This is the first of a series of posts on the 2014 Directors’ Trip to Tanzania
Late last year, we asked four members of the FoTZC Board of Directors what they were most excited to see on the Directors’ trip in March, 2014. We wanted to share what they were looking forward to before the trip!
Rich Johnston: Having been involved with FoTZC from its beginnings in 1996, I am very excited to be going back again to see the progress we have made in collaboration with our partner schools and communities, and to talk to the many Tanzanians who are making those schools and development projects succeed on a day to day basis. I hope to renew old friendships and start new ones, and in particular to meet Tanzanians who started young in FoTZC partner schools and now are on their way to becoming community leaders.
Judi Wineland: I am fortunate to wear many hats when I travel to Tanzania – safari director, lodge owner, nature refuge entrepreneur, and mountain climbing operator – but my role with FoTZC is where my passion lies. Because I have had the opportunity for the past 32 years to watch Tanzanian communities strive to improve the lives of their children and all of their citizens, I can say that FoTZC and its donors have continually responded to the needs of the Tanzanian people. FoTZC listens, evaluates, re-evaluates, measures, and produces. I am proud to head back to Tanzania with my fellow directors to hear directly from the Tanzanian people what is important for their future.
Lucy Karl: I am especially excited for the March 2014 Directors trip to see two of the projects we highlighted as priorities for FoTZC during our November 2011 Directors trip: the beading project with the Enuyata Womens’ Collaborative under Cecilia’s tutelage and the new girls’ dormitory at Soit Sambu Secondary School. When I first visited the Enashiva Nature Refuge, the elders I met asked “where are your children?” That question has stayed with me and I have long hoped to introduce my children to the people of Loliondo who have touched my soul. I am thrilled that several of my adult children are joining me on this trip. I look forward to sharing with them my commitment to FoTZC’s projects and my affection for the people our projects serve.
Bob Treitman: It’s been over five years (too long!) since my last Directors’ visit to Tanzania, so I am looking forward to seeing the projects that we’ve completed since then. I’m eager to see the new teacher housing in the Enashiva area that our donors have so generously paid for, and to meet the students, teachers, and administrators of the schools with whom we are working. I’m also excited to get to know the members of the Enyuata Women’s Collaborative, and to see how the projects we are funding are improving their lives.
Stay tuned for more posts about the Directors’ Trip!