If you would have asked me at the beginning of 2023 what were the chances of me spending 24 days volunteering at a centre for vulnerable youth in western Tanzania, I would have said the chances were very low. But the way I live life at the moment has an interesting way of taking me to places to live interesting experiences.
After Sophie decided to run The Grand Raid 2023 in Reunion Island, a French territory off the coast of Madagascar, we decided to look into spending some time in Africa after the race. Around the same time, I saw an ad on social media about an organization named Climbing for a Reason and their project at Jipe Moyo Centre. After researching what the project was all about and speaking to the stewards of the project, Sophie and I decided to spend three weeks in Musoma, Tanzania, volunteering at the centre.
Tanzania
Tanzania is a large country in East Africa, notoriously known for Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest peak, and Serengeti National Park, perhaps the most famous natural park in the world.
We knew very little about Tanzania prior to coming, which was nice because there were no preconceived biases about its society and culture. After a month in this beautiful country, our main takeaways are the following:
Tanzanians are very proud of their stability. Since their independence in 1961, Tanzania has not had any major internal conflict. The same can’t be said about many of its neighbors. Tanzania has many tribes with different languages and customs, yet they all seem to put Tanzania above their differences. Everyone we met was very proud of their peace.
Tanzania is a country formed by two separate former British colonies: Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Tanganyika was a primarily East African Christian region, while Zanzibar is a group of islands with strong historical Arab influence (and primarily Muslim). Today Tanzanians of different religions and ethnicities live in harmony, respecting each other's differences. In Tanzania, everyone lives and lets others live.
In Tanzania, there is a strong emphasis on conservation. Approximately 38% of Tanzania’s land area is set aside in protected areas for conservation. Tanzania is home to a large population of large land mammals, many proudly displayed in their currency. Tanzanians are very proud of being the home to these animals, and they strongly support their protection and conservation.
Musoma
Musoma is a small city on the northwest corner of Tanzania, near the border with Kenya and Uganda. Musoma lies on the shores of Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and the world’s largest tropical lake. Musoma’s economy is driven by fishing, agriculture, and tourism, being near various national parks and conservation areas.
Musoma is dotted with Kopjes, ancient rock formations that stick out of more recent soils. These granite formations have been shaped by water and wind over millions of years, and as the soils around them erode, these giant rocks become more exposed. Today there are thousands of boulders dotting the landscape of Musoma and Northwestern Tanzania, some as big as a large house. This makes the region a climbing paradise.
Climbing for a Reason
A few years ago, Lucho Birkner and Mateo Barrenengoa heard about Musoma and its climbing potential and decided to visit. From there, they decided to bring their organization Climbing for a Reason, its purpose being to develop a climbing area in developing communities and bring the local populace instruction and gear in order to be able to develop a climbing community which could bring tourism and more economic prosperity to the region.
Lucho and Mateo heard about Musoma through a volunteer at Jipe Moyo Centre, a local centre for vulnerable youth. They decided to bring their project to the centre, and along with the leader of the centre at the time, sister Anunciata Chacha, they began to develop the local area for climbing.
Jipe Moyo Centre
We arrived at the centre on October 29, after a very long journey from Reunion Island. As with Tanzania, we did not know what to expect when entering the centre. Jipe Moyo is composed of several buildings, somewhat well maintained and clean. Both the kids and the staff received us warmly. Our guest room was quite comfortable, complete with basic amenities.
Jipe Moyo houses 45 kids at the moment, although that number oscillates consistently due to new arrivals as well as students graduating. The youngest are two years old, while the oldest are 17. There are about three times as many girls as boys, and the majority of the children are above 10 years old. Jipe Moyo houses kids from various parts of Tanzania, facing difficulties such as being parentless, abandonment, and domestic abuse. The goal of the centre is to nurture, provide a safe home, and educate the kids so that they have opportunities to succeed in adulthood.
Sophie and I were relieved that the centre had the resources to satisfy the basic needs of the kids. They have access to clean water, electricity, three meals a day, a dry, comfortable place to sleep, clothing, and a place where they could feel safe.
If I could summarize it in one sentence, our role at Jipe Moyo was to provide company, comfort, connection, and affection to the kids. I learned through this experience that giving a hug, having a chat, explaining a homework question, spotting them on a climb, making jokes, sharing an orange, and any other activity that interacted with the kids provided them with a primal need: a need to feel like they matter to someone. The kids did not really care what we did with them, as long as it was something. They always were excited when we would come see them, and really enjoyed our presence.
After a few days at the centre, we realized that even though the kids’ basic needs were being met, it was not an easy goal to achieve. Anyone that has worked at an organization that relies on donations understands that donations are not always constant, and there is a perpetual need to look for funding. Jipe Moyo has sponsorships that assist them in getting by at the moment, but these sponsorships will run out, and the staff is working hard to find more sources of funding. The beauty about coming to a place like this and helping is two fold:
We see exactly where our funds are going, and
Every dollar we donate has a higher impact than if we donated it to a typical North American charity.
Here are some ways Sophie and I assisted Jipe Moyo during our stay.
Health
The kids of Jipe Moyo are not insured and Tanzania does not have universal health care. Even though there is a monthly budget for health incidentals, it really puts a strain on the finances when a kid gets sick or injured. During our stay two of the youngest children had medical issues, and Sophie decided to cover the hospital and medicine costs for both of them. She also donated the medicine to re-stock Jipe Moyo’s medical cabinet.
One of the largest recurring costs at the centre is food. It is expensive to feed 45 children and 10 staff three times a day, and just like everywhere else, Tanzania has suffered from food inflation the past two years. Sophie and I decided to assist by buying one 100kg bag of maize and one 100kg bag of beans. These two bags help feed the kids for almost a month, and each bag cost us about $100 USD.
Education
We found that public education in Tanzania is very good, relative to western countries. The kids learn at a similar level that both Sophie and I did back when we were young. But what we found peculiar about the education system in Tanzania was the sudden switch from Swahili to English, when the kids begin high school. When tutoring the kids, we realized that a lot of them understood the concepts in Swahili, but had trouble translating them to English. They also had a difficult time understanding all the new English words in their various textbooks. Sophie and I found a simple solution to assist them in their studies: Dictionaries. We bought six dictionaries so that the kids could use them for their homework. The kids found them very useful.
In Tanzania, education is public. However, if you fail a grade, to repeat it you have to pay. At Jipe Moyo, several kids have failed a grade due to their life circumstances, and it is common for volunteers to assist financially so that kids can continue their studies. Sophie and I as well as another volunteer decided to assist one of the older girls so that she could restart her schooling.
There were a few other small ways we helped Jipe Moyo financially, and I wish we could do a lot more. Sister Faustina, the current head of the centre, runs it very efficiently, but there are many ways we could assist her so that Jipe Moyo can continue fulfilling its purpose: to provide these kids a safe home and to provide them with the opportunity to become educated and productive adults.
If you are interested in helping in any way, message me directly.
Final Takeaways
I am not exaggerating when I say our experience at Jipe Moyo was a life changing one. I have come out of my time in western Tanzania seeing the world with different eyes. I feel enormous gratitude to have been born to a family that nurtured me, cared for me, and gave me the tools to become the adult that I am today. We all have face challenges during our lives, but nothing comes close to what these kids have lived through. I know sometimes it is hard to comprehend, but everyone reading this is so extraordinarily privileged relative to the majority of the world.
Sophie and I had a key realization during our stay at Jipe Moyo: We are both able to love and nurture a child that is not biologically ours. I think that this realization will lead us to a life path that perhaps we would not have taken had we never had this experience.
Jipe Moyo will always be in our heart. I can’t promise I will be back, but we will be in constant contact with those at the centre, and we see ourselves assisting the centre in the future.
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