Hi there all you previous and potential Madventurers!

It's been a while since I updated you on all the happenings here in Tanzania - but that's because we've been so busy in Q1 of 2009.We've run 4 projects so far this year at 2 different schools and the results are brilliant.Take a look at the new photos as they get uploaded - I'm sure you'll be impressed with the progress!

So we've been continuing work at Kisereni Primary school - there is now a new water tank fed by rain water with a washing area for hands and dishes.This was constructed in January by a truly international team comprising England, Scotland, USA and a Chinese Canadian from Singapore!The beautiful mural was painted by the following group, who also continued with the gardening work and reconstruction of an existing old building in preparation for a project starting in July.The recent rains have produced a jungle of new plants and the school is looking wonderful. The community have resumed work on the new classroom block and this should be finished by June to allow us to knock through the current classrooms to construct a brand spanking new kitchen and dining hall which the school desperately needs.If you're still undecided about your summer holidays - come and join us for some hard work and lots of laughs starting July 4th.

The other projects that we have run have been at a new school at the village further up the road called Waramu.The teachers have made us so welcome and the pupils are really lovely - so much so that we've decided to stay on and do another project…but more about that in a minute.We ran our first truly separate East African 'Gaps for Grumpies' project which was a roaring success. This part of the Madventurer family is aimed at 40+ individuals…and they were an inspiration to many.Their sense of humour will be remembered by the people of Waramu for many years, not to mention their dedication and hard work.They managed to completely reconstruct a fabulous new kitchen at the school in only 5 weeks.It's now in use and the school cook is constantly smiling…I can't wait to see the kids faces next week when they return from Easter holidays.

There was also another project running at Waramu during March when we were joined by a group of young people from Tyneside for 2 weeks.They took on the task of re-painting 3 classrooms, which now look fantastic.The difference in the learning environment by just a few coats of fresh paint is astounding!The group also played football with the pupils everyday as well as exploring the local village, searching for bush babies after dark and visiting a Massai village.They had a lot of adventures in the short time they were here.

Continuing on from their good work, the next 3 months sees us continuing our support of Waramu primary school.We will paint the remaining classrooms, repair the foundations of the buildings to ensure they last for a long time to come, and re-plaster and paint the outside walls of the school - with the trademark Mad murals of course!We also aim to build a new staffroom building - the current one is very small and has poor light - the teachers are struggling to do their work and have to share 2 to a desk.So there's a lot of hard work to do - especially in the rainy season, but we are determined to leave the Madventurer stamp on Waramu and give them a school that reflects their dedication to educating the children of Machame.

In amongst all the work we've had lots of great times.We have had invitations to Graduation ceremonies and weddings, many people have gone on Safari and seen the Big 5 and much more, a group went to Zanzibar for the full moon parties (and came back in one piece!), two volunteers were successful in ascending Kilimanjaro - a huge achievement by both of them, and Tanzania crew Jessica and I managed to squeeze in a trip to Nairobi to see reggae royal family Morgan Heritage play their first concert in East Africa.

So what are you going to be doing in the coming months?Want to come to one of the most beautiful countries in Africa and have a life changing experience?We'd love to see you here.

Karibu sana! (Very Welcome in Kiswahili language)

Ailsa