CSULB: Tanzania & Uganda (2023)

Depart the United States for Uganda

Arrival in Kampala Uganda. Travel to Saayii and check-in to hospital clinic dormitories. A safety, health & security briefing will be provided followed by a welcome dinner.

Start your morning meeting with town elders and hearing more about health issues affecting the community and surrounding areas.

Spend the rest of the day working with patients in the local community and also assessing the health administration policies at the Stone and Compass Hospital. In the evening students will enjoy a traditional Ugandan celebration with the Saayii community.

Spend the day working at the Stone & Compass funded hospital in Saayii. You will work one-on-one with patients and have an opportunity to interact with local healthcare providers. Students will work on helping implement new ideas to help the community streamline their healthcare systems and also work on creating more opportunities to service the local populations. Students will have a hands-on approach to helping the hospital administration and patients.

Spend a second day working at the Stone & Compass funded hospital in Saayii. On this day local officials will also involve students in joint meetings discussing health education outreach in the community.

Experience Ugandan music through a performance of Ugandan dancers and drummers. Participate in a drumming circle. Enjoy a visit to a local market and a traditional Ugandan dinner.

Last morning in Uganda – enjoy breakfast and a farewell ceremony. Fly to Tanzania (Moshi) late in the afternoon. We will immediately go to our accommodations in Moshi, a lodge 45 minutes from the airport. You will have a chance to settle in before heading off to a Welcome Dinner.

Our first full day in Tanzania we will head to the home of the Chaga tribe. It is still an authentic tribal village. This charming place is just 15km away from Moshi Town and is the last village before the Kilimanjaro National Park. Spend the day learning from the Chaga people about traditional medicine and herbal remedies utilized in traditional healing. Also learn about the importance of coffee in the region as students get to participate in traditional coffee roasting ceremonies and also get a chance to hike into the Kilimanjaro forest and swim in a waterfall lagoon!

Rise early and travel to Arusha to visit a health clinic managed in partnership with Duke University. Over more than 20 years of collaboration, Duke and the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) have developed long-term research and education opportunities. Areas of interest include maternal health, mental health, malaria, emerging infectious diseases, trauma and injury care, and medical education. We will visit the health clinic and learn more about the programs they have put in place to not only assist the local community but provide training for Tanzanian healthcare workers.

In the afternoon we will visit a local UN office to hear more about health in Tanzania and what developments are occurring in the healthcare sector overall.

Today we travel to Karatu. We will stay in a Maasai Village to learn about their traditions and culture. While staying with the Maasai you will work with them on different health initiatives they are implementing in their community. Students will get to work directly in the local Maasai school and also learn how to be a Maasai for a day as they are led out into Maasai lands on an educational walk with tribal leaders who will discuss traditional medicines as they gather plants. In the evening enjoy a Maasai celebration.

We will continue our stay in the Maasai village. Today you will work with the local school more to
deepen students understanding of health issues.

Today you’ll rise early in the morning to descend the 600m high walls to the floor of the crater and get up close with one of Africa’s seven natural wonders! Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered one of the most beautiful and unique places in Africa. Here you will find a haven of African wildlife and you might also be lucky enough to witness the endangered Rhino! Enjoy a game drive and lunch by the hippo pool. After lunch, we’ll then drive to one of the most famous game parks in Africa, the Serengeti! Known to host one of the most amazing wildlife spectacles on earth – the great migration of wildebeest and zebra – the Serengeti’s vast plains are also home to a haven of other wildlife, including lions, cheetahs, leopards and many other predators.

In the evening enjoy a traditional Chaga BBQ at a local farm. Students will get to also enjoy an evening of traditional music as the local community comes together for a concert.

Today on our final full day students will head back to Moshi and meet with two local nonprofits who are both working in the local community doing health education and outreach. In the evening it’s time to pack up and get ready to head home the next day.

Travel back to the United States.