey there! looks like you’re doing well there! glad you found meg the dog!
Esther Garvi // November 19, 2009 at 5:47 pm |
Meg is beautiful, and probably very valuable too! Not many German Shepherdogs around here in West Africa…
Congrats on all the hard work, the building is coming up great!
Bernese Mountain Dog // December 7, 2009 at 1:55 pm |
Great job! Best wishes from me and my Bernese Mountain Dogs to pet dog Meg and everybody taking part in this heroic deed!