Youth trip 2008

For the youth trip in 2008 we placed a call in the Gelderlander in the hope of a number of registrations for our trip. The number of responses exceeded our expectations. 26 young people wrote a letter of motivation explaining why they wanted to come with us to Tanzania. Overwhelmed by the large number of enthusiastic reactions, we quickly decided to take everyone along. A group of 26 young people was too large, so we decided to divide the group in two. After a year of preparations, the time had finally come. In 2008 the young people below accompanied us to Tanzania.

Groep 1

  • Martijn Derksen
  • Rik Heinen
  • Marloes Mattijssen
  • Bas van Meerten
  • Eleonora Zeegers
  • Sifra Verploegen
  • Marijke Mulder
  • Nathalie Veens
  • Marije Bouwens
  • Dorus Kouwenberg
  • Manon van Loon
  • Rene Kersten
  • Pauli Bles
  • Leonoor Vink

Groep 2

  • Esmee Franken
  • Bart Lemkens
  • Maike Spanbroek
  • Linda Hendriks
  • Helen Snijder
  • Ellen Spanbroek
  • Bertine van Rooij
  • Marie-Jeanne Giesen
  • Nena Kerkman
  • Linda Oosterlaak
  • Simone Meijs
  • Bart Peperkamp

Marijke Mulder

My name is Marijke Mulder and in 2008 I went on the very first Youth Trip to Tanzania. After reading the newspaper article with information about the trip on a Saturday morning in the fall of 2007, it was immediately clear to me; I’m going to write a letter because I want to come!

Tanzania is a beautiful country and during the information meetings before we went on the trip, we became more and more curious about the country and its inhabitants. Once landed and en route, so many beautiful, impressive, special, but also sad moments pass by, which makes you look at things differently. These are simple things like shopping, but also following an education after high school. During the trip we became acquainted with the daily life of students in Tanzania, a mountain of experiences, which I still use in my work as a teacher at secondary school.

The trip made a big impression on me, which is why I went back in 2011 with friends to see this African country. Another trip to Tanzania is planned for the summer of 2014.

At the Over Betuwe College in Elst, the school where I work, we run a sponsored run every year for the areas in Tanzania where the MOV and FOTAS are active. By enthusing students with my story and showing visual material in preparation for the sponsored run, I hope that students will also think now and then; ‘improve the world and I won’t start with myself!’

Sifra Verploegen

Hello, my name is Sifra Verploegen, I am 24 years old and in 2008 I joined the 1st youth trip to Tanzania.

It was a great experience and if they ask me if I would like to go there again, I will immediately say yes. Life is so different there than here. The landscape, the people, the smells. It is simply indescribable and you actually have to experience it yourself.

The reason I wanted to join this youth trip was because I’ve always found Africa to be a fascinating continent and when I heard that there were plans for a trip to Tanzania I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I was also very curious about where the money went, where me and all the other students of the st. Willibrordusschool always got ahead of the annual sponsor run and put money in the piggy bank that was in each group.

Seeing with our own eyes that the money we raised with this is really well spent and the people there are so happy with our help, gives us a good feeling. It means that you can really change something, even if it’s just a little bit. Partly because of this trip, I have decided for myself, when I have finished my studies and I have found permanent work, to sponsor a student.

It was a trip I will never forget and I often think back fondly on all the beautiful memories I have left with it.

Simone Meijs

My name is Simone Meijs and I have been to Tanzania twice by now. The first time was in 2008 with the youth trip of MOV Herveld. At the time I was still training to become a group teacher (primary education) and I was very curious about education in Tanzania.

Of course I was already aware that education would be very different from that in the Netherlands. But experiencing something with your own eyes is different. And it certainly was. The journey made a deep impression on me. It has changed my outlook on life. I was touched by the living situation of people in Tanzania, I was touched by the beautiful country and by the friendly people. But I was most touched by the big difference between the living conditions of people here and in Tanzania.

When we stayed in Chabalisa for ten days during the youth trip, I came into contact with a little girl: Jesca (6 years old at the time). Even though I didn’t speak a word of Swahili, she sat there every day on the lawn waiting for us ‘Mzungu’s’ (white people) to come out again. In this short time I quickly built up an intensive contact with Jesca. After all, you can understand each other very well with hands and feet. I came into contact with her family through one of the Tanzanian students. Like most families in Tanzania, this family also had a hard time. A shabby house, little income and a large family. Soon I decided to sponsor Jesca and her family so that their living situation would become more bearable and to offer Jesca a better future. I kept in touch with them through letters. It remains special when an envelope with a Tanzanian stamp on it falls on the doormat. I definitely had the itch to go back again.

In 2012 I went back to Tanzania this time for 6 months. Seeing a country in 3 weeks is fantastic, but to actually live there is indescribable. Because MOVHerveld had offered me the opportunity to go to this beautiful country, I now wanted to give something back. That’s why I started the campaign ‘walking for a better life’. For this campaign I looked for sponsors who wanted to sponsor me in my journey to the top of Kilimanjaro. And with success: on October 19, 2012 I reached the top of Kilimanjaro. With this I raised a large amount for the construction of the Health Center.

In February 2013, my sister and I went back to the area of ​​the projects of MOVHerveld and FOTAS. During this month my sister and I took pictures and recorded stories of, among others, the students of FOTAS and the women of the microfinance project. The highlight of this trip was definitely my reunion with Jesca and her family. How special it was to see them again after almost 5 years. Besides the fact that Jesca had naturally grown a lot, their living environment had also changed. Thanks to the sponsorship, they have been able to replace the roof of their house with a waterproof one and they have been able to expand their Shamba (land on which they grow crops).

Now that I am back in the Netherlands, I would like to continue to actively contribute to Tanzania. To stay as involved as possible, I have joined MOVHerveld where I am involved in the website and promotion of this foundation. A task that I enjoy immensely and with which I hope to inspire as many others as possible to contribute to a better life in Tanzania.

Curious about what else I did in Tanzania? Then visit my website: www.lopenvooreenbeterleven.wordpress.com