Monday, September 12, 2011

Finding Pommern in Rural Tanzania

It took a while, but I finally discovered Pommern in the Kiloli District of Iringa in Tanzania. Even though I had developed a specific search area, I didn't have a very good way of methodically eliminating areas. I came across a building that appeared to be the secondary school I worked in, but the lay of the paths and roads and other buildings didn't match up. The building, however, provided me a point of reference so I could zoom out a little further and still be able to find a building of similar size. When I finally did stumble upon the Village, I couldn't believe it.

After years of looking...boom, there it is. Unfortunately, it falls outside of the area with the really nice new imagery, but it is clear enough that I was able to mark a couple key sites on my trip. It goes without saying (but not without mentioning) that this will be great for geotagging pictures. I'll be able to add many within 50 feet or so, which is amazing for extremely rural Africa. I also hope that someone who has or is planning to go to Pommern with Global Volunteers will be able to use this as a resource.  I know I would have appreciated this.

So here it is. It doesn't look like much, but for me it's endless stories and memories. Certainly worth all the effort to find it.
In case you'd like to look around and see exactly where it is, you can use this map.

View Larger Map


Yea....I need to get back. 

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