Summer Volunteers REACH Shirati! |
|
|
It’s the beginning of summer, and REACH Shirati’s volunteer trips are underway! Our President, Hattie Smith-Bynes, is already in Shirati with Adeke Obbanya. Parth Shah from Cal Teach and Tara Sood, MD have just returned from a month in the village, and a few days ago, more summer volunteers REACH-ed Shirati with Laura Mason! On Saturday, June 10, we celebrated with a volunteer send-off party at the home of Laura Mason and David Gordon, see the video of that HERE. Over 60 people joined us to help send off our volunteers and help pack many donation bags. This year, they are taking lots of children’s clothes and shoes to Shirati, thanks to contributions by Stacie Vance, Angela Johnson, Fran Jursco, and Zechariah Whittington. Volunteers are also taking medical supplies thanks to Fran Jursco, Camille Harris, and MedShare. Wall clocks for our classrooms were provided by the Fillingim-Selk family, and frisbees find new homes in Nyamagongo thanks to the Suzuki family. |
|
|
Opportunity For Bright Futures Joining us at the party was Andrea Pugh, President of the AT&T NETwork, that has awarded secondary school scholarships to four orphan girls in Shirati over the last five years. Last year, one of their scholarship recipients, Irene Shadrack, did so well on her exams that she was granted a full scholarship to one of the best government O Level secondary schools! There are many more bright and hardworking children in the Shirati region who need such opportunites and we strive to provide that for every child through our Scholarship Program. | | |
|
|
A Volunteer's Perspective This summer our seven voluneers who will be working at Tina’s School and with the Hospital Food Project are Donna Suzuki, Kori Suzuki, Allyn Suzuki, Nina Nguyen, Stacie Vance, Jean Retzinger, and Laura Mason. Stacie Vance, a repeat volunteer visited Nyamagongo in 2013 as a UC Berkeley student, to work on the solar panel installations at our school and bring much needed light to dark classrooms. She is very excited to be returning to Shirati with us this summer. | | |
|
|
Breaking Bread Together At the party, we enjoyed seeing old friends and making new ones. it has been a pleasure to build a community here that is focused around supporting the communities of Nyamagongo and Shirati in Tanzania. We also savored Ezra Chacha’s delicious Tanzanian chicken drumsticks, rice pilau, and samosas as well as mnay tasty side dishes and desserts. Our commitment to these community is more than a mission, it's a commitment to family. | | |
|
|
| | Lots of Stories Over the years, each of our many volunteers, has come back with their own memory and inspiration from spending time in the Shirati region. Reading through these memories is a testament to the power of giving and sharing that we proudly treasure. Read our inspiring volunteer stories here. | | |
|
| | What's New In Shirati? The arrival of our summer volunteers is always a fun event in Nyamagongo and Shirati. New faces in town brings the attention of children who are excited to have fun summer classes and new friends. Stay tuned for our volunteer trip summary with our next Newsletter in August. Have a great summer! | | |
|
|
|
|
