and the preparatory journey begins...

before anything, allow me to thank you for visiting this blog because it means that you have an interest in me, my project, the community i'm soon to be living in, or any combination of the three!  the decision to commit to a nine month program that confessedly lacks the luxuries of home is a hard one to make...or is it?  the moment the option was given to me, it became all but impossible to say "no" since doing so would place my comforts on a higher totem than those living beneath the poverty line.  and so i, and by extension you through your generosity in donating, hope to make a calculable and irrefutable improvement in the lives of those much less fortunate than myself.

for those of you visiting this blog in the hopes of learning more about the 2Seeds Network and their mission, please allow me to introduce you!  there are a multitude of well intentioned development organizations in existence, though few understand the importance of community involvement starting from project inception and ending with project execution.  without local support, they risk being perceived as  foreigners imposing what they think is best in a community that is hesitant to oblige; there are countless relics of past development projects such as empty schoolhouses or rusting irrigation apparatuses that prove this method's shortcomings.   instead, with a completely novel approach, 2Seeds Network focuses upon the strong community ethics unique to the tanzanian culture and uses it as a fulcrum for initiating and maintaining sustainable development projects.  the tanzanians are the inventors, the workers, and the managers...i (or we) am merely offering a new perspective they might not otherwise see and, as a result of their management, improvements in food and income security can continue well beyond my departure.  in short, the opportunity to both participate in and donate to a project as unique and wholly selfless  as this one is rare indeed, and i am honored to be one of the few that participates in its realization!

on that note...for those of you benevolent friends and family members wondering how to make a donation, please visit the 2Seeds Network donation page where you will find a paypal link as well as information about the organization at large.   my goal is to raise $6,000 which is no easy feat, so your generosity is appreciated as well as needed.  there are other project coordinators participating in the fundraising process, so please be sure to specify my name so that i can both keep a tally and send you my thanks properly!