Intro

Welcome friends and family. Up until now, I've resisted the urge to create a web log but with my upcoming trip to Tanzania on Oct.15, I thought this would be a great way to tell everyone about my humble adventures in sub-Saharan Africa.

Here I am with fellow Canadian journalists, filmmakers and photographers who will be travelling to Tanzania, Burkina-Faso, Ghana, Ethiopia, Honduras, Bolivia and Cambodia on a volunteer contract with CUSO-VSO. Below me, in the jaunty hat, is Scott Portingale, the Edmonton-based artist who will be joining me in Tanzania. (Photo Credit: Miguel Hortiguela, pictured here in red)

CUSO, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, was formerly known by its full name: Canadian University Services Overseas. In 2008, it merged with Volunteer Services Overseas (VSO International) which was launched in Britain in 1958. Back then, both organizations were popular with university students who would often take a year off between school and work to volunteer in a developing country.

Today, the average age of CUSO-VSO volunteers is 42. They are educated and highly skilled midwives, nurses, doctors, teachers, bankers, business people, civil servants, youth workers, HIV-AIDS specialists and disability consultants. They are, in fact, you.

CUSO-VSO attracted me because they don't send money to countries in need, they send people. Those people work with in-country organziations and local volunteers to impart skills and facilitate change. Most volunteers go on one- to two-year placements. My six-week gig will involve tracking down those Canadian volunteers and telling their stories. I'll be based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city (3 million people) on the coast, facing the ancient spice island of Zanzibar.

Tanzania's 43 million people are about equally split between Muslims, Christians and followers of indigenous spirituality. They come from 130 different ethnic groups and speak mostly English and Kiswahili. Although it has never experienced civil war, it is one of the world's poorest countries. About six per cent of the population have AIDS and nearly 60 per cent live below the poverty line.

Tanzania is home to one of the oldest known prehistoric sites on earth at Oldipai (formerly Oldivai) Gorge and also the great Serengeti plains. Soon, and for six weeks, it will also be home to me. Witness the transformation from cocky Canuck to heat-exhausted nomad. As Neil Young says: walk with me. Countdown to departure: 10 days.

Kwaheri, rafiki.