Bennett added that the desire for adventure also compelled students to join Project Tanganyika.

“I was a freshman [in 1961] and [Harvard] was pretty exciting intellectually,” he said. “But it was only intellectual.”

In addition, some students went to Africa driven by their political sentiments.

As Africa emerged as a battleground in the Cold War, some saw Harvard’s presence on the continent as opposing the communist powers they feared might emerge.

“We thought of ourselves as an outpost in the Cold War,” Bennett said.

In January 1961, Project Tanganyika became an official PBHA program, and students began to apply for the inaugural trip that summer. Their only barrier—as a completely student organized venture—was funding.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

At the end of a luncheon hosted by Eleanor Roosevelt in 1961, the former first lady stood up and made an announcement to her guests. According to Gerhart, Roosevelt—whose grandson Haven C. Roosevelt ’62 was planning to travel to Tanganyika that summer—said, “Okay everybody, take out your checkbooks and write a check for these people who want to go to Africa.”

Despite Roosevelt’s generosity, funding continued to be a problem throughout the program’s existence.

The cost of sending students to Tanganyika ranged from $30,000 to $45,000 per year, all of which the student participants raised themselves.

While the administration did not oppose the program, Bennett said the fact that students had to raise all the funds created a potential barrier.

“I realized that it was never really certain that we would go,” he said.

But, each year, the participants proved successful in raising the money they needed to travel to Africa.

SERVICE ABROAD

During their time in Tanganyika, the students worked in a variety of capacities. Several taught English at Tanganyikan schools while others worked for aid initiatives across the country.