In February 2011, Childreach International's Andrew Daly, one of our Project Management interns, flew out to Tanzania to assess our school improvement projects, and discuss the potential of future ones. Here he recalls his experiences and first impressions of Tanzania.

I went to Tanzania in order to see how our school improvement projects are progressing on the ground, and also to conduct site assessments for future projects alongside our Logistics Project Manager. It was also a chance for me to meet and get to know the staff of the Childreach International Tanzania office. I’ve been in touch with them by email and skype for quite a while, but spending time with them and working with them on a day-to-day basis in their own office and in the field has really helped us build up a good working relationship.

Apart from a couple of trips to Morocco it was my first time in Africa, but I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Tanzania. We were in Kilimanjaro region. I was expecting to see Mount Kilimanjaro, and it provided a spectacular backdrop to my visit as it was in view most of the time I was there. There was probably a bit more variety in terms of scenery than I’d expected. Some areas were dry and dusty with little in terms of vegetation, but other areas were very green. Moshi, which is the base for our Tanzanian operations, is quite a laid-back town, not too big, not too noisy, and quite easy to get around.

Visiting the project sites was hugely rewarding. I knew the names and stories of all the schools very well from having worked on them from the London office, but having actually seen them now I have a much better understanding of what we are doing and what still needs to be done. I saw schools and school facilities before, during and after renovation. We saw classrooms that were crumbling and in a dangerous state of repair. We saw kitchens that were little more than a few sheets of corrugated iron for walls and dirty ground for a floor and were extremely unhygienic. We saw toilets that were in such bad conditions that they were a health hazard. And then we saw classrooms, kitchens and toilets that had been newly constructed or renovated, and it was clear to see the positive impact our school improvement programmes have on the learning environment and on the academic potential of the children.

During each school visit we photographed and videoed the school facilities and we interviewed children and teachers to find out as much as possible about their needs. Wherever possible we tried to do this during breaktime so as to minimise disruption of classes. When we arrived at each school the children would inevitably be curious about the two mzungus (white people) walking around. They would often be shy to begin with but they would soon be crowding round us smiling, waving, posing for photographs and practising their English. By the end of each visit, all the shyness would disappear and they would be running alongside our car waving and shouting goodbye as we left.

The whole trip was a great learning experience for me. I feel that I’ve learned a great deal about what we at Childreach International are doing and why. This learning experience is very important, as the organisation is constantly evaluating the impact of its work and asking how it can improve its performance in the future.

The highlight of the trip was meeting the children and their energy and enthusiasm and the warmth of the welcome they gave us. In fact, the word a visitor hears time and time again in Tanzania is the Swahili word for welcome – karibu! I look forward to hearing that word again.