Gail LaRocca  "The seed of passion may be rooted in our childhood dreams,
or they may sprout from a chance adventure offered later in life. I took the bold offer to go on safari and
headed to East Africa fifteen years ago.
I quickly learned that less is more and that I had not lived until I had
smelled the damp evening air, day’s dust and night’s fires, heard lion cubs
meowing by a trail side puddle, and laughed with women whose lifestyle and
language are so different from my own.
The dance along the equatorial rift will continue for my lifetime."Born and reared in Massachusetts, Gail had never picked up a sleeping bag or slept in a tent until she ventured to Africa in 1994. As a safari assistant and photographer, Gail shifted away from group travel after five trips to Tanzania. Fluent in Swahili (debatable among some of her Tanzanian friends!), Gail returned for three solo trips: 2001 to photograph for her lecture Jambo Africa and Adventure Africa which investigate the culture, wildlife and landscape of Tanzania; 2004 to complete several service projects through Rotary International; and 2007 to initiate the LifeWaterAfrica.org project, again with support from Rotary International.  Gail graduated from
Concord-Carlisle High School, MA, received her A.B. from Mount Holyoke
College (Biology) and an MBA from Boston College. She has taken classes in
Swahili at Boston University and Spanish at the International Institute
of Language/Boston. Involved in numerous volunteer activities
in Winchester, MA where she has resided for three decades, Gail was on
the Board of Directors of the Winchester Rotary Club for a number of
years and is now an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Moshi
Tanzania. Gail is a Paul Harris Award recipient. In addition to lecturing on Tanzania, Gail is an interior/exterior house painter and fitness instructor. |
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• Biography |