Jenny and I have taken up positions with the Australian Volunteer Program in Arusha Tanzania starting next week for 18 months.  The AVP is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Australian Government.

With three days to go before departure we are busy trying to pack everything we want to take while keeping under our combined 60 kg limit.  Not easy and some tough decisions have had to be made.

My job is with ECHO - East Africa Impact Centre and I will be helping them with their projects aimed at increasing food security for smallholder farmers in rural areas around Arusha.

Jenny will be working with the Olkakola Vocational Training Centre which provides education services for teens and young adults living with disabilities.

Arusha is a large city with over 400.000 people in north-eastern Tanzania near the border with Kenya.  It is the main tourist hub for the nation with Mount Kilimanjaro and major national parks close by.  It is also the headquarters of the East African Community and hosts many international meetings.

We arrive on Sunday 7th April and will have a week of in-country induction and two weeks of Swahili language training before starting work in late April.

I plan to add to this blog regularly with comments on my birding experiences, our safaris to the various national parks, my work and general life in Arusha.  It would be great to get feedback from family and friends (and any strangers who might stumble across the blog).