Contribute: Bringing Our Energy to Life in Bagamoyo
When we created Two Nomads, we spent real time defining our values, because Explore, Connect, Contribute, and Grow were never meant to be taglines. They’re how we decide where to go, how we show up, and what kind of work deserves our energy. Contribute has always been especially important to us, and a few weeks ago in Bagamoyo, Tanzania, that value was at the center of every day.
We spent the week volunteering at the Steven Tito Acadamy, a Grade 1-7 school, created and managed by Terri Place. Mornings and afternoons were built around reading with students, supporting teachers in the classroom, and working with small groups who were eager to practice and improve. We ran a basketball clinic that started with simple drills to introduce the game and graduated to 5×5, a game that demonstrated that we still needed a bit more practice. There was time in the pool initially focused on basic skills and water confidence but soon degenerated into a chaotic game of "Pile on the Nomads." Beyond that we spent time answering questions, sharing stories, and joining spontaneous dance circles that erased any distance between “visitors” and “students.”
One of the most meaningful threads from the week actually started on a different trip. On a previous visit to Africa, we were in Senegal and met the CEO of NABU, a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating literacy by publishing bilingual, culturally relevant children’s books in mother-tongue languages. When we asked Terri what we could bring from the US to support the school, her first answer was simple: “English books.” That conversation clicked with what we’d learned about NABU’s work, and it gave us a chance to connect two worlds that might not otherwise meet.
We arrived in Bagamoyo with 20 NABU books – written in Swahili and English, so students can move between both languages – and are having another 100 formatted for print and delivered to the school in the coming weeks. The response from kids and teachers was immediate. They loved that the Swahili read naturally and that the stories reflected local life. In many school libraries, donated titles often center on characters and contexts from the US or Europe; they have value, but they can be hard to relate to day-to-day. Seeing students light up around stories that looked and sounded like their own lives reinforced how powerful culturally relevant books can be for engagement and literacy.
Being on campus every day gave us the gift of immersion. We saw how teachers and students show up for each other, how sport and play are woven into school life, and how quickly kids lean in when they feel seen and supported. We were there long enough to thoroughly bond with the classes but left yearning for more time with them.
It was an incredibly rewarding week and a powerful reminder of why Contribute sits alongside Explore, Connect, and Grow as a core pillar of Two Nomads. Experiences like this aren’t extra for us; they are part of the reason we built this life and this company in the first place. As we keep moving around the world, weeks like Bagamoyo help ensure that our work – and our story – stays anchored in people, communities, and shared learning.