Previous trips

The group arrived in Nairobi on June 8 and stayed for three nights at the Ibis Styles Hotel. On the first day, they visited the National Museum of Nairobi, exploring various aspects of Kenya’s history and culture, including the skeleton of Lucy, often considered the mother of humankind, which was discovered in Kenya. The next day, part of the group visited the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a sanctuary for orphaned baby elephants, while another group visited the Haven Home, where Anna Þóra Baldursdóttir runs a home for teenage mothers and their children. Later that same day, another part of the group visited a different home for young girls run by musician and activist Tracey Kadada. There, the group received a lesson in African dance – revealing a clear difference between Icelandic and local hip movements, to everyone’s amusement.

On the third day, the group visited the Little Bees school in Nairobi, which Friends of Kenya and Tanzania have supported for decades. They received a warm welcome and experienced school life in conditions quite different from what Icelanders are used to. In the evening, they attended the Cat’s Dance Show, where guests could also sample meat from exotic animals not commonly served, such as crocodile.

Next, the journey continued to Mwanza, Tanzania, with a stopover at Kilimanjaro Airport. The group stayed at Tilapia Hotel by Lake Victoria for three nights. Some took a guided driving tour around Mwanza, while others explored the town on foot. The next day included a visit to the Hakizetu center, where they learned about its work and were measured for shirts, dresses, and other garments. The center is a vocational training hub for young girls learning tailoring, and the custom garments were delivered the following day.

That day, the group was picked up by a bus and taken to a school where an educational and tree-planting project had been carried out in collaboration with Friends of Kenya and Tanzania, Nourish Africa, and a local school. The project had started in February before the rainy season, and the group was able to see the results, along with a traditional African dance performance by local children. Later, the group took a short (7-minute) boat ride to Sanaane Island, Tanzania’s smallest national park, where they walked among various wild animals.

On the morning of June 14, three safari jeeps arrived. After an introduction by the tour guide, the group set off on safari. They spent two nights camping at Kirimu Camps, exploring the magnificent Serengeti National Park along the route of The Great Migration, where thousands of animals are seen heading northward. The journey continued toward the Ngorongoro Crater, with a stop at a Maasai village, and an overnight stay at Octagon Lodge. The next day, they descended into the awe-inspiring crater, home to incredibly diverse wildlife. Afterwards, they drove to Arusha and stayed at the Mvuli Hotel.

Very early on the morning of June 18, the group flew from Kilimanjaro Airport to Zanzibar. There, they spent three nights at the Shooting Star Boutique Hotel on dazzling white-sand beaches with few equals. Some went snorkeling, took spice tours, or enjoyed various activities. The fourth night was spent at the Mizingani Seafront Hotel in Stone Town, a cultural melting pot of European, African, and Arab influences, before flying back home.

On 20 February the group flew from Keflavík via Oslo and Dubai to Mwanza in Tanzania. On the way to Mwanza there was a stopover in Dar es Salaam, and as there was plenty of time between flights, the group popped over to the Slipway centre for a small taste of the city. On the way back, the driver left the motorway to avoid a traffic jam, and the group got a glimpse of how the poorer part of the city lives.

In Mwanza the group stayed at Hotel Tilapia, on the shore of Lake Victoria. The day after arriving in Mwanza, the group visited the headquarters of Hakizetu, partner of Friends of Kenya and Tanzania (hakizetu.org), and was introduced to their work. The group ordered shirts and dresses from the tailoring school run there, in support of young girls who have dropped out of the school system, and the garments were delivered the following day. The group also visited a school and launched a project together with another partner of Friends of Kenya and Tanzania, Nourish Africa. The project involves planting fruit and utility trees at the school, while Nourish Africa teaches the pupils about climate and vegetation. The second day in Mwanza was spent walking around the city and taking a boat trip out on the lake, around the nearby islands.

On the morning of 24 February a safari jeep arrived to collect the group, which set off into Serengeti National Park. In between driving around and watching wildlife, the group spent two nights in tents and experienced all kinds of animal sounds in the night. From the camp the group drove north and, after a night in a lodge, descended into the magnificent Ngorongoro Crater, home to remarkably diverse wildlife. Over these days the group managed to see “The Big Five”: elephant, leopard, buffalo, lion and rhinoceros, along with a host of other animals.

On 28 February the group flew from Kilimanjaro Airport to Zanzibar, where they relaxed on the white beach at Karibu Beach Resort for three nights, visited a spice farm, and then spent one night in Stone Town, the old and charming melting pot of Arab, European and African cultures. On the morning of 4 March the group took the ferry across to Dar es Salaam and flew home from there.

The solidarity run against gender-based violence is an initiative that grew out of the collaboration between Friends of Kenya and Tanzania in Iceland and the Hakizetu organisation in Mwanza, Tanzania. One of Hakizetu’s main missions is the fight against gender-based violence, and the idea was to invite Icelandic women to come and run alongside Tanzanian women in a symbolic run to draw attention to this important cause. The run took place during the international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, held every year from 25 November to 10 December.

The initiative was also part of a larger event taking place on the same days: the World March for Peace and Nonviolence, which was passing through Africa at the same time.

After more organisations expressed interest in the initiative, it was decided to run not only in Mwanza but also in Nairobi and Kisumu in Kenya, and to conclude the runs in Iceland.

23 November: Flight from Iceland to Nairobi, Kenya.

24–25 November: Exploring Nairobi: the Karen Blixen Museum, the Maasai market and more.

26 November: Five-kilometre run against gender-based violence in Nairobi together with Kenyan participants. Visit to Anna Þóra, who runs the Haven Rescue Home, where teenage girls aged 12–18 who have become mothers live. At the home they receive the support they need, whether for education, psychological help or otherwise.

27 November: Flight from Nairobi to Kisumu. We visited local officials who presented an action plan for increasing the number of shelters in the area, among other things.

28 November: Five-kilometre walk against gender-based violence in Kisumu together with Kenyan participants. The route went through the neighbourhood with the highest number of reported cases of gender-based violence. We took part in a programme where various organisations presented themselves and their work. We then drove to the Kenya–Tanzania border, where a man whose education had been sponsored from Iceland invited us to his home for a meal and wanted to show us the house he had built himself. He told us his story of remembering Icelanders visiting his school to give study grants when he was about six years old. We spent the night at the border.

29 November: Drive to Mwanza (Rock City), passing the Serengeti. Along the way we saw all kinds of animals: a herd of elephants, wildebeest and antelope. We stayed at a beautiful hotel on Lake Victoria.

30 November: Five-kilometre run against gender-based violence with Tanzanian and Kenyan participants, through the neighbourhood with the highest number of reported cases of gender-based violence. A programme and awards followed the run. After one of the shows, which featured pythons in one act, the whole Icelandic group joined together to hold a python alongside a local for a photo.

1 December: Relaxation in Mwanza with a choice of activities: a shopping trip to the street markets, a visit to a bakery founded as a vocational training project for women, and a boat trip across to Saanane Island, a small national park.

2 December: Flight to Zanzibar and three nights at a beautiful boutique hotel on the beach, where a three-legged monkey named Coco had made himself at home and befriended the Icelanders. The last night was spent in Stone Town, and the group flew home from there on 6 December via Nairobi.

The journey began with a flight from Iceland to Nairobi in Kenya on June 15, where the group stayed for three nights. There, the group attended a dance performance and enjoyed an evening meal with various exotic dishes on offer. Additionally, the group explored Nairobi, visited the Karen Blixen Museum, and had a chance to experience Kenyan dancing with a young Kenyan visionary. Finally, they visited the Little Bees School in the Mathare area, which had recently been affected by a flood. The school, supported by Friends of Kenya in Iceland for decades, was still in recovery.

Afterward, they traveled over the border to Arusha in Tanzania and stayed for one night before flying to the city of Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria. In Mwanza, they stayed at Hotel Tilapia for three nights. Among other activities, they visited a vocational training center run by the main partners of Friends of Kenya and Tanzania, where many in the group ordered African shirts and dresses that the center’s students sewed and delivered the next day. They also visited a school to view a tree planting project supported by the group. The school welcomed the group with drumming and dancing. Part of the group then visited another school where a new toilet facility was being constructed, funded by the group. Future plans include drilling a well there next year.

On the morning of the fourth day, three safari jeeps arrived and took the group on a 4-day safari through Serengeti and Ngorongoro National Parks, concluding at the Ngorongoro Crater, where thousands of animals can be spotted. After staying in Arusha, the group flew to Zanzibar, where they relaxed by the beach and explored the diverse culture in Stone Town. The group flew back home on June 29th.