Who we are
Live Dunia translated from Swahili means Live Globally-which is exactly what founders Sam Temple and Mary Heinemann intend to do. Sam and Mary met while serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Tanzania. They didn't know what was in store for them when they met but within two years of service in Tanzania their separate journeys brought them one step closer to both of their life's passion-Live Dunia. Life in Tanzania exposed Sam and Mary to the richness of human connection, open mindedness, integration, sustainabilty, and community. The warmth and love they received without expectations in return was soul fueling and their experience left them feeling more connected to their fellow citizens of the world. They want to share that experience while empowering others to make connections that will foster global community development, bringing humanity closer together.
mary Heinemann
Experience: East Africa Overseas Educator with Carpe Diem, Volunteer with Peace Corps Tanzania; Tanzania and Nepal Travel Leader with Global Routes; Health Specialist with Boys and Girls Club of Denver; Wilderness First Responder
Education: Master’s in Social Work from University of Michigan, Bachelors in Communications, and Women's Studies from Colorado State University
Passions: Empowering others through challenging experiences and ideas, filmmaking, yoga, coffee, and making people laugh, especially if it’s in Swahili.
Mary is an explorer, a boundary pusher, a pump-up giver, a lover of humanity, and a hopeless believer in the good. She spent her youth moving around to five different states in the US before finally settling into life in sunny Colorado. It was there that she stumbled into her passion of human rights and women’s empowerment. She continued to immerse herself in these passions while serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania as a health volunteer. Nothing has ever been as wonderfully difficult or as magically soulful than her time in Tanzania, so much so that she has returned 13 times. She has been remarkably privileged to see the profound impact that living alongside the welcoming and gracious people of Tanzania, and collaborating with the incredible women, has had on not only herself and the communities, but her students as well. Women are the heart and soul of Tanzania, and the world. Mama Dunia is, for her, the way to keep the stream of consciousness, joy, peace, and impact flowing through humanity.
Sam Temple
Experience: Volunteer with Peace Corps Tanzania; Human Resource Management; Donor Relations Coordinator with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver
Education: B.A. International Relations and Economics from Knox College; Master's of Public Administration Candidate at the University of Colorado
Passions: Speaking Swahili, project logistics and planning, visiting Tanzanian islands
Sam is a mid-westerner from Kansas who always knew her purpose was to push borders and explore new environments. Her passion started as a child after viewing a Peace Corps presentation in elementary school. The dream of adventure and purpose was planted early and eventually realized in Tanzania. Mama Dunia is the newest bloom from that early planting and she can't wait to watch it grow and scale into a world class experiential travel organization.
Village of Uwemba
Uwemba is where fortune finds us; a medium sized farming community, located just outside of the Ohana Amani property (nonprofit partners) near Njombe, Tanzania. This warm and welcoming community has chosen to be community partners with Live Dunia. It has been our goal to invest the time, resources, and energy of our travelers into one community. Alongside the community of Uwemba we will share, grow, and create long lasting friendship.
Ohana Amani
Ohana Amani (OA) is our in country, non profit partners. OA a place not easily put into words, it is more of an experience, something which explanation defies. But try as we must to put into words…Ohana Amani, or OA for short, is a farm, a co-opt, a home, a non-profit, a learning center, and most importantly a family. This family is comprised of Curry and Chevy (the sisters), Luca (a gentleman), the Tanzanian family (Zamda, Mama Frida, Noelli, Creopa, Lucy, and Cretus), and approximately 5 little ones (and growing daily!). They live together on a beautiful plot of land located on a lush mountain side in the southern highlands of Tanzania. This is an intentional community, crafted with care, and their goal is to facilitate “peace between those who breathe together.”Ohana is derived from the Hawaiian word for family and all those who breathe together, and Amani is the Swahili word for peace. OA will be the home base for many of Live Dunia’s excursions, it is our new home, a safe place for our travelers to feel at ease, supported, and gently challenged at times.
