My first two weeks in the office at Africare in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania have been surprisingly busy. In fact, on my first day I was asked to accompany two co-workers on a five-day trip west to Dodoma. In Dodoma we met with representatives from the other partner organizations involved in the COPE project. We also had the opportunity to visit a household and evaluate the impact of the aspect of the COPE project designed to assist orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) households in generating income.

From Dodoma we drove three hours north to a small, rural town called Kondoa. It was pretty slow going since the roads were rough and rocky but when we got there we were escorted through the village to a specific household. Behind the house there was a small chicken coup with about six chickens and a pile of eggs. A community member explained that they would raise the chicks that would hatch from the eggs and sell them at the local market as a means of generating income.

The trip opened my eyes in more ways than one. Most of my time in Tanzania has been spent in major cities, so it was my first time visiting a village and seeing how people live in such a rural setting. Also, it was great to witness the direct impact of the program and to get an understanding for what kind of people the COPE project is serving.

Although I'm back in the office now, I enjoyed my time in the field and I'm looking forward to my next trip to Dodoma. I should be headed out there around August to administer a series of surveys designed to assess the impact COPE has had on the community it serves.

See where Krista is traveling -- Map of Tanzania: CLICK HERE