Reflections from Volunteering and Living at an Orphanage in Rural Africa

Highlights: 2 months of memories. In 60 seconds.

Check out the highlights from one of the best summers of my life, volunteering and living at Tabasamu Orphanage, in a rural village of Tanzania called Usa River.

Reflections: Looking back...

I was amazed by the people I met throughout my time in the Arusha district, who were so selfless, kind, and welcoming, and the awe-inspiring landscape we woke up to each day, with Mount Meru rising in one direction, and Mount Kilimanjaro rising in another.

Organic coffee (bean) fruit being grown in the lush valleys below Mount Meru.

The children became my life, and my fellow caretakers at the orphanage, as well as the orphanage director and all of his friends and family, became part of my own extended family. We spent months learning together, playing, me giving piggy-back rides, dancing to Swahili jams, playing soccer, having pillow fights (once we even knocked a lightbulb out), laughing, and loving life.

The future is bright!

Kings of the fort.

That being said, I also spent hours and hours teaching, taking care of crying and fighting children, washing dishes, helping fix dinner, washing clothes, etc. I was so exhausted some nights that I would fall asleep at the dinner table, only to wake up to the children climbing in my lap and looking up at me with those big, innocent eyes, asking for one more piggy-back ride before bedtime.

But that was perfectly OK, because every moment I spent at Tabasamu made me feel fulfilled like I've never experienced before. It truly was a life-changing experience, and I already can't wait to go back.

I also had the chance to teach English and Math in Class 2 and Class 4 (the levels, or grades, in Tanzania), and spent time working with the other teachers at Shikabania English Medium School, an incredible local primary (K-7) school in the village of Nkoaranga, which our Tabasamu children attended as well. The teachers became not only my colleagues, but great friends. The children became my enthusiastic and inquisitive students. And teachers vs. students soccer games, with 50-60 exuberant, laughing children of three class levels chasing us around became memories that will last a lifetime.

Our Tabasamu crew hanging before heading to school one morning.

So to Jennifer, Yasmini, Exaud, Praygod, Azibetha, and Isaac (who we lovingly nicknamed our Parachichi Mdogo, which means Little Avocado in Swahili, and is by far his favorite food!)...I love you more than you know. The tears you cried when I carried each of you to bed on my last night made that the hardest goodbye of my life.

We always got a little distracted when taking group pictures.

Isaac and Jennifer on our last day of school together.

And to David, the orphanage director, and Gifti, Matha, and Felister (the caretakers), you are my inspiration. The opportunities that you are giving our children every day to live wholesome, full, and incredible lives is something that I was honored to be a part of at Tabasamu, and will forever admire.

Our entire Tabasamu squad, plus some friends from our village.

Thank you, thank you, thank you...Tabasamu Orphanage. To be so happy with so little is a gift beyond measure, and was a blessing for me to get to experience. "Tabasamu" means "smile" in Swahili, and it truly lived up to its name.

Praygod and Jennifer ready for school!

Shenanigans.

More shenanigans.

We would usually sit on the floor and eat dinner together, except when I fell asleep while sitting at the dinner table...

Jennifer falling asleep in my lap...this happened all the time haha

Comparing hand sizes with Isaac.