My students work and my current life

Focus Group Discussion with community members

In the shade, under a huge tree of an unknown name (to me atleast), in the courtyard of a school in Paje, Zanzibar, Tanzania, my students begin their practice community assessment. On my side of things, it was a bit of a scramble to coordinate the placements with my Program Director between the students local NGO partner (ZANGOC) and the community leaders.

"Karibuni, you are most welcome to your village. Please come follow. Very welcome" The Sheha (village elder) lead Christine, my partner in crime volunteer buddy, and me to the court yard where the meeting will take place. All the village representatives were there from each part of the village. 

"What do you do?" I get asked a lot these days.

In short, I'm in an vulnerable country teaching students about grant proposal writing while coordinating their practicums in different communities on Zanzibar. This will eventually give them the life skills in community assessment and community empowerment. This helps to alleviate and improve several different aspects of their lives in the community. I guess that's not very short.