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Diary - Sunday, June 14, 2009Just coming out of two back to back action packed weekends of activity here at the Jambiani Tourism Training Institute and what an eventful time this has been. Last weekend was our open house and this weekend was our very first graduation ceremony. After all the hard work, the frustrations, the moments of pure amazement, dreams were finally realized on so many levels this weekend. For Pat and I, it has been a process that has literally taken several years to bear fruit so to speak and certainly today was the culmination of a lot of energy, focus and dedication. It’s also taken a lot of people to bring this into fruition. Volunteers, family, friends, organizations and the incredible tenacity of Mama Pat to persevere through thick and thin in order to provide an exceptional educational opportunity for the kids in our community. Well done Pat!! Of course I am a tad biased but I do know what Pat does and it is formidable. I know there have been a few occasions where we honestly wondered why on earth it is that we do what we do. Of course those moments are only fleeting states powered by periods of exhaustion and frustration and it doesn’t take too long for us to get back on track again and focused on the things that are really meaningful. The open house was a great success and many of our students have already been offered opportunities within the industry after having met with representatives of many of the hotel groups here on Zanzibar including Kempinski. This is what it’s all about ultimately, providing the necessary tools for our students to excel and subsequently get increased opportunities to help themselves and their families. The graduation ceremony was really perfect and everyone came together to make the event a success. There were the usual speeches given by Pat, the year one students and Ms. Ashura Mrisho who is the Director of Tourism and Planning in the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism and we even sang a song that the year two students and I composed called Utafanikiwa or You Will Succeed. I had tears in my eyes on several occasions just realizing what an accomplishment this was for many of our students who were literally thrown into a very intense educational environment without much preparation or awareness of what was to come. We are very proud of them all and we wish them all the best as they continue on in their lives. Once again, we hope that those of you reading this are well and are enjoying life to the max. We appreciate your ongoing support and good vibes that find their way to us on occasion. Take care and all good to you wherever you may be. Ali Baba, Mama Pat and the entire HABS team still in the “Jam”.
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