Thursday, February 7, 2008

volunteer vacation in tanzania!!!


note the amount of exclamation points in my title for this entry. i'm excited to say the least.

cara, my best lady friend, and i are leaving early may for a two week vacation volunteering in tanzania. i think we'll probably work in some field related to AIDS prevention, as tanzania has the highest percentage (per capita) of persons with AIDS. the photos i've seen from a trip like this (one featured, right) make the trip seem like an absolutely unforgettable experience.

cornball alert: i also want to say, that i am thankful to karl for being so supportive of me (financially and emotionally) in regards to this trip. he's been nothing but supportive. to some degree, i know it sounds backwards to acknowledge that of my husband, but i'll be gone for two weeks and traveling like this is no small price. the airticket is pricey and so is the lodging, meals, and organizational program fees--all of which leads me to my question for you, reader (especially one reader named sati).

i know i can eke out the funds to make a trip like this happen (with tax returns and a weekend job at my office) but i was hoping that i could also (as the organization we're going with suggests) fundraise the funds. what's the best way to go about asking people for money? who should i ask? is it uncouth to ask co-workers (especially faculty that i work with)? is there a website that is helpful in that regard? should i ask members of the community (though i don't really know them personally)? businesses? everyone, please give me your thoughts and advice.

also, i've never traveled to an african country, so advice in that regard is helpful too. what kinds of clothes should i pack? what kind of pitfalls can i and should i avoid? what am i not asking about that i should?

4 comments:

worry said...

don't fight any hippos

Lucy Goldwyn said...

wow that's awesome! i'll come up with some ideas and email them to ya.

Inga said...

FUN. What kind of volunteer stuff?

Michelle said...

Wow..That's insane! What an incredible experience! I've seen folks set up websites for themselves...I couldn't tell ya through which venue, though. People set up auctions on ebay, too under the 'wierd' section and surprisingly if you state the cause and give details, folks will donate. In return for donation, you can put up a handmade something to sell for 10 times what it's worth ( I will help you with that if you want to try it!).