3:30am on Sunday 23rd June and we set off! Me, Nadine, Ian and Rebecca drove down to Manchester Airport in the minibus to meet the Tanzanian group. The bus ride down was a mix of excitement, tiredness, and some guilt after accidentally killing a pheasant, RIP.
When we arrived at the airport we were all very excited. But then we had to play the waiting game. We were joined by Mary and her daughter Hazel, we then sat in a café for around 2 hours constantly watching the arrival board to see when our Tanzanians had landed. They landed around 8.30am and even though the group had been on two very long flights that didn’t dampen their mood. Ivan came straight to us with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen followed by the rest of the group. Meeting everyone was really lovely, hugs all round and lots of attempts from me and Nadine trying to remember how to greet in Swahili.
It was really humbling to see how happy the group was to finally be here, and it was very exciting that after months of fundraising and planning they had finally arrived. Seeing all the group in person instead of just names on paper was very nice.
We made our way to the bus to set off home to Gillerthwaite for the night, and what a loud bus ride it was. We were entertained by songs from the Tanzanians, some that we knew from previous meetings and some new ones we are yet to learn. It was lovely to see how grateful and happy they all were, the smiles they had on their faces were very heart warming.
We sang many songs on the way to Gillerthwaite, ate and drank plenty and even had a fun ride on the escalators. The whole experience of meeting the Tanzanians for the first time was brilliant, really heart-warming and quite emotional. I can easily say I’m very excited for the following three weeks.
Kira Thompson.
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