48 hours till I'm on that plane!

What a rush - two days till I'm in the air on the way to my kiddos, and less than three before I get to hold them again! I couldn't possibly be more excited if I tried. And to make everything even more fantastic, our wonderful partners at Speranza Tanzania (a great Italian group that works primarily with the hospital - have Google translate the page for you!) just shared photos of the incredible school supplies they were able to get a hold of. Some will go to the orphanage pre-school, and others will go to Nkoaranga primary school, just next door - over a hundred kids per class, very few materials, and in some classes they don't even have desks. Between Speranza Tanzania's haul and the stationary donated to Claire Wyatt to bring over, hopefully we can make their year a little easier!

We will also be bringing over a water filtration system for each building, because currently students have no access to safe water during the school day - this is an extension of Project Maji, the filters were so well received that we got requests for more! Take a look at some of the amazing donations below...

They were able to collect all this with the help of a local church in Rome. Similarly, a wonderful family recommended donating to us during a Bar Mitzvah ceremony where Claire was the photographer. Claire's older brother Ben has also chipped in, running a charity golf tournament at his university to raise enough cash to buy 20 containers of premature infant formula - an AMAZING gift because it's just not available in Tanzania. Almost all of our donations come in from individuals, and every tiny bit helps. I can't wait to be back on the ground and see the excitement - and watch the solar lighting installation! - firsthand. 

Just for fun, here are a few of my favorite pictures that hadn't made the website yet. They're all going to be so much bigger when I get back, I figure this is probably my last chance to get these great shots out there! 

Morning snack - bread and porridge

Beautiful Frankie

Me and my boy Pray

Ester getting tickled by another kid!

Simoni grinning

Bethan and Maureeni

Maureen cuddling David

Zi looking skeptical 

Baracka shocked by camera flash

When you hear from me next, I'll be on the ground in Tanzania! Can't wait!