Two models for enacting change: focus on the few or offer help to all - by Sarah Schra

 Our two site visits today were both non-government organizations[1] (NGOs) that focus on disadvantaged children and how to ensure their success in adulthood.

    The first visit of the day was to Amani Children’s Center in Moshi.

    It was started by three local Tanzanians and a Peace Corps volunteer in a small neighborhood home that was previously a pig-farm. The primary purpose of Amani was—and is—to provide a safe place for street children to sleep, bathe, eat, and imagine a future where they are not living on the street. In the last twenty years Amani has expanded their services, and now there is a full-time residential facility in Moshi, a drop-in center in downtown Arusha, and a part-time residential facility for survivors of physical and sexual assault. The Arusha facility for assault survivors provides counseling and education services until completion of the trial of the perpetrator since family and community members often exert pressure on the children to change their testimony or drop the case. Once the trial is completed, if it is safe for the survivor to be reunified with family they return home, and if not, they are either placed at the residential center in Moshi until they complete their schooling, or given vocational training and support to start a business venture.  The Tanzanian government recognizes Amani as a partner in facilitating services to juveniles, and often will contact Amani social workers to assist juveniles who are detained in jail due to conflict with law enforcement. Child Welfare also will refer children to Amani and Amani then places them in appropriate care or assists with reunification with their families if it is safe to do so. Amani has a policy of accepting any and all street children who desire their services. They have social workers who do bi-weekly outreach on the streets of Arusha, developing relationships with the street children, and encouraging them to come to Amani to complete their education, learn a vocational skill, and receive support for their future success.

    We spoke at length with Janet Agaba, the Communications and Fundraising Manager at Amani, and she shared that Amani has the most success with children who are relatively new to life on the street. Children who have lived on the street for a long period of time are much less likely to leave that life behind and adapt to the structured life at Amani (school, life skills, routines, etc.).  The majority of the children at Amani ignored us while we toured their facility and walked the grounds. A few were willing to talk to us, but most of them paid us no mind. The Amani staff were happy to let us photograph the facilities, but we were not allowed to take any photographs of the children.

    Our second site visit was to NEEMA International, where we were given a tour by Magreth Upendo, the Director of Partnerships and Communication.

    NEEMA was founded by a young American woman who, after visiting Tanzania with her parents in her late teens, wanted to provide education services to Tanzanian children. NEEMA’s model is quite different from Amani in that they only serve a small number of children, and often have to turn children away. NEEMA has three main programs on-site, but each program has its own dedicated structures separated by large stone walls due to government regulations and licensing restrictions. NEEMA operates a school, a permanent residence, and a second-chance program for older children who either dropped out of school or were unable to continue attending school because of family poverty or other disadvantaged circumstances. Child Welfare also partners with NEEMA to place children who are in unsafe home environments, but NEEMA is only able to accept a small number of children into their residential school program—limited by the amount of funding from donors and capacity determined by government regulations surrounding boarding schools. NEEMA’s teacher to child ratio is 1:13, where the ration in public schools is often more than 1:70.  In contrast to the children at Amani, the children at NEEMA appeared to be coached for our arrival, they stopped playing to gather and sing us a welcome song (a bit reluctantly) and then when directed went back to their soccer game and playground equipment. The children also were corralled later to sing a thank-you/farewell song. Magreth offered several times for us to take pictures with the children, whereas the Amani staff allowed us to only photograph empty spaces with no children. NEEMA’s classrooms were all very well appointed and had state-of-the-art doors. It is the nicest school facility we have yet seen. The children at NEEMA seemed to associate our presence with gifts/money/support, whereas the children at Amani seemed curious but largely indifferent to our presence.

    The children at both programs were healthy, seemed well-adjusted, and very happy. The NEEMA children were all wearing matching athletic uniforms and reminded me of prep school students. The Amani children were in normal clothing, doing laundry, and playing the way carefree happy children play in the US. The two models raise the question: Is it better to pour immense resources into a select few children or to distribute resources to all children who need it? Regardless of which model you believe is best, the children who are served by each of these organizations are lucky to have access to education and life-skills training that they would not otherwise have. In this way, each organization is filling a need.

    We finished the day by going to the Moshi market and Tina got an amazing avocado. The people are so warm here, and the produce is amazing. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to learn about this country and meet these beautiful people.

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[1] NGO: A non-governmental organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences.

A Day of Service - by Andrew Stephens

     Today was the day we worked on our service project. Professor Buske incorporates this into every trip she puts together by having students raise money and then spend one of the days on the trip putting labor towards something that will have a lasting impact on the community we are visiting. This year, we raised enough money to upgrade a classroom’s dirt floor to concrete and to build 10 desks for Ilkurot Primary School outside of Arusha. It’s the same school that students from the 2023 Tanzania trip worked on as well. Ilkurot is part of a program called The Lunch Project, which is aimed at providing free food to students that might not otherwise have a meal while at school and has a huge impact on keeping kids in class instead of dropping out.

    Before arriving at Ilkurot, we made a quick stop to another public primary school made up of primarily Maasai children, that is also part of The Lunch Project, to check out how this program operates. We didn’t fully know what to expect from this visit other than Professor Buske telling us it might be a unique opportunity to see what it feels like to be a member of the Beatles during Beatlemania. She wasn’t lying.

    We made our way up a winding, bumpy dirt road off the main highway that was a 30-minute drive outside of Arusha. After turning a corner, we were greeted by hundreds of Maasai school children that swarmed our van singing and dancing as we rolled up to the school. It’s hard to describe how amazing it was. I can honestly say that I’ve never experienced anything like that. While I will never know what it felt like to be Paul McCartney back in the day, it was an amazing experience for me and my classmates. The students also seemed happy to have an excuse to pause the school day and greet us.

    After about 20 minutes of singing and jumping with the students, we got to walk around the school’s property and talk to the headmaster, teachers, and the mamas that cook the food and make the program happen. We then went to check out the food being prepared. Curious students kept coming up to the cooking area to catch a glimpse of us and say hello and give us either a fist bump or a high five. It was interesting to learn more about what the program does and how big of an impact it has on the students. Something as simple as providing lunch every day can be the difference between going to school or dropping out.

    We then hopped back in the van and headed to Ilkurot. Students greeted us when we arrived with songs, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as it was at the first school. The headmaster told us that not all of the materials had been delivered to build the desks, so we would just be working on the concrete floor. The cement had already been poured when we got there, so our job was to smooth it out and put a sealant on it.

    While it felt good to help, it was disappointing to not be able to do as much work as we were planning to do. On the other hand, we got to spend more time with the children and some of us played math games with the older students and we made the most of the visit. I’m grateful that Professor Buske makes this a part of her trips because it’s always a humbling reminder of how lucky we are as law students from America.

    It’s hard to tell how big of an impact our group’s project will have on the school and its students.  For me it felt underwhelming after looking at everything else and seeing how much help this school needed. Our project was just a drop in the bucket. I wish we had raised more money and aimed for a bigger project. But I know it’s also important to remember that change can happen in smaller increments and nothing we could do on this trip would have transformed the school overnight. I will always be grateful for the experience and memories from today and use it as a motivator to keep trying to make the world a better place.

Touching the Surface of Juvenile Justice in Tanzania - by Alexa Bascon

 Our safari adventure has finished and we are now delving fully into the international children’s rights program. Today we kicked off the program with a trip to the juvenile jail and the police station in Arusha. We had the opportunity to speak with James, one of three social workers who works at the juvenile jail, about how the jail operates. James gave our group a tour of the premises which gave us the opportunity to gain a little bit of insight into what a child may experience should they find themselves in this facility. We talked about the changes that the facility has made both structurally and fundamentally in terms of their goals for the children. This new mission, according to James, is to help the kids who come through here with rehabilitation rather than punishment.

            There are five juvenile jails in the country which are located in Dar es Salaam, Moshi, Arusha (the facility that we visited), Tanga, and Mwana. The layout in each juvenile jail is the same and each has a fifty-child maximum capacity. Typically, there are low seasons and high seasons for the number of children who occupy the jail. When the school season ends, the juvenile jail will see an increase in the number of children who are sent there. According to James, the reason why there were only two children in the juvenile jail during our group’s visit is because school is currently still in session. When children are occupied with school, it keeps them from committing crimes that would cause them to be placed in the juvenile jail. They anticipate an influx of more children in the coming weeks. Professor Buske shared her insight on the facility from her past experience when she lived in Arusha many years ago when it was typical for 300-400 children to be packed into the juvenile jail. It does seem that some progress has been made in the country regarding the awareness of the importance of child welfare. However, the facility left a lot to be desired and it is clear that there is much more work to be done to improve how the juvenile jails care for these children who find themselves in the criminal system. It also became pretty evident the more we talked to James that there were a lot of gaps in his explanation about what measures the jail takes to ensure that the children there are receiving proper care.

            Our next stop for the day was the local police station in Arusha. We were able to get an interview with the inspector who works in the department that investigates cases of child abuse and/or sexual assault cases. We also had the chance to speak with two plain clothes women police officers who work in the department as well. The walls inside the department building were painted with different positive images of children and adults to create a more pleasant atmosphere for children. We asked the inspector which kinds of cases were most commonly seen in his department, and he shared that they are usually domestic violence cases and victim reporting cases. The inspector went on to inform us that Arushatown consists of eighteen wats, aka wards, and that each individual wat has an inspector of police. He shared his belief that Arusha is safer now than in previous years as a result of this newer wat system. However, when our group asked the inspector for more concrete data about how many of the cases that come through the police department actually lead to convictions for the perpetrators the inspector was not as willing to speak as he had been when answering our previous questions. Instead, he claimed that they do not have that number and moved the conversation quickly along.

            Another topic we discussed with the inspector was that of corporal punishment. In the past, school children have died as a result of serious injury obtained from corporal punishment in school. Now, “only” three hits are permitted by a school’s headmaster at any one instance for “misbehaving” children and a teacher must ask permission from their headmaster before each administration of corporal punishment. In theory, these three hits are only permitted to be on a child’s buttocks or on their hands to avoid more serious harm to the child although in practice I am sure a fly on the wall would see something much different. Overall, the biggest problem this department sees concerning child victims is a general fear of the legal system. Underreporting is a huge barrier for criminal justice here because oftentimes the offenders are important wage earners with a dependent family and there is a real fear for how that family will manage should a conviction come to fruition.

During both of our site visits, the social worker from the juvenile jail and the inspector from the police station avoided many of the questions our group asked when the answers would have shed a negative spotlight on the many issues facing the Tanzanian criminal system. Because of this, I am skeptical of much of what was told to our groups during both visits. I think it’s important to keep in mind that both the social worker and the inspector work for the Tanzanian government and may have ulterior motives when it comes to sharing what gaps exist that need to be filled to better protect the rights of Tanzanian children - we came into these facilities as a group of foreign law students, and they had no reason to trust us or to give us accurate information that could potentially make them look bad at doing their jobs. Moreover, the statistics regarding juvenile justice that come from the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) report in Tanzania tells a much different and much darker story than what our interviewers told us, and I am once again reminded of the overarching theme of this program which is to grapple with the theory of children’s rights versus what actually is the reality of children’s rights.

            Finally, we piled back into our van and finished off the day by heading down to the local markets to pick out fabric to bring to the tailor later in the week to make fun dresses, skirts, shirts, napkins, tote bags, and more. Our friends, Ava and Salome, helped us translate with the shop owners to purchase our fabric and make sure we bought the right kind of fabric for whatever item we wanted to have made. Each of the different shop fronts we encountered were filled with bright colors and beautiful patterns and there was something different to catch your eye every which way that you looked. The streets were filled with chaotic traffic and bustling crowds of people ready to sell their wares and snag some good deals of their own. We all enjoyed the process of selecting our fabrics and contributing to the local economy.

After a long day packed full of events, I am so ready to head to bed and mentally prepare for the next day of the trip. Tomorrow, we have the opportunity to visit a local primary school for Maasai children and see some of the barriers that prevent these children from getting a proper education.

Poa Kichizi - by Tara Zak

Final day of safari: We learned that despite its name, Ngorongoro is a caldera, not a crater. Eki, our guide, says that to be called a crater, there has to be proof of a meteorite impact. He says we’re the happiest travelers. That we make other grumpy, quiet travelers look bad.

He tells us a story about his wife: During her training as a chef, she took a final exam. One of the questions was “Which is the best rice?” The answers were:

             a) Biryani

             b) Coconut

             c) Steamed

             d) Condoleezza

The Tanzanian children learn Swahili and English. They know American presidents, geography, and colonial history. Most people in our truck didn’t know who Condoleezza Rice was.

James asks Eki if Tanzanians have superheroes. He says that a Maasai (an iconic shepherd people) superhero is the one that throws the spear into the lion first. Today, the Maasai wrestle bulls to achieve a similar feat. A Bushman superhero is the one who hits the one-inch thick snake in a tree with their spear. He says that Tanzanian academics with triple A’s are superheroes. Drivers with no accidents for many years are superheroes. But superheroes are changing, he says. To some, they are the ones with the most cows (or the most money).

Tanzanians have Bongowood and Bongo music. Eki says “bongo” means “use your brain”. It’s the country's motto. It means to be smart, creative, innovative, and hardworking.

We had a brisk, misty, slow descent into the crater (caldera). In the green, tall grass there were two elephants (tembo); so big they looked large even from our vantage point hundreds of yards away. We learned that mostly males venture into Ngorongoro. The elephants were large, gray, and wrinkly with torn ears and broken tusks. Eki says they go to “retire” in the crater. I wonder about elephant graveyards. It’s a myth, he says. Poachers used the lie to explain slaughter grounds. However, it’s true that elephants become emotional when they see the bones of other elephants. They moan when they pass, recognizing lost family.

Just at the precipice of the crater floor, two lions (simba) hang lazily in a low acacia tree. Eki hears over the radio that a kill was made and so we move in search of the feast. Upon turning, a large male lion saunters up the dirt road towards us, his belly low to the ground. Eki says that after a meal, lions can stay full for up to 3 days.

We find the kill. Hyenas (Hisi) and vultures (tai) are surrounding a bloody patch of grass, popping up and peering into the distance periodically. We recognize the distinct shape of water buffalo (mbogo) horns. A large hyena drags a hoofed leg through the grass. A very small hyena waits 10 yards away in the dirt, his head perched not-so-patiently on his front paws. He skitters up to the group, chases away vultures, and starts to whimper as no one lets him into the kill. Obviously frustrated, he begins whooping a loud, low, bellowing sound that echoes between our ears. We all become quiet in the truck: buffalo bones crackling, hyena paws shuffling, the batting wings of jumping buzzards, the angsty whooping of a hungry pup.

We search for grazing gazelle (swala) and zebra (pundamilia) near the outskirts of the lake where the road has been washed away by November rains. Eki says that the Thompson gazelle (sawa tomi) are the lion equivalent of McDonald’s: fast food. Warthog (Ngiri) prance near the road, whipping their thin tails wildly (reminds me of Lord of the Flies). Eland gazelle (Pofu) stand stiff and tense in the tall grass (remines me of the forest king in Princess Mononoke). Zebra twist their necks as they stand together. By utilizing their stripes, they can disguise their true numbers from predators. An ostrich (mbuni) passes across the road, flailing its black and white wings, craning its neck into the dirt.

Fastest, in order:

1. Cheetah (Duma)

2. Ostrich

3. Topi (Nyamera)

4. Thompson gazelle

(Eki, 2024)

We search for the rare and elusive rhino (kifaru). A 400-strong herd of zebra graze in the rolling hills overgrown with sweet smelling, bright orange marigolds. Eki says they are invasive. He spots a hippo (kiboko) hundreds and hundreds of yards away, deeper down the valley, walking from pond to river’s edge. An impressive feat. We gaze through binoculars, struggling to find it.

An enormous male lion becomes startled as we barrel down the dirt road. Tail whipping in circles like an angry house cat, he quickly slinks into the tall grass. We sit silently waiting for him to reappear. He never does. Eki is incredulous. Male lions are, on average, 450 lbs. Soon after, maybe 4 miles away, we see a set of 3 lion ears in the grass. However, none were the disappeared male.

Male wildebeest (nyumbu) circle various clusters, belching a deep and onerous bleat, looking for challengers and often finding them. James mimics the sound and the nearest wildebeest become helplessly confused as to who to fight. Apparently, they are tasty meat.

Zebras roll in the same patch of dirt as their family members to drench themselves in the scent. Zebra family cologne, Eki says. They also roll to readjust their stomachs.

Ngorongoro is not Swahili. It was named by the British colonizers and is an onomatopoeia of Maasai cow bells ringing in the valley. This is the only park the Maasai can still graze their herds in.

A Swahili proverb: If you wait, the bananas will ripen.

Every truck must survive the embarrassment of a knot in a tree being mistaken for a sleeping lion.

Sodom apples were said to be the first plant to grow after Sodom and Gomorrah fell. 

RHINO: A black rhino far, far into the distance across the plains. Rangers keep a constant eye on the park rhinos from watch towers peppered throughout the park. If ever they lose sight of one, there is an immediate alert. The black market price is $500,000 for one. There are roughly 22 in the park, but the rangers never release the actual number. Some cultures use their horns to make ceremonial daggers. Others believe the horns are aphrodisiacs. At least the world can agree that poaching is bad.

On the long ride back to Arusha, we talk about Tanzania. Eki is curious about Oregon: How far is it from New York? He’s not impressed by the cascading waterfalls, etched deep into the vine covered stone cliffs. Tall buildings with lots of glass are wow, he says. He wants to see the Nile and the Egyptian rift valley–the other side of the Tanzanian rift valley. 

We stopped at a gas station just outside the park. Men and women with jewelry, shirts, and Swahili books surround the truck, talking to us through our open windows. I let them know that I don’t have any money (a truth) and they move onto the next window. Mr. Cheap, as he calls himself, is trying to charm Andrew to no avail. He pulls out some necklaces and one catches my eye. I ask to see them and the vendors swarm my window. I ask the truck for 15,000 shillings and take it. Very happy with my purchase.

Eki says Tanzania is a rumor country. If James Mzungu (white traveler) pees on the side of the road in Kuratu, by the time we get to Arusha, Eki will hear about it.

Mto wa Mbu (Mosquito River) is my favorite town: bustling, jungle verdant, shaded, full of bushels of bananas in woven green baskets along the roadside. Women in bright patterns peddle fruit from baskets perched atop their head into dala dala (minibus taxi) windows. Teen girls walk together: one in a red flowing burka, another in a gingham red shuka (traditional Maasai clothing; a wrap), a third in a t-shirt and jeans. Eki says that all tribes live here. And in relative harmony, I see. 

Further down the highway, a man holds bushels of shining Nile perch (sangara). Eki says that if you hang them from your side mirror and drive, they’ll still be fresh when you get to Arusha. A truck soon passes with a bundle of fish hanging from their rear windshield wiper.

Maasai, Maasai, Maasai: In red, tall with staffs by the roadside looking stoic onto the passersby. Walking in twos, tall and glittering. She carries a wrapped baby on her back. Another boy draped in bright yellow, riding a shiny well-kept motorcycle. He’s ducking, arms out, his shuka whipping in the wind. Three women in three layers (3 layers means they are married) walking bent with tidy, wrapped bushels of branches on their backs.

Choose Your Adventure -- by James Dunning

Today our safari continued leaving Tarangire Park bound for Lake Manyara. Our unofficial motto has become “choose your adventure” inspired by the children’s story many of us enjoyed as youths. Shortly after our departure our guide quickly pulled off the road. His keen eye had spotted a tiny creature. Directly in our path was the iconic imagine from countless Africa documentaries. A dung beetle was slowing making its way with a fresh collection. Once everyone had check off their imaginary wildlife bingo cards our journey resumed. 

The terrain quickly changed from a mostly dry grassy plain to temperate agricultural farms. Along the way we learned about the incredible transformation taking place across the country. Half of all Tanzanians are employed in agriculture. Farmers were happy to show us the abundance of their harvest. Rice and millet field rolled by us for mile after mile. 

Tanzania is experiencing an immense boom in infrastructure as it develops hydroelectric and natural gas resources. Tanzanians access to electric supply has more than doubled in the past decade. 

Despite increases in economic prosperity, there is still a significant amount of observable poverty. Deep on a rural road we were unexpectedly greeted by a family of acrobatic performers. Our whole group cheered on the impressive demonstration of creativity and skill. 

Our main activity for the day was traveling through Lake Manyara National Park. Much of the land had been overtaken by significantly high rains from the previous season. Raising water pushed the shoreline out by nearly a kilometer making it extremely difficult to pass many of the roads. Shortly after getting on the move following lunch, we were confronted by the king of the jungle. A lioness stood square in our path. It’s difficult to know who was more startled. Without question none of us had come this close to such a magnificent beast. 

We could hardly catch our breath before coming across a family of elephants. The baby was very curious about our presence. Both adults tossed dirt over themselves while the little one rolled about frequently paused to give us suspicious glances. 

Nearing the exit of the park, a small herd of buffalo was seen lazing about the bank of a river. Knowing their propensity for aggressive behavior, we kept our distance. 

The town of Karatu was the holdover for the evening. As it happened, the timing of our visit coincided with a local bimonthly market. Vendors sell handicrafts, livestock, food, spices, clothing, household goods, pottery, and other items.

Upon arrival at our accommodations for the night, we were received by a pair of jackals. Taking in the view from our balcony of what was to come the next day (Ngorongoro Crater National Park), their presence felt like a good omen. 

In the Thick of It -- by Tina Thao

 Thump, thump, thump. My heart beated faster and faster each time our truck crossed into the oncoming traffic lane to pass slower cars or when cars crossed into our lane, barely making it back into theirs, avoiding a head on collision. The driving here felt like the game of frogger and I was so thankful for Eki- our guide and driver. The driving in Tanzania is on another level and as a self proclaimed bad driver, I sighed in relief that I would never have to drive in Tanzania because I would not make it far.

The hour drive from Arusha to Tarangire National Park passed by with a blink of an eye as each inch of area we saw was new to us. My eyes widened in awe and curiosity as we passed Maasai homes, the large termite hills, a military base, communities, child workers corralling cattle and goats, and the vast beauty of the land.

As we pulled up to Tarangire National Park, I felt the tingle of excitement come over me. There was already so much to see- the colorful birds flocking around, animal skulls lining the pathway, and the hill of animal remains.  

Within minutes of passing through the safari gates, we came across a group of elephants. They were so majestic, beautiful, and slowly grazed on morning glories some distance away. However, after a few minutes they ate their way closer to our truck and to our surprise, a baby elephant had been hiding behind one of the bigger elephants. It was sooo small and looked so happy while it ran around. This is how elephants are supposed to live, free.

Eki asked if we thought the elephants were right handed or left and why. We all made failed attempts guessing. Some asked, “Was it which side of the mouth they chewed on? Was it the side of the longer tusk?” Eki explained that at the end of one of their husks was a small circle that showed if they were right or left handed. 

The animal I loved seeing the most were the lions. They reminded me of my kitty Sammi. They looked so peaceful napping on the tree with no care in the world to what was around, even us. I could’ve watched them for hours. 

We traversed through the vast safari for hours. I hung my head out the top of the truck, closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air - hints of mint and hibiscus flowers filled my body. I was like a dog with their head out the window. Everyone’s laughter consumed the air. This was pure bliss. I was living my best life, nothing compared to this feeling.

And So It Begins -- Sarah Griffith

 The journey began months ago, almost a full year ago for me. In the summer of 2023, I took an Elder Law course with Professor Cook, and there were a handful of students, plus the professor had just returned from the International Children’s Rights class that was part of an in-country experience in Tanzania. Their stories about the experience were intriguing; everything they discussed, from the people they met to the locations they visited, had me hooked, and I knew that I had to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Professor Buske the following summer. As law students, we spend most of our time studying, reading, and learning law. However, law school offers few opportunities to experience law in the “real” world, much less internationally. Now, as a 3L beginning to see the finish line, with graduation and the bar exam looming in the not-so-distant future, the opportunity to study International Children’s Rights in Tanzania spoke to me, and I had to jump at the opportunity. The anticipation of travel has finally concluded, and we begin our trip to Tanzania at PDX. Nine thousand two hundred sixty-four miles between Salem, Oregon and Arusha, Tanzania, two, ten-hour flights and we finally arrive.

Our diverse group of 7 students ranges from new to seasoned international travelers, yet we are all equally excited. While there is an understanding that this trip is not a vacation, our goals and desires vary for each student. Yet, all of us want to take our law school curriculum and use it in an authentic world way. After spending the last week in class, reading, and discussing the challenges of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and how it is applied in some African countries, we must take our experience out of the classroom and into the real world. The United Nations CRC is an international treaty that establishes a global child and the rights that this global child should have, which the state should establish. The 54 Articles include children's economic, social, health, civil, and cultural rights. The United States is the only country that has yet to ratify the CRC, and we had interesting discussions about why that is. Taking this information into the trip was both exciting and heavy. The content is disturbing because it is difficult to understand, especially from a privileged position. It’s hard to know why children aren’t cherished, and that’s why this class is so important.

Professor Buske has been clear that while she is creating an itinerary for us, it is all subject to change. She introduced us to the phrase TIA—This is Africa, which is the phrase that lets us embrace the flexibility of a country that isn’t going to cater to us.  Our day-to-day is not set in stone, yet some of the aspects of the trip that I am most looking forward to include working directly with the children to understand how, as attorneys, we can make the world a better place. It will be interesting to see how Tanzania children are educated, how they are treated when they lose their parents, and what we can do as Americans to help these children.

After a long day of travel, we finally arrived in the evening. The air was humid, yet a distinct freshness and floral smell existed. We are greeted by Buske’s friends, Earnest and Eki; they welcome us with friendly grins and enthusiastic demeanors. Eki teaches us Swahili as we drive to the Arusha, and our group is captivated by the cutthroat driving and the dark scenery. Upon arriving at the Outpost, the staff was so kind as to stay late to provide us with a delicious dinner of curried chicken. We devour our dinner and head to our rooms, excited and exhausted about the Tanzania adventure that awaits us.