Tuesday, May 24, 2011 

MOSHI, TANZANIA--More than 100 members of the Drake University and CONADEIP All-Stars traveling parties for the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl have volunteered three days of their time to benefit service projects in the Tanzanian city of Moshi.

Orchestrated by the Ames, Iowa-based organization IRIS (Iowa Resource for International Service), the 11 initiatives range from building construction to painting.  Those taking part also have an opportunity to enjoy a day on safari at the Tarangirie National Park as a benefit of the TANAPA presenting sponsorship of the event.

The Drake Bulldogs won the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl with a 17-7 fourth quarter-comeback in front of 11,781 curious but enthusiastic Tanzania spectators at the Sheik Amri Abedi Memorial Stadium.  

"We are extremely grateful to everyone involved in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl for giving time and energy," said Del Christensen, Executive Director of IRIS.  "The goal overall is to reinforce the volunteer spirit within Moshi and to work with the local youth to improve facilities."

IRIS is a non-profit, non-religious organization founded in 1993 and located in Ames, Iowa.  Its mission is to promote international understanding, diversity and peace.  Through several grant programs, IRIS brings students, journalists, business people, educators and government leaders to Iowa from Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia. 

While working in the Moshi area, the volunteers will:

• Build a girls dormitory at Kitaa Hope Orphanage, home to 4 to 12-year-old children who have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.
• Interact with children at the Mkombozi Centre for Street Children, where students receive literacy, health and human rights education.
• Repair buildings, clean grounds and assist with gardening at Safe Haven Orphanage, which houses 45 orphans and has the capacity to take in up to 80.
• Install window shutters, build a new room for a nursery and interact with students at Shaurimoyo Primary School for the Disabled, where children with disabilities receive support.
• Build a teachers' house at Tema Secondary School. Teachers must currently walk to the school, which is located in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.
• Build a new classroom at Bridge Nursery School, which currently has two teachers and 11 pupils aged 3 to 5-years-old. Students learn mathematics, art, singing, stories and games.
• Repair walls and paint three dilapidated classrooms at Mawenzi Secondary School.
• Construct soccer and netball goals at Soweto Primary School
• Clear a soccer field and play a game with some of the 180 youth that attend Kelolani Community School.
• Plant trees and improve sports facilities at Rau Primary School.
• Provide netball and volleyball facilities at the Al-Huda Centre Orphanage for Muslim girls.

Drake University Athletic Director Sandy Hatfield Clubb and her family spent a night in a remote village in the Mount Kilimanjaro foothills on Sunday as the traveling parties relocated from Arusha to Moshi.

"It was a very humbling experience," she said.  "These people have to walk several miles every day just to collect water to be able to enjoy some of life's simple comforts that we take for granted. 

"Three generations of my family stayed overnight and we were made extremely welcome.  My children played with the children of the village and everyone was incredibly happy.  It was an experience we will never forget."

The Kitaa Orphanage service project will be coordinated through the efforts of the Iowa Resources for International Service (IRIS) and Stemm as the student athletes from both teams, numbering 110 in total, will spend three days (May 22-24) working at local private orphanage to improve their facilities. 

Stemm was specifically created to develop a relational bridge between Siouxland and Tanzania by addressing the priorities of spiritual growth, medical care, and educational opportunities.  In building this relationship, the overwhelming AIDS orphan crisis was one that could not be ignored and today is also an integral part of the STtemm ministry.  Since inception, Stemm groups have traveled to Tanzania on a semi-annual basis - January and July each year.