“Tanzania made me feel genuinely happy,” said junior Amy McGrath, one of the seventeen members of the Plymouth state community who went on the trip of a lifetime. Students spent 13 days in January in Nyamuswa, Tanzania in East Africa.
The students and faculty worked for Project Zawadi handing out school supplies to African students who have been sponsored by various people. These particular students can not afford their uniforms, pens, pencils, notebooks, or even shoes without the help of individuals and non profit organizations. If students did not have these necessities they would not be allowed to attend school.
Throughout the 13 days, PSU members did different types of services for the community. Their tasks included removing sand from classroom floors, installing new windows (the windows consisted of bars and a frame, no glass), moving and hoeing the dirt, and clearing a site for a new building. They also painted the school with paint that was about a 50/50 consistency of water and paint so the school can conserve materials.
“The trip changed my perspective on everything,” Jeff Babbin said, “everything I do I can relate it to Tanzania and to my own experiences.”
PSU students were also able to teach and work with the students in the Nyamuswa schools which included teaching them games using flash cards and alphabet tiles. They even played games like “the wonder ball.”
Several of the PSU members had the unfortunate experience of being attacked by killer bees. While singing “When You’re Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands,” Heather Beaulieu was suddenly attacked and covered head to toe in bees. Villagers in the African community helped some of the students by pouring kerosene on them, which instantly killed the bees. “I felt like I was in a horror film,” McGrath said.
Overall, though, the students claimed the trip to be a life changing experience and recommend it to everyone.