Cultural Preparation

In preparation for our community service work, we learned about the culture and the people we will be serving. We had a day filled with many adventures, including a trip to the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro, Ndoro waterfall, Chagga caves, and a potential site for future community outreach programs.

In order to reach Kilimanjaro, we had to drive through the busy city and up a winding road through the mountains where we saw many small homes and communities. We saw many local people walking in the streets with their families selling food and other items as well as going about their daily lives. It was really interesting to see the villages on the mountainside. It is really hard to grasp that so many people live so far away from the city and have to climb up a steep incline just to leave their village. When we arrived at Kilimanjaro, one our tour guides gave us an in depth explanation of the routes and the team of people needed to guide people to the top of the mountain, which usually takes 7-8 days. He explained that there are many routes to reach the top, but only one to descend.



Next we drove to the Ndoro waterfall. We were greeted at the entrance by a group of three young men were going to guide us down to the waterfall. They handed out walking sticks and we began our descent. They told us to be “pole pole”, which means slow on our trip down the rocky path. As soon as we began walking on the path, we were able to hear the roaring water of the waterfall; this made us all more eager to reach the bottom. Once we reached the bottom, we saw a beautiful waterfall towering above us accompanied by the sound of rushing water. We were able to swim and stand under the waterfall. Although the water was cold, it was refreshing after a hike in 90-degree weather. After swimming, we took a steep treacherous hike back to the top hoping not to fall over the edge of the path.



Following our trip to the waterfall, we headed to the Chagga caves. We gathered around and listened to the guide tell us the history of the caves and the Chagga people. We learned that the Chagga mountain people originally built the caves because the Maasai, who lived on the lower lands, would attack the Chagga people during droughts. The Chagga people were able to farm and raise animals during droughts because they lived higher on the mountain, so the Maasai would come and try to steal from them during desperate times. The caves took the people 54 years to build, which was a whole underground village that held not only families, but also animals and food. The Maasai people found out about the caves and tried to attack by flooding the caves, but the Chagga were able to build tunnels to drain the water to the river. Once the Maasai learned that the Chagga people survived the drought, they tried to smoke the people out of the caves using spicy chili pepper and tobacco smoke, which the Chagga again were able to dodge the attack by making holes to the surface for ventilation and blocking the entrance of the cave with cowhides. This was the last attack on the Chagga people for 200 years when Tanzania became a separate country and conflict was resolved between the tribes. It was amazing to actually be able to go into the caves and see the entrance where the Chagga warriors hid to prevent attacks from the Maassai people by using “skull crushers”, which were wooden clubs to fend off the attackers. We also saw rooms where families stayed, each of which had holes to the surface for ventilation and then saw two separate pathways, one which lead to the river, and one which led to the underground village. There is a part of the cave no longer existing because it’s not in use, but could fit 60 families. We then continued our journey through the winding cave in which we saw bats and then finally climbed up a ladder to the outside world again.


We then went to a village where we hope to do community outreach in the future. The village has about 350 families and has a dispensary, which is their community center. Here, people can seek medical treatment if they are sick. Throughout the village, we saw people in drastically different living situations. Some people had houses made of brick while others had houses made of sticks and scraps of linens. Many people in the village farm. The village seems to work together to provide for every member.

Lala Salama (Good night- time for bed), 

Gabby & Kayla

(pictures won't load tonight - will try to add them when connection is better)