Valley Press newspaper article
The reporter, Maria O'Donnell, did a good job getting a feel for the experience. She interviewed me via phone call outside of Joe's Barber Shop while Owen was getting his back to school haircut. She asked to speak to Owen as well, and I was impressed by how much she got him to open up and talk!
There are a few misinterpretations, but most would not be noticed by anyone that wasn't there. I would like to clarify that the $375 for supplies and $175 for textbooks raised was solely from the Squadron Line fundraisers. We raised additional money from friends and family (thank you!!) through our online fundraising.
In describing the hotels, I think Springlands got confused with the hotel out in the remote location of Same, where English was limited, power and internet were sporadic, and they weren't accustomed to Westerners. While Springlands did lose power pretty much daily, it was never an inconvenience, and the staff there made us feel like family from day one! Well, you can get the idea how much we loved it there from reading that post :-)
I still miss it there every day. I am thankful that I can still be in touch with the people and what is going on at TAFCOM, Kilimanjaro Orphanage, Gunge School and Springlands through facebook!
And finally, I have some touches from Tanzania in my room at school. I am constantly telling my students, "Pole, Pole!" when they try to rush through their work.
