REMINDERS OF HOME ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED!!! Whether it is a letter or a care package, I guarantee it will make my day/week/month!
Kathryn Alexander
c/o World Food Programme
c/o World Food Programme
P.O. Box 1950
Dodoma, Tanzania
Dodoma, Tanzania
Letters
Please be advised that mail can be slow and unreliable! Airmail can take up to two weeks to arrive in Tanzania and sometimes can take two weeks or more to get to my site. You should include "Airmail" on envelopes, and number and date your letters so that I will know if I've missed one. Post cards should also be sent in envelopes - otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office! Don't forget to check how much postage is required to reach Tanzania (USPS first class international mail costs $0.98 - 3 stamps - to send a 1 ounce letter or postcard, up to $3.32 - 8 stamps - to send a 3.5 ounce letter).
Packages
If you're interested in sending me a package, check out my "Wish List" (see right sidebar) for ideas of much appreciated items! Avoid sending packages via surface mail, which can take three to six months to reach Tanzania from the United States. Instead, send packages via air mail, which usually takes three to eight weeks. As a general rule, the larger the package, the longer it takes to arrive (and the heftier the duty fees imposed). Current and past volunteers rave about those padded/bubble envelopes and say they usually arrive in two or three weeks...so stuffing 10 of those may be preferable to one box.
I've also heard many theories on improving the odds that your package will get through Tanzanian customs with all of its contents: creative packaging to disguise more enticing items (e.g. camera in a tampon box), drawing religious symbols and writing biblical quotes on the package, addressing me as "sister Kathryn", writing that the contents are for educational purposes (to heighten these effects use red ink, which is often reserved for official corresponsdence), etc...so I expect some of you will have quite a bit of fun with that!
