Mosaic Fellows

Our final blog … climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro!

As promised, we are posting several videos about our Hike 4 Healthcare up Mt. Kilimanjaro. We explained a lot about our hike in the March 12 update, but the videos bring it all to life!

The first video is an explanation of why we decided to climb a mountain, and includes an update about our first day of hiking. We are standing on the porch of the eating hall overlooking the forest, and includes a side hike we took to a small crater in the mountain. We were amazed at how far the peak was from us. It was quite daunting to say the least!

The second video is taken with our friend, Jesse. We wanted everyone to meet him our so that he could explain his amazing safari company. He believes in the Pro-Mot Healthcare program so much that he decided to show his support by hiking with us in the Hike 4 Healthcare.

Unfortunately, we were too exhausted, sleep-deprived, and light headed to remember to take videos after the second day. Fortunately, a Tanzanian guide took an accidental video on the top of Kilimanjaro when we were taking photos at Uhuru Peak. At least you can see where we were!

After hiking down the mountain for two days and several hours, we were serenaded by our crew. One of our guides, Sudi, told us that the porters are grateful for the work and that they don’t have anything to give back to us as a thank you gift, so they wanted to sing a few songs for us as their gift. A short video of our “gift” is included in our final video.

When we finally made it home, took a shower, got 14 hours of sleep, and we were able to somewhat put ourselves together the next day. That is when we took a final video to explain the remainder of our trip, which includes us reaching the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Again, thank you to everyone who has generously donated to the Hike 4 Healthcare effort that will go toward the Pro-Mot Healthcare program for the children served by Building a Caring Community. Every dollar makes a difference. We have reached a little less than half of our goal, and would like to remind you that it is not too late to donate. If you are interested in donating to the Pro-Mot Healthcare program, please contact Megan at megan.moslander@mosaicinfo.org.

The Chickens are Coming Home!

After weeks of long goodbyes, putting the final touches on projects, and preparing for our departure from Tanzania, the time has finally come – we are headed home. By the time most people read this, we will be in Ethiopia. Melissa has some close friends from Ethiopia through her last job where she resettled refugees in the Denver Metro area. We will visit a few friends of those friends on our way off of the continent as a conclusion to our year in Tanzania. We hope that this time on our own will give us a chance to process everything that has happened over the past year. We also hope that we will have an opportunity to contemplate our future.

As of this moment, it is difficult to know what this experience has meant to us. This may be one of those experiences that we won’t be able to fully appreciate until much later in life. We have no way of knowing the long-term impacts of our experience here and it may be impossible to ever discern how this experience has altered our path in life.

Right now, there are only three things that we know for sure.

The first is that we want to work for human rights wherever we end up. To know that humans struggle with their daily lives many places in the world, and to not work to relieve that struggle, would be very difficult for us at this point in our lives. For us, this is not a cause, but more of a way of life.

The second thing we know is that we have learned far more than we have taught. We continue to contemplate events that have occurred here, how to best serve children with disabilities in developing countries, and what it means to walk with people instead of do things for them. We are eternally grateful to the staff at Building a Caring Community for welcoming us into their work, their culture, and their families.

The third thing that we know is that we are headed home. Back in June, we wrote a blog about chickens in Tanzania. Many of the homeowners in Tanzania own chickens; every day, the owners let the chickens out of the house and into the streets. The chickens roam around the streets all day. Once the sun sets, the chickens return home. Throughout the day, no one really knows where their chickens are, but the chickens return to their home every night.

Initially we thought this was humorous. Now we think that we can relate to the chickens. For the past year, we have been roaming around. No one really knew where we belonged, but in the back of our minds we knew where we were going. Finally, the sun is setting and the chickens are returning home.

Here is a picture of us at our going away party. In order from right to left: Rich, Melissa, Kaaya, Genevieve, Barb and John.

We would like to thank everyone for reading our blog throughout the past year. Also, thank you to everyone who has provided support through positive thoughts, prayers, and financial contributions. If anyone is still interested in Mosaic’s work internationally, you can subscribe to Rich and Barb’s (our supervisors) blog.

To our friends and families, thank you for supporting us in our life goals and dreams. We cannot wait to see you!

To the staff at Building a Caring Community and Mosaic, thank you for providing an opportunity for us to learn. This experience and the knowledge we have gained will be invaluable throughout the rest of our lives.

Asante Sana!