How was the trip?
It was an incredible experience! We spent 3 weeks living in the south-west of Tanzania and helping Fausta (the head of the project) with her everyday tasks with the local children.
The first two days were spent distributing first-aid boxes with basic foods and goods to mothers and their children. The situation there is very tough as many have health problems including several suffering from AIDS.
Lucia, my wife blew animal balloon figures for the children which was a huge success! Dozens of children came by asking for more and more balloons. Lucia spend almost two days making them!
How was your experience with the children?
Fantastic! There were children everywhere and as soon as they saw us, they were running, jumping, wanted to play with us... Even though these children have very little they always seemed to be so happy. They loved singing and dancing! They loved us taking pictures of them so they could see themselves on a digital camera! They laughed a lot and made jokes when they saw themselves in the photos! I think that many children in Europe have a lot to learn from them.
It was an incredible experience! We spent 3 weeks living in the south-west of Tanzania and helping Fausta (the head of the project) with her everyday tasks with the local children.
The first two days were spent distributing first-aid boxes with basic foods and goods to mothers and their children. The situation there is very tough as many have health problems including several suffering from AIDS.
Lucia, my wife blew animal balloon figures for the children which was a huge success! Dozens of children came by asking for more and more balloons. Lucia spend almost two days making them!
How was your experience with the children?
Fantastic! There were children everywhere and as soon as they saw us, they were running, jumping, wanted to play with us... Even though these children have very little they always seemed to be so happy. They loved singing and dancing! They loved us taking pictures of them so they could see themselves on a digital camera! They laughed a lot and made jokes when they saw themselves in the photos! I think that many children in Europe have a lot to learn from them.
What happened with you gave the children the presents you brought from Italy? Did you manage to take them with you ?
Yes, of course, we carried 40kg that included: shoes for the children, medical supplies and some football stuff. It was heavy to carry but well worth the effort. We delivered most of the shoes (120 pairs in total!) on the first two distribution days and we were still missing some sizes for the older kids! We left the medical supplies at Fausta's home so she could distribute them properly.
Over the 3 weeks we visited some schools and gave away soccer balls to students. They were so happy as it was the first time they had a "real" ball to play with at school. They used to play with a ball made of plastic. We were treated very kindly by everyone we met. They sang their national song for us and in one school they gave us a chicken as a present! In Italy we had raised over 2,600 Euros which we gave to Fausta, the head of the project.
This donation was made possible thanks to the contribution of many colleagues at BNP Paribas Securities Services, the bank itself, friends and family. These donations were used to buy the first-aid boxes distributed in August and September. Fausta was very grateful with the presents and the money and wrote a letter of gratitude to BNP Paribas. She also gave us a present for the bank, it is a typical Tanzanian sculpture made in ebony wood that represent many men working together - "Team Spirit"!
Yes, of course, we carried 40kg that included: shoes for the children, medical supplies and some football stuff. It was heavy to carry but well worth the effort. We delivered most of the shoes (120 pairs in total!) on the first two distribution days and we were still missing some sizes for the older kids! We left the medical supplies at Fausta's home so she could distribute them properly.
Over the 3 weeks we visited some schools and gave away soccer balls to students. They were so happy as it was the first time they had a "real" ball to play with at school. They used to play with a ball made of plastic. We were treated very kindly by everyone we met. They sang their national song for us and in one school they gave us a chicken as a present! In Italy we had raised over 2,600 Euros which we gave to Fausta, the head of the project.
This donation was made possible thanks to the contribution of many colleagues at BNP Paribas Securities Services, the bank itself, friends and family. These donations were used to buy the first-aid boxes distributed in August and September. Fausta was very grateful with the presents and the money and wrote a letter of gratitude to BNP Paribas. She also gave us a present for the bank, it is a typical Tanzanian sculpture made in ebony wood that represent many men working together - "Team Spirit"!
What impressed you most in Tanzania ?
We were very warmly greeted by the Tanzanians. We lived in a village in the middle of the mountains for four days. The village was poor and we lived in the same way as the local people during our stay with no electricity, no water and for a kitchen there were just a few stones for the fire. They treated us as if we were part of their community. They opened their homes, offered us food, showed us their surroundings (with great views of the savanna!) and told us many traditional stories. The experience was very touching for us.
There is a well known proverb that says, ‘you can travel around Tanzania by foot as there will be always somebody that will provide you with the best hospitality and you will never be alone.’ We experienced this first hand!
How are you planning to share the success of your trip with the people that contributed to the project?
A couple months ago we created a blog, to show the stages of preparing for our trip. In Tanzania we were able to update the blog with photos and experiences that we have continued with back in Italy. (Check out our page: www.luciadavid.blogspot.com), We have also posted a video to sum up our experience and we are planning to show it at the bank in Milan in the next weeks. This will be an opportunity to share our experience with our colleagues at BNP Paribas Securities Services who also helped contribute to our trip.
We were very warmly greeted by the Tanzanians. We lived in a village in the middle of the mountains for four days. The village was poor and we lived in the same way as the local people during our stay with no electricity, no water and for a kitchen there were just a few stones for the fire. They treated us as if we were part of their community. They opened their homes, offered us food, showed us their surroundings (with great views of the savanna!) and told us many traditional stories. The experience was very touching for us.
There is a well known proverb that says, ‘you can travel around Tanzania by foot as there will be always somebody that will provide you with the best hospitality and you will never be alone.’ We experienced this first hand!
How are you planning to share the success of your trip with the people that contributed to the project?
A couple months ago we created a blog, to show the stages of preparing for our trip. In Tanzania we were able to update the blog with photos and experiences that we have continued with back in Italy. (Check out our page: www.luciadavid.blogspot.com), We have also posted a video to sum up our experience and we are planning to show it at the bank in Milan in the next weeks. This will be an opportunity to share our experience with our colleagues at BNP Paribas Securities Services who also helped contribute to our trip.
Soon we will also participate in a seminar for future volunteers of the organisation: "Aiutare i bambini", that manages this project in Tanzania and other countries.
