I've now made the journey from Milingano to Tanga for the last time. The last few days in Milingano have been amazing, and I'm not sure I can do justice to it all on this blog.

Yesterday we had a farewell party at the school. Earlier in the week we had been told that the party had been cancelled as the head teacher was away at a family funeral. We were then informed in the morning that the head teacher had returned in order for the party to go ahead. Unfortunately we were also told that while he was at home for the funeral, his son had taken ill and had also died. The fact that he then returned to Milingano for our party was incredible.

We arrived at the school and were seated at the front facing all the children and villagers. Their was some singing from a few members of standard VI and also a local choir. George, a local teacher, then read a speech thanking myself and Jen for teaching at the school. Then a band started to play some music, they had a xylophone and drums and one man bopped around with a radio to his ear making a selection of noises. Then we had to get up and dance. In Tanzania this consists of the women shuffling around in a circle and wiggling your back side like your life depends on it. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get the bum wiggle to quite the same standard as the locals. The weather then took a slight turn for the worse and the rains started to come down. We continued dancing for some time as the rain continued to pour, before someone made the decision to go inside. A rush inside then ensued, and in no time at all the whole village seemed to be inside the standard VI classroom. Inside, with children hanging off beams and windows, the party continuied with more singing.

We then gave speeches, which were translated by a member of the VA staff, and Caroline the VA founder also spoke to the village. By the time this was over the rain had subsided, and the band started up again outside and we were dancing again. By this point I had given up on the bum wiggling and was merely shuffling my feet along the ground about a mm at a time as there were so many people in the circle that we were all wedged together.

After the party we were overwhelmed to receive a number of gifts, our house girls and watchmen had bought us a kanga each and a scarf and a hand made wooden mug. Peter Leonard, a young secondary student who took us on a walk at the start, and checked on us regularly also gave us a carved gift. Our neighbours who also own the house we have been living in also presented us with a large piece of material. Later in the evening we went into the home of a local shop owner, who's children we teach, and he gave us a soda each and biscuits.

I was completely overwhelmed, as they had all given so much, I know that these will have cost them a massive amount of money which could mean that they have made sacrifices elsewhere, in order for them to show us their appreciation. I also felt unworthy of their appreciation as I feel they have already given me so much during my 3 months in Milingano.

Throughout my blog to date, I think I may have given the perception that I have been through continuous scary, stressful moments. These are in fact just the parts of Milli life that seem more entertaining to write about. Milingano and Yamba are two of the most amazing communities, and have provided me with memories that I will treasure. For people who seem to have so little in comparison they are incredibly happy and are a community in the true sense of the word. I could not recommend highly enough to anyone thinking of doing anything similar to do it, and Village Africa is the perfect organisation to be involved with. I don't want to be too sentimental as I don't do it very well, but my time here has made me put a lot of perspective on life, and realise how lucky we are, but also to see things that perhaps we have lost in the west.

Tomorrow I head back to Dar es Salaam and then straight onto a ferry to Zanzibar for 2/3 days, then I need to get out of Tanzania before my visa runs out on Thursday. I then have until the 21st of December to make my way yo Johannesburg for my flight to Australia. Although I wish I could stay longer with Village Africa I'm looking forward to the next stage of my trip and am sure the next 3 weeks will provide lots of stories to tell. I'm also confident that I will return to Milingano again one day.