Meserani Snake Park is located in Tanzania, East Africa.

The snake park is located 25km west of Arusha on the route to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro crater.

Meserani Snake Park provides a free medical health clinic, with over a 1000 patients per month and rising. The clinic treats many medical emergencies, a common issue is treatment for infections and snakebites.

The clinic employs two-full time nurses. The clinic is open 24 /7, 365 days a year.

The owner operators of Meserani Snake Park Berry and Lynn Bale pay for all the salaries and medical supplies.

A physician assistant and a paramedic, both from Prineville, became friends with Wade Bale and learned about the Meserani Snake Park. They visited the facility two years’ ago and agreed with the Bales that a new clinic was needed to better serve the area, as the existing facility was much too small, not adequately supplied and too far away from the Snake Park itself. Upon returning to Central Oregon, these two, along with Wade Bale, his wife, Susan, and others who had also visited the Snake Park, formed  Mbuyu Charities. The word comes from the local dialect, meaning “Baobab,” a tree that is plentiful in the area. This tree is often called “The Tree of Life,” and it is the goal of the organization to be able to provide hope and life to people living in the Meserani region.

Thanks to generous contributors, the Bales were presented with a $4,000 gift to begin construction of a new clinic.  Since Berry Bale is also an engineer, plans were formulated and construction began quickly, using the Maasai as laborers. Nevertheless, this first influx of funds covers only about 1/3 of the total cost of construction.

The current clinic is now housing five orphans as well as caring for close to 50 patients a day. This is a project that needs to be finished, not only to provide for better and more centrally located medical care, but so that the old clinic can be transformed into an orphanage.

Mbuyu Charities sent a team of medical professional to Tanzania, please view the video’s right here.
Part 1
Part 2

The Tanzania trip was very successful, they treated over 1000 patients and one baby Elephant.

Through your support Meserani Snake Park has been able to move forward and provide the local people with a better quality of life.

Meserani Snake Park and Mbuyu Charities is greatly thankful.

Awesome stuff.

Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa. It is almost as large as France.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It is 19,340 feet (5,895 metres high).

Lake Victoria is located in the north, this is the second largest lake in the world.

Before 1961 the country was called Tanganyika. One of the big lakes is still named this.

Lake Tanganyika, Now Tanzania is made up of Tanganyika and the Island of Zanzibar.

More than 100 tribes live in Tanzania.

The name Serengeti means Endless Plain.

Ngorongoro Crater is a collapsed volcano. Once it stood taller than Mount Kilimanjaro, It is shaped like a deep bowl. It is classed as the 8th wonder of the world.
There are no Giraffe’s in the Ngorongoro Crater, The sides are to steep for the Giraffe’s to climb down the volcanic mountain.

When Tanzanian parents choose a name for their children, they will often pick a name that has a special meaning. They hope that their baby will grow up to have the same qualities as the name suggests.

The Maasai people of Tanzania build their huts of mud, sticks, grass and cow dung. The woman build the huts. Maasai men have no involvement in this what so ever.

Tanzanian’s native language is Swahili.

Olduvai Gorge is where they found fossil remains of ancestors dating back 2.5 million years ago. Olduvai Gorge is sometimes called the cradle of mankind.

Chat again soon.
Kind Regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

This is a story of a young man who has made such a difference to the local people in East Africa.

Max Griffiths had a dream and that dream has come true. This is his story.

“I once heard a wise man say that Africa was like water in the desert – once you’ve had a taste you’ll just keep coming back for more.

It’s true. I first came to Africa in 2000, and have been every year since then, spending months on the continent in stints ranging from a couple of weeks to six months, mostly in Tanzania. My thirst shows no sign of being quenched.

I’m now sat at home in my East London flat, looking at my various videos and photos of my time in Africa, and there’s an aching in my body to return to the dusty plains. It’s got me thinking about what exactly is it that keeps me heading back… After all I live in a tent in Tanzania, water is sparse, dangerous animals are common (well more so than in London Bridge), and it’s almost impossible to get a proper pint of ale.

It’s these things that make Africa appealing (well, all except the proper pint of ale). I love waking up in a tent every morning, my front room dotted with acacia trees and wild guinea fowl; the conserving of water and the environment generates a community spirit which you’ve not had in London since (I imagine) World War II; knowing there’s dangerous animals around makes me look at the environment more closely and understand it too. These are brilliant aspects of Africa, guaranteed to put a smile on my face, but it’s not what makes me tick.

The majority of my time in Africa has been spent doing development work, largely in an education center in Meserani, Tanzania. Back in three months in 2005 we turned a dusty bit of land into an education center. I could go on telling you that three years on it’s a huge success story, that we’ve given free education to nearly 2,000 local residents, helped them get jobs and provide for the future. But my mind doesn’t think like that, it thinks about the other few thousand residents who haven’t taken up the courses – through choice or barrier, it thinks about what courses we could be offering – in western medicine for cattle, in environmental preservation. It thinks about how we could help the incredible local clinic run by Meserani Snake Park (easily the best example of a successful development project I’ve ever seen), how we could provide the victims of the increasing AIDS epidemic, how we can help all those pastoral Maasai continue their lifestyles which make them happy. And when I think about all this, I think it’s all possible, every bit of it. There’s not a dash of doubt that ever crosses my mind and that’s because in Africa, ironically, things can and will happen faster and with greater effect than in the West. There’s no cynicism, there’s little bureaucracy, and there’s a whole heap of determination (although sometimes you will find that resting under a tree). That’s what makes me keep coming back – it’s that there’s an air of possibility in Africa, that good change can come, and that with a bit of diligence and determination then it will do.”

I have visited the Education Center at Meserani.. To see Max’s dream become a reality is magnificent. Max’s efforts have made such an impact on the local people. It has given them opportunity, hope, and a knew outlook on life. All ages attend the Meserani Education Center. One man that attends is in his 80’s right down to your pre-school children, all free of charge.

Well done Max and your team. If everyone thought like you do. The world would be a better place.

All the very best
Tania Bale
African Art Online

After living in Tanzania for 10 months I have discovered some very useful information, which may be helpful when travelling to East Africa.<

The 5 travelling tips I am referring to are solely based on Tanzania, East Africa; Africa is an extremely large place, so I am not referring to the whole continent.

1.        We all like to travel with some cash on hand. Tanzania’s currency is TZ shillings. American dollars is accepted in most places. The one thing that you may not be aware of that may cause some issues is. All foreign exchange outlets will not accepted any US currency older than the year 2000.The logic behind this is to try and fight counterfeiting. Please check all your American Dollars and save the inconvenience. As a side note credit card vacillates are available but always have plan B.

2.       Tipping in Tanzania is not compulsory but it is expected. If you are willing to tip then please add this cost into your budget. This can become a costly exercise .If you ask for directions, dine out; use public transport any kind of service then you will be expected to tip. If you take a photo of any local Tanzanian, you may be expected to pay. It is wise to always ask permission first. If you choose to tip, how much you tip is entirely up to you.

3.       If you are with a tour company please be aware that your driver or your tour leader will often earn commissions on any purchases you make, such as gift items, activities etc. The places that your driver or tour leader suggests that you go to could possibly be where they earn the best commissions, not necessarily the best option available for you. If possible do your own research before you leave on places you may wish to visit. Don’t be afraid to tell your driver or tour leader on places you may wish to visit.

4.       It is always good when travelling any where in the world to learn a little bit of the local language. In Tanzania the language spoken is Swahili. While most people do speak pretty good English it does pay to no some of the basics in Swahili. It can be to your advantage especially when you are shopping. The local people appreciate that you have taken the time to learn their language.

5.       If you are intending to shop, price haggling is common. You shouldn’t always accept the first price offered. One example of this, I entered a store and was interested in a piece of clothing. I asked how much for the item, the first price offered was $80 US dollars, I declined, I was then offered the item for $60 US dollars, I declined again, as the item was not worth any where close to this amount. I was just about to exit the store when the store owner yelled out ok $10 US dollars. Now that seemed more like it. Keep your wits about you when shopping.

All in all Tanzania is a wonderful and interesting place to visit, friendly people, fantastic game parks,     with a rich and diverse culture. If you do decide to visit Tanzania, I hope you find these tips useful.

Enjoy!!

Kind Regards

Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

Well done to the London Maasai marathon runners. They had a fantastic time in London. The goal was to run the Marathon to raise money to provide cleaning drinking water for their village, and they certainly accomplished that.

The support was over whelming for them, and they couldn’t believe that all you had to do was run to raise money.

They got off to a bit of a bumpy start as one of the Maasai ended up in hospital. The Maasai take a special drink that they believe is to make them strong. He drank his potion before the race and ended up sick.

Kindly enough the organizers of the Marathon let him finish the race the next day.

They reportedly raised over £150,000, which is amazing. Now they have enough money to be able to get the contractors in to build them a bore hole which costs up to £30,000 for one bore whole.

Great effort from the Maasai and all the people that supported them.

You can pop over here and watch a video of them returning home. Very proud young warriors.

Lots of celebrations, dancing and singing into the small hours of the night.

Great work guys.

www.africanartonline.com

People run the London Marathon for all sorts of reasons, some run for fun, some run for a challenge to themselves and some run for charity.

This is exactly what Chris decided to do run the London Marathon to raise money for the Orphans at Meserani Snake Park

Chris had visited the Snake Park while he was on safari in Tanzania, and saw all the great projects that are in progress to help the community in Maasai Land Tanzania.

At Meserani Snake Park there is an Orphanage, so any help is most appreciated .

Here is Chris’s Marathon Report.

Job done, I surprised myself by finishing without stopping. I had only run two miles in the last month as I had various calf injuries so had to rest my legs and then tough it out. I finished in 4hrs 37mins (an hour later than originally planned when training) but am paying for it now as my legs are very sore, walking is difficult and I can only come down stairs walking backwards I should be fine soon. . And not a single blister thanks to 1000 mile socks.

It was a lovely day and really enjoyable. As well as 35,000+ runners there were thousands of supporters along the way and it was very rare that there wasn’t someone cheering us on. As well as people there were lots of different musicians playing along the way including brass bands, rock groups, Japanese drummers, Caribbean steel bands and many others. And in-between these there were local radio stations and disc jockeys playing pop music using speakers that were as big as me! Very noisy!

The weather was good most of the time, nice and cool. It did rain for about 30 minutes and later we had 5 minutes of hail stones.

There were all sorts of people from all over the world running for so many different charities. I saw two wombles (as they went past me!), a pie, three Batmans, nurses, many policemen, a camel and many others.

I saw the Maasai warriors on the way round and passed them on Tower Bridge. They were very popular with the crowd.

Overall a wonderful day with so much goodwill between crowds, runners and each other; it is a shame that people can’t always be like this.

My running shirt and marathon number will soon be winging their way to Tanzania where they will probably join various T shirts on display on the thatched ceiling of a lounge area in the overland camp at Messerani Snake Park.

I have attached some photos but have reduced them in size so they should download easily.

Thanks for all those who sponsored me on behalf of the orphanage building.——————–

I hope that you find this interesting.

Running done, I now have to chase family and friends who sponsored me and get the money together, something that is often harder and more time consuming than the run!

Bye for now.

Rgds

Chris Harper.

Well done to you again Chris and Congratulations on finishing the Marathon, and thank you also for thinking of the Orphans at the Snake Park. You have a big heart.

Chat again soon.

Cheers

Tania Bale

African Art Online.Com

63 Year Old Maasai Women And Her Twin
Grand Children

A amazing Maasai women walked for days to get to the Meserani Snake Parks medical clinic, with her twin grand children.

The twins aged 18 months weighed a mere 3.5 kgs each when they arrived at the clinic. I have twin girls, and they weighed 9 kgs and where 11 months old. What a huge difference.

The twins where immediately put onto drips as they where so dehydrated. They stayed at the clinic for 2 weeks, by the time they left they where nearly 13kgs.

The twins where so shy as they had never seen a Muzungu before, that is what they call a white person. After a week they warmed up to me, as I went to visit them often. I went through all my twins clothes and my clothes and took back some outfits for them. She was over the moon. When I went back the next day, she had dressed up her grand children in the clothes, and she had put a pair of socks on that I had given her.

We had a lot of laughs together, we couldn’t understand a word each of us where saying, but we got by with a lot of sign language. It was very funny.

I took my camera and asked if she would let me take their photo, she said yes, so I took some photo’s of them together and showed her on the digital camera, she laughed and laughed. I then printed a photo off for her and laminated it and took it back to her. You should have seen the look on her face, so grateful. This was the first and probably the last picture she will ever have of herself and her family. The Maasai women are such shy gentle people, they don’t like getting photo’s taken. The older girl in the picture above is her daughter, she had 13 children. One daughter had died from aids, which is why she was caring for her grand children.

After a week at the clinic I went to visit them one day and she was pointing to the children showing me some spots on their skin, I was pretty sure it was chicken pocks, so I dabbed some calamine lotion on the children. Later on that night at the snake park their was a nurse staying, she was on safari and said she would go and have a look at them, sure enough it was chicken pocks, I was very tempted to take my twins over so they could get the chicken pocks and get it over and done with.

The Meserani Snake Park Clinic has approximately 1000 patients through the door each month, from your common cold to more serious issues, such as snake bites. All medical care is free of charge.

Meserani Snake Park is in the process of building a knew clinic, as the clinic also acts as an orphanage.

The new clinic will be a double story building, to accommodate volunteer doctors and nurses. The clinic will have separate men’s and women’s quarters.   I can see after the new clinic is built that the orphanage will expand as well.

So the family left after 2 weeks, fit and healthy and still wearing the socks I had given her 2 weeks earlier. Thanks to the Meserani Snake Parks clinic, these people do have a chance. I haven’t seen the family back at the medical clinic, which is a great sign everything is going well for them.

Until next time
Kind Regards
Tania Bale
African Art Online.Com

Hi again, I don’t no where to begin. We have had so many snake bite victims recently, but if treated immediately you have 100% chance to survive. Even the most deadliest snake. I feel very sad at the unfortunate tragedy that happened 2 nights ago. A little 12 year old Maasai girl was bitten by a snake, we are unsure of what type of snake. Her village took her to a witch doctor in the bush some where and gave her allsorts of stuff that will certainly not help a snake bite victim. Where I am living at the moment is a place called Meserani Snake Park. It is in Tanzania, Africa. At the snake park is a medical clinic, which has anti-venom for snake bites. They eventually brought the little girl here to the clinic, but it was too late, she died. It is very sad to know that if she had been brought to the clinic first, she would have lived. These witch doctors are absolute butchers. It happens over and over again with these so called doctors. The Maasai people travel for miles and miles to come to the medical clinic here at Meserani. The clinic gets about 1000 patients threw the door each month and growing. They come with allsorts of issues from your common cold to people that might need more serious medical treatment and need to be sent to Nairobi to get specialized assistance. The Meserani clinic is absolutely free of charge. So I find it extremely difficult to understand why they took her to the witch doctor in the first place. I do understand that they probably want to have some faith in their own doctors, sure for a common cold maybe, not a snake bite. Meserani Snake Park is working extremely hard to build a new Medical Clinic to help the people in Maasai Land Tanzania. At present the medical clinic is a clinic come Orphanage. When the new clinic is complete it will be a double story with free accommodation for volunteer doctors and nurses to stay.
There will be men’s and women’s quarters for the patients. You can pop over here and check out the new development with the clinic.

These video clips will be updated as we progress. We have to really try and educate the Maasai community, about the importance of getting proper medical treatment for snake bite victims as soon as possible. I feel very sad for the victim’s family and I wish I could say this will never happen again but I no this not to be true. It is fantastic when they bring buses full of school children to Meserani Snake Park; they get a guided tour of all the different types of snakes, and learn which are dangerous and which are not.The children get to hold a Brown House Snake, which is always fun to watch as they are so funny with the expressions on there face. If the Maasai children are educated at a young age about snakes then hopefully the next generation will be able to deal with this problem better. Kind Regards
Tania Bale
www.africanartonline.com