Ngorongoro Bicycle Race October 2010

The ZARA Charity’s newest project aims at making a change to the lives of the Maasai women in Karatu. Whereas great improvements have been made in the education of Maasai men, the women are poorly lacking behind, due to their burden of a traditional inferior role within their community.

Therefore, Zara Charity wants to build a Maasai Women’s Vocational Training Educational Centre in the highlands of Karatu. Certain skills can help these women to rise above their restricted positions in society and to grant their family a better living by establishing their own business or getting employed. Eventually, they can realize their full potential and be empowered to pursue their own dreams and ideals.

To raise funds, Zara Charity is organizing the “Make a change:  Ngorongoro bicycle race 2010” which will take place on the 31st of October 2010 to finance this project. You can participate in this race, the participation fee is US$20.

There will be two routes, one will be for professionals and it will be on asphalted surfaces only. The other route will be for hobbyists; the route can be used with regular bicycles that tourists can rent from the Arusha Bicycle Club.   

The exact route description will be published on time, it will probably be from Makuyuni – Ngorongoro gate – Karatu town (distance around 40 km). Read more about it here.

ZARA Tours also offers a special package including participation in the race.

Ngorongoro Half Marathon April 18th – register now!

ZARA wants to remind everyone interested in finding out his or her personal limit taking part in a sports event in one of Africa’s most beautiful regions that the 2nd Ngorongoro half marathon (21 km) will take place on April 18th, 2009. It is still possible to register as a participant, which is free of charge. Everyone participating will get a 50 US$ discount on any ZARA safari or climb. Even if you’re not into participating yourself, it will be a lot of fun to cheer on the many local and foreign runners!

Please have a look at our original posting about this sports event which is arranged by Minnesota International Health Volunteers (MIHV):

http://zaratours.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/2nd-ngorongoro-run-to-be-held-on-april-18th-2009/

If you would like to support the work of MIHV, you can find more information about their work in the documents that you can download here as a ZIP file.

Labour Day celebration 2008 in Karatu

Below we present some photos of this year’s Labour Day Celebrations which took place 1st of May 2008 in Karatu. After a song of the students of the Arusha College Institute of Hotel Management and some local dance performances, Emmanuel Gabriel was awarded “Best Employee of Highview Hotel” and received a prize from the district commissioner of Karatu.

 

Highview Hotel is part of “Face of Tanzania”

The ZARA Highview Hotel Karatu was the location for the regional audition of the Tanzanian beauty contest “Face of Tanzania”, the first ever Tanzanian reality TV model search competition. The show, which was aired twice a week for a month, showed the semi finalists in a model camp where the girls were given model related activities. Part of the challenges was a spectacular photo shooting in the Ngorongoro crater.

Irine Kiwia, director of the show thanked Highview Hotel for the sponsorship, support and warm hospitality given. The voting public has now chosen 5 finalists who are currently in South Africa to learn about the international modelling industry.

The contest also has the aim to promote self-awareness and empowerment to young girls. The organisers believe that if a young woman is self-aware of who she is, what greatness she is capable of achieving and how much she can be in control of her life she will take initiative to self-develop herself, be cautious of diseases especially HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, steer clear of unplanned pregnancies and instead work towards ambitions that will not only develop and benefit her but the nation in general.

    

1st Ngorongoro marathon – the race against Malaria

After the run, the participants receive water and energy cookies, and get to know their result. In total, there were 171 participants, 4 of them females. 

The winner and 2nd and 3rd placed, along with the director of the Minnesota International Health Volunteers (on the left), and on the right the regional commissioner of Arusha and the district commissioner of Karatu. The medals had been donated by ZARA Tours and Highview Hotel.

Leila Ansell, director of Highview Hotel, along with ZARA and Highview staff who were helping with the organisation and infrastructure of the event.

The first Ngorongoro marathon which was proudly sponsored by ZARA and supported by ZARA manpower took place on March 21st, 2008. The run was arranged by Minnesota International Health Volunteers (MIHV) and had 171 active participants, four of them were females, making  their way through one of the most beautiful and unique places on earth, from Lake Manyara to Ngorongoro Crater. MIHV hopes the race will become an annual tradition and bring in thousands of participants in the coming years.

The race had the purpose to raise funds for the fight against malaria. Although there are the means to both prevent and treat malaria, the disease remains the number one killer in Tanzania and kills one child every thirty seconds. Malaria can also have debilitating effects for the survivors. Women, who become infected during pregnancy run the risk of having low birth weight babies, may suffer from anemia, premature births, birth defects, still births and spontaneous abortions. Young children can be left with neurological after-effects and learning disabilities.

MIHV is implementing a five-year Child Survival Project, with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). MIHV has an innovative approach to promoting child and maternal health, which includes establishing Survive & Thrive Groups, which are support groups for single, young mothers to encourage healthy behavior; MAISHA (Men Active in Sustaining Health Action – Kiswahili for “life”), a program which strives to inform and involve taxi drivers as emergency transport to health facilities and encourages them to convey health messages to their passengers, family and friends; and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Centers, which will provide confidential counseling centers for mothers where they can learn about nutrition, breastfeeding and how to help prevent endemic childhood diseases, like diarrheal diseases, respiratory infections and malaria.

http://www.mihv.org/

Highview Hotel supports Chinese students who build school in Karatu

Two teachers and 19 students from Yew Chung International School of Hongkong and China recently donated cash and materials worth 4.9 million Tanzania Shilling (4,200 US$) to Mlimani secondary school in Karatu. The money and materials are aimed at improving conditions at the school.

Mr. Lazaro Titus Massay the area’s councilor said two new classrooms have been constructed by the villagers and volunteers in a collaborative effort.

The donations from the students and staff have enabled Mlimani secondary school to almost double the enrolment of students from March next year. The councilor expressed  gratitude to the Chinese visitors for their contributions both in monetary form and in kind.

The Chinese visitors tour was facilitated by a local tour company, Simba Safaris and ZARA Tours’ Highview Hotel. Villagers presented the visitors with traditional  mementos.

The school is located in the arid village of Tloma at the outskirts of Karatu township. Up to April this year, the area had only one secondary school known as Ganago.

The project is ongoing, as more Chinese students will follow up the initial work. The next group is expected to be arriving in January.

Source: Jamal Hashim, MUM. Date imprinted on the photo is wrong; picture was taken November 30th, 2007.

From beautiful to ugly…

Everything from beautiful to ugly can be encountered at the Highview Hotel Karatu: The picture on the left does not show some scary African witchcraft ceremony, but last week’s Halloween party at Highview Hotel. The picture on the left shows Highview’s new female staff dresses which have been designed by Leila Ansell, the hotel manager herself. Leila likes to see her stuff in stylish yet practical garment and was obviously inspired by Indian fashion when doing the new designs. Can anyone name a hotel in Tanzania with more attractive employees?

President Kikwete visits Highview Hotel

 

Jakaya Kikwete, the President of the United Republic of Tanzania (middle) on his visit to the Highview Hotel in March 2007. On the picture he can be seen in front of the Highview Hotel with Zainab Ansell (left), owner of ZARA Tours, Laila Ansell (right), the hotel manager and other hotel staff.