Blog: Mission Possible, Tanzania, Aug 2016. A Day of Labour.
Part of the work of our volunteers on the Mission Possible deployment to Tanzania involves physical labour and it can sometimes be tiring but ultimately rewarding. Not only is the team involved in constructing community infrastructure but they can see first-hand the benefits their efforts bring to the people they have set out to help.
Nabil Ahmed: It was another day of hard graft back at the school in Mzambarauni village. We started the day by collecting water from the water well to fill the water tank that is used throughout the day for the building work.
Next the Mission Possible team formed a chain with the fundis (local labourers) and some of the local Islamic Help staff in order to move 150 concrete blocks to where the toilets are being built. The rest of the morning was spent working alongside the fundis mixing cement, helping with the laying of the blocks and helping with the digging for the septic tank.
In the afternoon, we moved over to Ubangaa village where half the team helped with the rainwater harvesting system while the other half cleaned the masjid. The first task was to take out all the mats and dust them down. We then used small brooms to clean the floor, the windows and walls. To finish off we washed down the floor with water. The cleaning of the masjid has definitely been one of the most rewarding tasks of the deployment, especially when some of the locals came to thank and congratulate us, as well as making dua for the team.
Navid Kaleem: Started the day at Mzambarauni village working on the sanitation project. We won the respect of the local builders, digging a 10-foot deep septic tank. We continued working on the school toilets with good effect where all the bricklaying has now been completed.
In the afternoon we went to Ubangaa village to work on the rainwater harvesting system at the masjid. We split into two teams - Asim & Akeel worked on the guttering system while Nabeel and I cleaned the masjid. We thoroughly enjoyed cleaning the masjid, brushing & mopping it with someone’s old shirt. In the end we prayed salah there. Hope Allah (swt) accepts our salah and our efforts in cleaning His house.
Asim Siddiqui: So now we’re a little over halfway through the deployment. Today was a day of hard manual labour. I helped dig a 12ft hole for a toilet drainage system to go into. After that we helped install a rainwater harvesting system inside a masjid.
We bumped into some beneficiaries that we gave cows to earlier in the week. They still had massive smiles on their faces. I’m going to miss these villages when I get back to London.
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