Complimentary breakfast on your own at the hotel. Today, we explore Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's commercial center and one of the world's fastest-growing cities.

We meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00am and briefly preview the day before transporting via hired shuttle to the newly-renovated Old Boma, which was built in 1866 and is one of the oldest buildings in Dar es Salaam.

We meet Aida Mulokozi, CEO of the Dar Es Salaam Centre for Architectural Heritage  (DARCH) and housed at Old Boma. Founded in 2014, DARCH plays a critical role in helping Tanzania preserve its architectural history while modernizing for its future (read more). Exploring the permanent exhibit, we’ll learn about Dar Es Salaam’s colonial history, links to Zanzibar, and the East Africa slave trade.

Aida and her team will walk us through "New vs Old” Dar Es Salaam. This unique experience will combine walking and shuttle transport, bringing to life ideas from Aida’s 2019 TEDx Oyster Bay. Afterwards, we’ll enjoy lunch at DARCH’s rooftop cafe with views of the port and the changing skyline.

In the afternoon, we'll visit one of Dar es Salaam's innovative companies, Ubongo. Hosted by Chief Operating Officer (COO) Christina Bwana, we'll learn how Ubongo creates and distributes locally-relevant edutainment for millions of children across Africa (Ubongo's 2021 Annual Report). We return to the hotel via shuttle and break for the afternoon.

Around sunset, we'll take a cruise on the Indian Ocean, enjoying views of the Dar es Salaam skyline from the water. We'll be joined by William "Maasai Prince," who will share his story of growing up in a rural Maasai village, his quest for an education, and his young adult life as a musician (YouTube and Instagram). Read more about Maasai Prince and his connection to SEGA (CGG Stories). He'll join us for a casual dinner at one of the seaside restaurants.

Complimentary breakfast on your own at the hotel. We check out and transport via private shuttle to SEGA Girls' School near Morogoro, a town of about 350,000 people located 125 miles west of Dar es Salaam. 

In Tanzania, 28% of girls who complete primary school do not enroll in secondary school. Educating and empowering young women is the most powerful way to break the cycle of poverty and further economic prosperity. Founded in 2007, SEGA educates 270+ girls annually, equipping them with academic, business, life and leadership skills; 100% of SEGA graduates qualify for continuing education. SEGA Girls' School is supported by U.S. based non-profit Nurturing Minds. Read more about SEGA's founding and achievements.

After stopping for lunch along the journey, we arrive at SEGA around 3:00pm, welcomed by SEGA students and staff. After getting oriented and settled in at SEGA Lodge, we learn more about SEGA's history, programs and impact as we're guided around the 30-acre campus by SEGA's student ambassadors. SEGA is a model of environmental sustainability; the campus is entirely run on solar-power, has a rainwater catchment system, and its organic gardens provide nearly half of the school’s produce. 

We meet award-winning documentary filmmaker Jigar Ganatra (media overview) who will spend the next several days with us. We relax and enjoy a delicious local Tanzanian dinner at SEGA Lodge.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at SEGA Lodge. We drive to Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) campus where we visit the Belgium organization APOPO which trains rats to detect Tuberculosis (TB). Slow and inaccurate detection methods make TB the world's most deadly infectious disease; 10 million people globally contract the disease each year, and Tanzania is one of the higher-burden countries. 

Afterward, we visit some Morogoro markets, including a local market where we purchase gifts for a home visit in the village of Bwawani with SEGA student Juliana Moses (SEGA video with Juliana). We'll enjoy lunch with Juliana's family and learn about day-to-day life in the village.

We return to SEGA campus, hanging out with students during their afternoon break and relaxing at the SEGA Lodge before enjoying our casual dinner.

Enjoy an early breakfast at SEGA Lodge. 

We depart early to drive to Morogoro town to meet our guides for a beautiful hike through Choma village and the Uluguru Mountains up to the Choma waterfall. It's a wonderful way to get a perspective on the city and day-to-day life in Tanzania. Bring your swimsuit and towel to enjoy swimming at the waterfall. 

We return to campus hungry for lunch. Pilau is a traditional favorite of rice, meat and vegetables which we enjoy with our student hosts. Following lunch, our student hosts teach us how to make another food favorite called chapati, and share with us how they think about sustainability as they educate us about food, water and energy conservation on campus and wildlife conservation in greater Tanzania. 

After some downtime at SEGA Lodge, we enjoy dinner and relax to get ready for the graduation festivities the following day.

Enjoy breakfast at SEGA Lodge, prior to participating in the most anticipated day of the year at SEGA Girls' School...GRADUATION!

For SEGA's 10th annual graduation, we join students, teachers, volunteers, families and the community, cheering on the latest class of more than 50 Form Four scholars who mark a personal milestone and join the nearly 350 students that have graduated from SEGA. Many are the first in their family to graduate from secondary school; typically all SEGA graduates pursue higher education (compared to 3% nationally). 

The day-long celebration includes student-led entertainment, inspirational remarks by Madam Headmistress Elly Sarakikya and a Guest of Honor from the community. Here are some highlights from SEGA's 2021 Graduation.  

After a community celebration luncheon,, we enjoy time with other SEGA volunteers, swap stories and photos, and enjoy a last dinner at SEGA Lodge while preparing for our early morning departure.

Enjoy breakfast at SEGA Lodge. It's time to say farewell to SEGA as we depart via private vehicle for Mikumi National Park. Mikumi is the fourth largest national park in Tanzania. October is the end of the dry season, so a wonderful time to visit. We'll enjoy driving to the park on a newly paved road; expect that we'll begin to see animals on our drive.

We stay at Foxes' Vuma Hills Tented Camp. Our accommodations are luxury tents on elevated wooden decks with thatched roofs, each containing comfortable beds, showers and bathrooms. A large veranda looks over the bush. 

After being welcomed with lunch, we enjoy leisure time and an afternoon game drive. We gather at sunset for a relaxing dinner at the Camp.

Enjoy a hearty Camp breakfast prior to a full day in the bush.

We are led by expert wildlife guides on morning and afternoon game drives and walking safaris in the park. Expect to see a wide variety of African birds and wildlife--giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeest, lions, hippos, warthogs and more.  

We gather at sunset to view animals around the watering hole, followed by a relaxing dinner at the Camp.

Enjoy a hearty Camp breakfast and hopefully one last game drive prior to departure.

Our drive to the Julius Nyerere International Airport (DAR) for our international connecting flights will take approximately four hours. Departing flights should leave no earlier 6:00pm (most international flights depart late in the evening).

As we say farewell to Tanzania, we consider the new connections made and rich experiences enjoyed, and think about ways to share our learnings with our family and friends back home.