Community Service - Materuni - September 2007

"When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me, speaking words of wisdom - let it be" - they sang ... building over 300 blocks was no joke! But, the whole group can confidently say that they had no regrets whatsoever over signing their names down for a once-in-a-life-time experience of intense hard labour on a classroom in the village of Materuni. Forming a long line from the trusty old school truck that brought us, swinging and swaying through the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro on a narrow road with steep views on either side, this was the only way we would have unloaded our entire luggage and forgotten our comfy pillows.


The campout location was a sight to see - a beautiful view of Mt. Kilimanjaro on one side and a view of Moshi town on the other, as well as a full moon and swaying old trees by night. We sat by the fire to watch our "oh so experienced" chefs for the night, Niral and Tilak, away heating our dinner amidst banana trees and hungry dogs. Aside from the watchman’s horrendous religious karaoke on his radio in the middle of night, the girls hoped they would get a good night's sleep - oh, we were so wrong!



As the icy, morning breeze blew through our hair and the fog clogged up our vision, the group arose to the sound of roosters and religious hymns being sung in the church- an air of determination and hard work hung in the air and obviously the thought of Sandra bringing up watermelons, pizzas, nutella and waffles for lunch, engaging half our minds. Everyone, including the locals and the teachers worked hard on Saturday, be it applying their ratio skills when mixing the cement or banging down on the bricks. Danny led the way ordering his troops to get digging whilst the second batallion began mounting the bricks on the foundation - progress was finally underway and soon enough smiles were all around when the sound of Sandra’s car was heard driving towards the camp.


Rusty, old and heavy brick machines saw the big boys - strong and motivated - lifting and pushing down on 30kg fresh bricks. "Beth", the brick, was reincarnated many times as Mr. Beverige and his gang sang to the Beatles - one thing was for sure - it needed some working on! Regular water breaks were taken to ensure we were all in "good health" of course! Come evening, massages were high on the list for everyone as they enjoyed Yona and Julia’s fatty sausages and Kishan’s generous soda donations. After a couple of ghost stories from Danny and Laurence around the camp fire, whilst Tilak scared the girls by jumping out of the bushes, we were all in our tents by curfew, warm and safe, listening to the sound of our faithful watchman singing once again (groan!).

We all arose in the morning to the sound of the church bells and religious hymns and grins from ear to ear knowing that we would all soon be back to our beds and some nice long showers. The local community appreciated the help from the ISM members and everyone jumped into the truck with a happy feeling of success - it was time to go home. Sore muscles galore, we hopped into the truck, knowing that this was a trip worth remembering and a sure good deed for the community. Goodbye Materuni, Moshi - we’re coming back!
Amanda, Katie, Niral and Kareena (D1)



Our previous Hard Labour trip was at the beginning of September 2007. Click here to see photos.