Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.
Debby Boone

I received the following e-mail yesterday from Lisa - the CCS volunteer who volunteered for 3 weeks at WAMATA. As you can imagine I am overjoyed, and really want to thank her for following through on the coffee project and keeping me updated on the progress of my Tanzanian friends. My dreams continue to come true. I can't believe how much I miss Africa, and the genuine goodness of her people. I really do look forward to returning in the near future.


Hi Annie,
Sorry for the late email. I just returned home and am not enjoying it (I
want to go back!!)
John, the treasurer, sent me an email and I replied asking him to talk to
Silvano about the coffee bags. I'll let you know when I hear back from him.
I did ask Ellie and Silvano about the English classes. Ellie was exstatic.
She's loving it and is extremely thankful. And Silvano, his english
improved just in my short time there. He is also very thankful and misses
you a lot.
Silvano and I also sold some coffee. That was such a great idea! There
should definitely be enough money for all the desks and hopefully some books
for the girls (or whatever else they might need).
Hope you are well,
Lisa

Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.
Anonymous

Hello All,

I am so grateful to those of you who continue to stay with me on this journey... and it does continue. I have recently made contact with WAMATA. Emmanuel is elated that we will be continuing the coffee fundraiser from Canada. Thanks to Ten Thousand Villages, (a fair trade store that sells handicrafts made by third world artisans) I will be able to buy Tanzanian coffee locally. Please visit www.tenthousandvillages.ca. WAMATA will be shipping me the cloth bags with their logo, and a wire transfer system has been set-up through the bank so that I can send them the proceeds. I am so looking forward to this initiative, as I really do miss the personal fulfillment I experienced knowing that the money raised went to helping out the orphaned girls. If any of you are interested in purchasing the coffee bags, they will be selling for $5.00 each, and would make wonderful stocking stuffers.

Locally, there have been some developments as well. I had the opportunity to bring a group of students to hear Dr. Jane Goodall (one of my idols) speak last week during her Youth Conference that was held in Windsor. After hearing her speak the night before, I was very eager for my students to have the chance to hear her speak so calmly and yet come across so convicted in her message. Dr. Goodall opened the conference with a chimpanzee call that she learned while studying the behaviour of these animals in Tanzania. We were all very interested to learn about the Roots and Shoots Youth program. This is a program encouraging youth to take a stand and learn to identify, research, plan and take action to solve issues affecting animals, the environment and humans. It stresses the importance of protecting the environment, endangered and local animals. Please see: www.janegoodall.ca for more information.

This week, I will accompany another group of students to Charles Clarke Square (downtown Windsor), to meet for a forum on homelessness awareness. The Homelessness Coalition of Windsor is putting on this workshop to improve youth awareness of the poverty that affects us locally. There will be over 30 organizations present which work to combat local poverty and homelessness. I believe this will be a wonderful opportunity for my students.

I have recently received all of our safari pictures. My next entry will explain the beautiful wildlife we saw in Tanzania during our safari to the Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Manyara.

I will keep you posted on any upcoming fundraiser to support WAMATA and the orphaned girls.

Signing out,
Annie