Each trip, one of our first activities is to gather for a meal, the annual Bridge to Africa Project Celebration Lunch. We bring together as many women as possible, this year 27 of the 40. And of course, this year for the first time a member of my family made the journey, my sister, Shirley. So all my sisters were together on one side of the planet for the first time, Tanzanian and Canadian.

This year we not only shared a meal, we discussed what was making each group strong and where we have challenges. Then what we could do about it. As the group has expanded, the knowledge sharing has been the most important part. Each village brings its own expertise so they are stronger by sharing it.

There is of course also gifts. We managed to get women’s clothes and a bit of jewelry over the border, plus pencils, erasers and sharpeners. Lastly and most importantly, handmade cotton dish clothes my sister and family make each year.