Ella Carroll (12) has been known to travel before; and this winter break was no change as she decided to take her senior trip to Tanzania, Africa with her mother Kayla Yates from December 30 to January 15. 

Carroll has stated she has been wanting to go back to Tanzania since she was 10 after her previous trip in 2015. “I went there first in 2015, so like seven or eight years ago,” Carroll said. “It was just a [house] at first on our first trip…and [now] they’ve grown into a huge village. I wanted to see more and see what they turned into over the years, and I just wanted a cool experience.” 

Carroll’s reasons for going to Tanzania weren’t just to learn about the culture or spend money on silly trinkets or go on a safari, but rather to help and volunteer in the community where it was needed most. “My mother and I worked at a baby home called Neema Village,” Carroll said.

Carroll’s mother, Kayla Yates, was the one who took Carroll to Tanzania. It was just the two of them as a part of personal experience, and as a way to help the world. Yates experienced a personal connection from their previous trip and learned a lot about herself and the experiences people go through, “We continue to learn that joy, laughter, pain and tears are all universal and that we all need each other,” Yates said. “It’s about learning to find your place in the world and contributing to make it a better place. In turn, it makes you a better person.” 

Carroll also seems to have learned a valuable thing or two. “I learned that there’s still a lot of problems that we in America think are gone and think [they don’t] matter anymore, but it does,” Carroll said. “I learned that we’re super privileged and that we have nothing to be mad about the world, because they have what we would call nothing, literally nothing; and they are the most joyful and loving people I’ve ever met in my entire life.” 

Both Carroll and her mother want to return.  “I would leave tomorrow, and I think Ella would too! East Africa is a special place,” Yates said. “The people there have beautiful souls.  They are filled with kindness, love and compassion. They are filled with joy even though they lack most basic needs. It is always a reminder of how spoiled we can be here in America; and yet, people seem so unhappy most of the time. [This trip was] a reminder that relationships and purpose are what bring joy and happiness, not things.”

Carroll is also planning to return to Tanzania. “I’m planning [to return] after college. I want to move there for three months and work as a nurse there, and then travel to different orphanages,” Carroll said.

Yates seems to have a strong feeling towards the culture and the things learned there, and she would greatly encourage anyone to go. “I would tell people do it, now! Don’t wait. You will NEVER regret the time there,” Yates said. “Even if it’s not Neema Village in East Africa, just do something that is bigger than yourself, outside of your comfort zone. Travel, get to know other cultures, learn to love people outside of your circle of friends and family, you will be far richer because of it.”