SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 21
Today’s distribution took us to Chekeni Mwasonga, about an hour outside the city. We were struck by the school’s community - despite an average of 82 students per class, the connection between the parents and the school is carefully fostered by the headmaster.
Before the distribution began, the parents gathered and listened attentively as Benjamin and our team explained what their children would be receiving in the bedkits. As Benjamin translated into Swahili, the team displayed the items, Teegan modeled the kanga and backpack, and demonstrated the mattress carried on the head - a common practice here. The parents responded with joyful cheers and waves of gratitude.
This school also includes a thoughtful follow-up component; every Friday, teachers conduct home visits to check in on the families of children who received bedkits. After a previous distribution here in 2023, teachers confirmed that the bedkits were being used as intended, including proper use of the mosquito nets.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Sri Lanka, 2025: July 20 and 21
July 20th
Today was our first day in beautiful Sri Lanka. It started with a team meeting with our wonderful in-country partners, the rotarians of Kelaniya.
What a wonderful adventure we will be on. The rest of the day we travelled south through lush countryside with a stop at the most southern tip of Sri Lanka.
We can’t wait to see the children tomorrow.
Team Sri Lanka, 2025
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Sri Lanka, 2025: July 21
Beliatta, Sri Lanka
Our first distribution was today and we successfully delivered 1200 bedkits!
We were welcomed with a special ceremony last night at our hotel and we continued to feel the warm embrace of Sri Lanka as we began the day with our wonderful Rotary partners.
Floral tributes, marching bands and beautifully costumed dancers celebrated the arrival of the volunteers and made it a truly special day!
Team Sri Lanka, 2025
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Sri Lanka, 2025: July 20
We have arrived!
This has to be one of the best on-arrival greetings we have ever had. This trio met us right at the exit ramp from the plane, guided us through immigration, and on to baggage claim, making sure we had all our luggage. Zero problems with the arrival card. Many thanks to the Rotary Club of Kelaniya for easing our entry into Sri Lanka.
Team Sri Lanka, 2025
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 20
Today the team was able to enjoy a day off. We took in a little Tanzanian culture and history with a quick plane ride to Zanzibar. How lucky were we to enjoy this incredible sunrise as we stepped off the plane.
We were met at the airport by our guide for the day - Mady. He took us to our first stop which was the Jambo Spice Farm where we were greeted by Doula. Doula informed us that there are over 30 spice farms in Zanzibar.
He then took us through the farm when we encountered over 20 different spices including lemongrass, vanilla, coffee, cacao and of course cinnamon - known as the Queen of Spices and cloves known as the King of Spices! Doula even made us some new jewelry.
And who knew that empty coconuts are used to fertilize new growth?!
We then had an amazing lunch of the local fare before we departed to ”Stonetown” where the slaves were encased. It is a town built all of stone with no cars and of course it is the birthplace of Freddy Mercury!
We are back at it tomorrow with another 700 bedkits to distribute as we complete the last half of the total of 7000 bedkits in Tanzania!
Lala Salama!! 🛌
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Sri Lanka, 2025: July 18
Pre-Arrival
Team Sri Lanka is ready for take-off and eager for the busy distribution ahead. We are looking forward to working with our partners, the Rotary Club of Kelaniya. Stay tuned.
Team Sri Lanka, 2025
Rotary Club of Kelaniya 🇱🇰 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 18
We had a wonderful day at Vikindu Technical College. It was a lovely site with plenty of shady tress and very pleasant weather.
It was a busy site with lots of activity and even a few monkeys. We used the mattresses today to build a backdrop for our 132 pictures.
Unfortunately, we ran into some terrible weekend traffic so it took 4 hours to get back to the hotel, a trip that would normally take 1.5 hours. Just another day in Tanzania . . . .
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 17
Today we travelled to Mgagala Annex school to begin Day Four of our distributions. As we arrived we saw all the volunteers from Upendo working hard to unload the 700 backpacks and mattresses from trucks and vehicles.
In the middle of the unloading was Mama Wandoa carefully watching every detail and counting. She started counting at around 5 a.m. at her home making sure every backpack was accounted for and placed in the right vehicle. She has a system. It is marking everything in groups of fives. Every time a helper walks by her and has five articles they say tano (5) and she tracks it on her clipboard. Her careful attention to detail makes for a very successful distribution.
During our day SCAW and all the volunteers count children, pictures, labels, mattresses, backpacks and at the end of the day we celebrate that 700 children are going home to have a better sleep.
It all begins with tano, a small number that grows to amazing joy for the children.
Tonight we count our blessings. What a wonderful day.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 16
Today we visited the school Chanzige and we were greeted by signs all along the school road that were all positive affirmations like “never stop learning as life never stops teaching” and “you are the hero of your own story.” Someone has put a lot of love into this school and it shows. The children were so friendly and loved practicing their English with us.
While handing out the 700 bedkits we noticed that the children were kicking around plastic bottles to play football with. Our generous partners from Super Banco gifted some “footballs” to us so we were happy to gift two of them to this school. After the headmaster showed us his football skills the kids were happily playing with them before we left for the day.
This is my first distribution with SCAW and it has been such a rewarding, enlightening and heartfelt experience, especially because I am able to share it with my mother.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 15
Day 2 of distributions was busy with lots of smiling faces eagerly awaiting us. We were set up under a beautiful ancient mango tree. The children waited patiently and sang some songs while we set up.
We began with tying a kanga around each child, took their photos and ushered them to collect their backpacks stuffed with goodies and their mattresses.
There were a lot of high fives and thank yous. Not even some brief rain dampened their smiles.
The volunteers were amazing. It was a busy and gratifying day.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 14
Team Tanzania has arrived and are ready to work!
After a gruelling two days of travel, the team of 8 has arrived in Dar es Salaam to begin the journey of enriching the lives of 7000 children in Tanzania with a bedkit from our generous donors.
We’ve had a lot of time to bond and get to know each other as team members travelled from British Columbia to Toronto to Addis Ababa to Dar.
We hit the ground running after a good night’s sleep with a pre-distribution meeting Monday morning at Mama Wandoa’s house. Here we were able to see where all of the bedkit items are made and stored. The mattresses come from the factory every morning. Mama’s team have been hard at work over the past 4 months. This is our 25th year of partnership with Mama Wandoa, her children, her grandchildren and now her great grandchildren along with the exceptional volunteers from Upendo!
Immediately following the pre-distribution meeting we travelled to a school near Mama’s house where we were met by 700 smiling faces of children and their parents.
Stay tuned as we work through the next 10 days handing out 7000 bedkits and proceed with the new sleep project supported by Mama and her team.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 13
It’s late Sunday and we’ve just arrived after quite a gruelling couple of days. Lots of waiting and a loooooong flight, but we are all in good spirits and will sleep well tonight. Wendy and Benjamin met us at the airport.
We are meeting at Mama Wandoa’s house at 9:00 Monday morning for a pre-distribution meeting followed by the first distribution.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦
SCAW Blog: Tanzania, 2025: July 12
Pre-distribution preparations:
The 3 photos below show the Upendo volunteers who did the packing of the 7000 bedkits. They are all stored safely. The black coloured bedkits are for small children and the blue coloured bedkits are for older children, all carefully labelled for boys and girls.
All 7000 children are waiting eagerly for their new uniforms and a mattress to enable them to have a peaceful night’s sleep. From Monday the 14th to 25th July we will happily tell the children "LALA SALAMA".
At this time, the SCAW Canadian volunteers are on their way to Tanzania. They should be almost half-way through their journey so stay tuned as there will be lots of excitement to write about. Both teams are eager to work together to ensure more children will have a good night’s sleep.
Team Tanzania, 2025
Upendo 🇹🇿 + SCAW 🇨🇦