On December 10th, 2009, members of the Department of Education along with myself flew to the Singida region of Tanzania for 10 days as part 2 of the "Beyond Vulnerability" project. Our purpose was to conduct research with AIDS orphans, teachers from schools who service orphanages, and community stakeholders who may play an important support role for the orphans of Singida. Our team consisted of several faculty members, eight teacher candidates from our B.Ed. program, and a handful of others who have various supporting or organizational roles.

For this trip we travelled to the Kititimo Centre in Singida Town, an orphanage with approximately 45 children between the ages of 6 and 17, and interviewed the orphans about their life experiences, travels, and any caretakers they may have had. The orphanage has recently had its funding pulled, and the matron and security guard who work there are volunteers; they do not receive a living allowance, and largely depend on the generosity of donations. The children attend schools that are over 10 kilometres away (which they walk to), and grow the food they eat themselves.