The when & where of the School Visit?

Merlin321

I remember discussions about a visit to a school during this tour and it is mentioned in the tour document booklet. My wife and I have a couple of soccer balls and some school supplies to give the kids (or the teachers for the kids) that we would like to bring, but I don't see the school visit mentioned in the itinerary. Anyone know (especially a Tauck person) when & where the school visit is scheduled?

Ilene in Fla

Two years ago, the school visit was the morning right after we departed the hotel at the Ngorongoro crater. That was great because we got the school supplies out of our luggage early in the tour!

Be sure to have a hand sanitizer with you to use when you leave the school. All the kids want to touch you, and most of them had runny noses. (Just a heads up!)

However, do not rely on my information. Maybe someone will reply who has been on this tour in 2014 and will know the current school visit schedule.

British

Merlin321 wrote:

I remember discussions about a visit to a school during this tour and it is mentioned in the tour document booklet. My wife and I have a couple of soccer balls and some school supplies to give the kids (or the teachers for the kids) that we would like to bring, but don't see the school visit mentioned in the itinerary. Anyone know (especially a Tauck person) when & where the school visit is scheduled?

Are you talking about the booklet you receive when you have paid the balance of the tour? Ilene has obviously been more recently than me, because when I did that tour about 2007 we did not visit a school. If it is not mentioned in that final document, then I suspect that you do not visit a school. Hopefully someone who has recently been on this tour will see your message. I was on the Tanzania, Zanzibar tour in July and we did visit a school and it was lovely. I thought that more people might have taken things for the kids than I saw, but they may have donated money instead. If you get no responses and it is important to you, then I suggest you call Tauck and ask.

Merlin321

Yes, in the booklet that you get after you pay your balance, that has the itinerary and the final tour info and includes the Tauck luggage tags, there is a small section about a school visit. They say there is a local school visit and to feel free to bring gifts. I don't know if I mentioned it, but we were supposed to take this tour last year but my wife sprained an ankle and we had to cancel. I recall that prior to that trip there was a lot of discussion on the forum about what gifts to bring and we bought a couple of soccer balls and some school supplies that we thought the kids would like. But although it's mentioned in the booklet, I don't see it mentioned in the itinerary and as Ilene said, we were wondering about packing it and whether we would need it in the duffle bags or if it would stay in the suitcases.

Merlin321

I called Tauck. Apparently they vary the schools that they visit, so they couldn't tell me now which school and when we might visit. When we join the tour, the tour director will let us know.

cantraveller

When we went in 2012 we went to a school outside Mt Kenya as well as the crater. The school was closed for the season at the crater so we went to the other. We took school supplies which was appreciated but the best item was a soccer ball I took deflated. These are kids we are talking about and they just don't get these kind of items. They had it blown up in no time and even the teacher was playing with it as a volley ball so it would last longer. Frisbees would work or any type of recreational toy.
Gary

joycesw

Last October we visited the school that Ilene describes, on Day 4, leaving Ngorongoro Crater. That experience was a highlight of the trip for me, a retired teacher. It is a school that is supported by the Serena Lodges. I believe they even have one person overseeing donations to ensure they are used effectively. Some of the Maasai children who attend this school walk hours to get there and are so appreciative of anything we bring. The children will love the soccer balls, as we witnessed a very spirited game they demonstrated! They were as excited to have us there as we were to be there!! A very uplifting experience! Pencils, notebooks, flash cards, paper and anything else you can carry will be greatly appreciated, as well as cash donations, of course. I sensed, at this school, a small amount of cash went a long way!! Hats off to Tauck for supporting the education of these children who are so anxious to learn!!

British

Merlin, so glad to se your question was answered. While I was out this evening, I was thinking maybe the kids were bot in school when you were due to visit or something like that. We took frisbees and small balls for the kids at the Tanzania school, I had seen the soccer ball suggestion on this site ages ago and thought the kids might have been inundated with them. For us the frisbee were easier to pack and I could take more of those.

Sealord

joycesw wrote:

Last October we visited the school that Ilene describes, on Day 4, leaving Ngorongoro Crater. That experience was a highlight of the trip for me, a retired teacher. It is a school that is supported by the Serena Lodges. I believe they even have one person overseeing donations to ensure they are used effectively. Some of the Maasai children who attend this school walk hours to get there and are so appreciative of anything we bring. The children will love the soccer balls, as we witnessed a very spirited game they demonstrated! They were as excited to have us there as we were to be there!! A very uplifting experience! Pencils, notebooks, flash cards, paper and anything else you can carry will be greatly appreciated, as well as cash donations, of course. I sensed, at this school, a small amount of cash went a long way!! Hats off to Tauck for supporting the education of these children who are so anxious to learn!!

The school we just went to was very near the Serena Hotel at Ngorongoro. The had a dining hall under construction that had been 'bought' for them be a Tauck guest. The link below has a photo album of the trip ... don't click on it if you want to be surprised.
Oh well...it won't let me paste the link ... No spoiled surprises.

joycesw

Just found my info on our school visit. We visited Oloirobi Primary School, near the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. The Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge is the main custodian of the school, providing the much needed support to keep the school running. Check out the Blog section of the Tauck web site and scroll down quite a way to see a wonderful blog about how two Tauck guests have sort of adopted this school and made incredible contributions to it. If you believe, as I do, that education is truly the answer to making this world a better place, then your school visit will be an important part of your adventure in Africa!