Bonjour!
The opening day went really well and I had the opportunity to meet all guardians and parents of our little students. I had 5 cakes for them that I decorated with lots of plum jam, fruits and candies. My sister Claudette would have been proud of my decorations!! My friend Isacc, the local artist, worked with the children part of the afternoon and they created very beautiful pictures. I will take some back to Canada. I was amazed by the concentration of the children as they worked with the water colors and pastels. Isacc has agreed to continue to work with them at the school this coming year. I believe we have some talented artists!!
I also met all of our sponsored girls and we had time to discuss their progress and academic goals for this coming term. I will bring back letters from them to their sponsors.
I was very exhausted at the end of the day but felt on cloud nine!
My cat Maxi Puss is going to have babies next month or so and she is a great comfort to me when I miss my furry family......
More news to come when I am back in Nairobi this week end.
Au revoir,
Mme B.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tears of joy
Bonjour from Mbale,
I am here with the girls to purchase treats for our children. Tomorrow is the official opening for Muungano Special Ed. school. I am planning a party for the kids!
My little friend George is taking care of the entertainement. He has been rehearsing with his group of singers; dancers and drummers for the last week. We will have games and lots of sweet treats to share. I am planning to take tons of pictures. I invited some grown ups but I reminded them that this is a party for the little ones so no long speaches and so on......
It was great to return to North Maragoli after another 10 hour bus ride. I saw baboons on the side of the road as we reached the rift valley area. What a sight! Time has been going so fast since my return. I have been really busy with the finishing of the construction of the classrooms and ordering supplies and furniture. I am also visiting all the homes of the children who are registered with us. I was pleased to discover that the majority of them are living in a fairly clean and loving home. The rest really need to be in residence with us and I hope that we will be able to build the dorm very soon. I went to feed John and Alex with our wonderful Kenyan volunteers Maggie and Lavendah. These girls have done an amazing job. They go twice a day to feed them a very high protein meal and the changes in the last three weeks is quite noticable mostly with Alex. He is now growing tuffs of dark hair on his head and is able to walk without the assistance of his brother. I just sat and cried for a while.... So happy to be a witness to this miracle. Our little one with cerebral palsy is also gaining strenght, I will go and purchase a special chair for her so that she can be supported when in a seating position. I went to visit Shawna as well. The surgery on her eyes has been successful and she only needs some post care. She has amazing eyes this girl! Our volunteer Zipporah is working really hard with our children who are HIV positive and I know that we will be able to help many more others in the community through her contacts.
Only 12 days before I return to Canada....... I am really starting to miss green salads!! The fruits and vegetables are hard to find at this time, it is planting season but I am managing ok with Ougali and beans.
I am here with the girls to purchase treats for our children. Tomorrow is the official opening for Muungano Special Ed. school. I am planning a party for the kids!
My little friend George is taking care of the entertainement. He has been rehearsing with his group of singers; dancers and drummers for the last week. We will have games and lots of sweet treats to share. I am planning to take tons of pictures. I invited some grown ups but I reminded them that this is a party for the little ones so no long speaches and so on......
It was great to return to North Maragoli after another 10 hour bus ride. I saw baboons on the side of the road as we reached the rift valley area. What a sight! Time has been going so fast since my return. I have been really busy with the finishing of the construction of the classrooms and ordering supplies and furniture. I am also visiting all the homes of the children who are registered with us. I was pleased to discover that the majority of them are living in a fairly clean and loving home. The rest really need to be in residence with us and I hope that we will be able to build the dorm very soon. I went to feed John and Alex with our wonderful Kenyan volunteers Maggie and Lavendah. These girls have done an amazing job. They go twice a day to feed them a very high protein meal and the changes in the last three weeks is quite noticable mostly with Alex. He is now growing tuffs of dark hair on his head and is able to walk without the assistance of his brother. I just sat and cried for a while.... So happy to be a witness to this miracle. Our little one with cerebral palsy is also gaining strenght, I will go and purchase a special chair for her so that she can be supported when in a seating position. I went to visit Shawna as well. The surgery on her eyes has been successful and she only needs some post care. She has amazing eyes this girl! Our volunteer Zipporah is working really hard with our children who are HIV positive and I know that we will be able to help many more others in the community through her contacts.
Only 12 days before I return to Canada....... I am really starting to miss green salads!! The fruits and vegetables are hard to find at this time, it is planting season but I am managing ok with Ougali and beans.
Friday, August 6, 2010
KIBERA
Bonjour vous tous,
I am still in Nairobi as it was not safe for me to travel yesterday morning. I will be leaving tomorrow to return to North Maragoli as I could not find a bus for today. The team left safely for their return to Canada at 6am yesterday morning. I was happy to connect with Emmanuel and Josh (Kenyan volunteer and Canadian student) who were staying in Nairobi for a couple of days. We spent the day in Kibera. It is the second biggest slum in the world with over 1 million people living side by side in cardboard and mud shacks. No sewer system and limited access to clean water..... It is so amazing that it is located so close to a very prosperous part of Nairobi. The difference between the rich and desperately poor is so striking..... I spent the afternoon holding a 4 week old orphan baby girl named Chantel. She gave me the biggest smiles and fell asleep in my arms. An angel living very far away from paradise......A seed was planted in my heart and I hope that Muungano will be able to reach out and help some of these little ones in the near future.
All has been very peaceful in the city since the outcome of the referendum. Most Kenyans are really happy and hopeful that the new constitution will make the changes necessary to end corruption at the government level and promote education and economic growth. I am personally hoping that some grant money will be allocated for special education as promised by the political leaders. We will begin writing proposal before I return to Canada. The classrooms are simply beautiful, I can't wait to show you the pictures of the mural and blackboards that a local artist in the community created for interior walls. I will purchase some card stock in Kisumu and will have the kids print their hands and Isaac (the local artist) will help decorate them. Hopefully we will be able to sell them as a fundraiser in Canada.
Isaac has also agreed to work as a volunteer with the school and he will do art therapy with our children. I am so glad that I discovered him this summer!! He knew exactly what I had in mind for the art work and blackboards. I am also thinking of building a small tree house on opposite side of the classrooms. We have a bit of wood and other stuff left over and I know that the kids would love it.
I will send you more news from North Maragoli next week. Wish me courage and strength to complete all necessary work before I need to return to Canada.
I am still in Nairobi as it was not safe for me to travel yesterday morning. I will be leaving tomorrow to return to North Maragoli as I could not find a bus for today. The team left safely for their return to Canada at 6am yesterday morning. I was happy to connect with Emmanuel and Josh (Kenyan volunteer and Canadian student) who were staying in Nairobi for a couple of days. We spent the day in Kibera. It is the second biggest slum in the world with over 1 million people living side by side in cardboard and mud shacks. No sewer system and limited access to clean water..... It is so amazing that it is located so close to a very prosperous part of Nairobi. The difference between the rich and desperately poor is so striking..... I spent the afternoon holding a 4 week old orphan baby girl named Chantel. She gave me the biggest smiles and fell asleep in my arms. An angel living very far away from paradise......A seed was planted in my heart and I hope that Muungano will be able to reach out and help some of these little ones in the near future.
All has been very peaceful in the city since the outcome of the referendum. Most Kenyans are really happy and hopeful that the new constitution will make the changes necessary to end corruption at the government level and promote education and economic growth. I am personally hoping that some grant money will be allocated for special education as promised by the political leaders. We will begin writing proposal before I return to Canada. The classrooms are simply beautiful, I can't wait to show you the pictures of the mural and blackboards that a local artist in the community created for interior walls. I will purchase some card stock in Kisumu and will have the kids print their hands and Isaac (the local artist) will help decorate them. Hopefully we will be able to sell them as a fundraiser in Canada.
Isaac has also agreed to work as a volunteer with the school and he will do art therapy with our children. I am so glad that I discovered him this summer!! He knew exactly what I had in mind for the art work and blackboards. I am also thinking of building a small tree house on opposite side of the classrooms. We have a bit of wood and other stuff left over and I know that the kids would love it.
I will send you more news from North Maragoli next week. Wish me courage and strength to complete all necessary work before I need to return to Canada.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Bonjour!
I have had no access to internet or phone since I began the trip to the coast.... I have a lot to share today as I am back in Nairobi. It is referendum day today in Kenya and everyone is really excited to find out the results of the votes. All results should be in later on tonight. I have had very little news from the campain while in Zanzibar and I am trying to catch up on the last few weeks events pertaining to the vote. All appears to be ok in the city so far but there are twice as many police officers and army personel around Nairobi. My hotel is located right downtown but they have added extra security as well so I feel relatively safe here. The team went to visit the elephant orphanage this morning but I decided to sleep in a bit after the 18 hours bus ride from Dar As Alam to Nairobi. We arrived around 10pm, very dusty and hungry. We travelled on a local bus to save money and get a taste for what it is like to travel like the Tanzanians. Of course we were the only white foreigners onboard.
The Journey to the coast:
We boarded a night train from Nairobi to Mombasa. A very very old train with quite a bit of history! I hardly slept as the noise and bumpy road kept me awake most of the time. We were to arrive in Mombasa at 8 am the next day but around 7 am the train stopped and all passengers were informed that a cargo train was coming and we would need to wait until it came through before the journey to Mombasa resumed. Around 11 am most of the passengers had left on private busses and taxis to reach Mombasa by road. There was not one scrap of food or drink left on the train so in desperation we decided to pay the extra money for a taxi to take us to our hotel. We arrived 2 and 1/2 hours later to our little peace of heaven on the coast. We baked in the sun and played in the waves for two days and then boarded a small local bus to take us to Dar As Alam. I have experienced bumpy road trips in Kenya before but this was incredible!! They had no room for our luggage underneath the bus and we sat with luggage on top of us for most of the 12 hours ride. The locals were somewhat suspicious of us at the beginning but Andree began to sing some camp songs with the children and soon enough all the women were singing with us. The women were very protective of us as we crossed the Tanzanian border. There is an area called No Man's Land between the Kenyan and Tanzanian border. We had to cross it on foot as the bus was inspected and waited for us on the other side. No need to say that we crossed as rapidly as we could!! Not too many hassles from the officials but a long delay anyway as it is always the case in Africa. We had left Mombasa at 6:30 am without as much as a drop of water and it was now close to 12 am still no food and no Tanzanian shillings to purchase anything from the food vendors. Finally a stop in Tamba we were able to change some money and get some lunch and delicious water!!
Arrival in Dar As Alam later on that evening, the bus terminal is very noisy and crowded with people. Getting a taxi proved again to be a major challenge while keeping an eye on our luggage and each other. I named our little hotel in Dar As Alam "The coackroach Inn" but really the place was friendly and very cheap. Two young British girls were in the lobby as we arrived and they were told that all was fully booked for the night. As Andree and I had 3 twin beds in our room we invited them to share one of them. I did not have the heart to send them out in the night in the search for something else. They tearfully accepted the offer as they were so tired and quite sick with colds. They had just returned that day from Mount Kilamanjaro.
Early rise again the next day to catch the Sea Bus ferry to take us to Zanzibar. The ferry is quite luxurious for economy class and we watched old reruns of Mr Bean for the next two hours. The sea is beautiful and quite peaceful. Stone Town appears on the other side. Quite a sight.... Bleached stone houses surrounded by turquoise sea. We have reached our Paradise island for the next 7 days.
Our little beach resort is absolutely charming and we are located a few meters away from the ocean. We go to bed with all doors and windows open and fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves very cozy under our mosquito nets.
We spend our stay playing in the sea, walking on almost white sandy beaches but we also do quite a bit of touring of local attractions.
Jambiani Forest
This magical forest is the home of the Columbus Red Monkeys. They hang everywhere above us as we walk on the paths. The babies are absolutely adorable and stare at us with their huge eyes. I have tons of great pictures!
Sea Turtle sanctuary
We are able to pet and feed giant turtles who are more than willing to entertain us.
Again, I go picture crazy!
Butterflies
Next, a visit to a butterfly sanctuary established by a German woman. A feast for the eyes!
Spice tour
No visit to Zanzibar would be complete we were told without a visit to a spice farm.
We tour the farm of Mr. Spice, and independent farmer. We share a very tasty meal prepared by his wife and drink Zanzibar tea before we begin the tour of the farm.
We have the opportunity to sample a wide range of leaves,seeds and fruits and get a lot of information from our guide on all the spices grown on site. My favorite treat is the Coco Bean fruit!
Stone Town
We take a day to visit this old historical town and shop and shop!! We meet a local designer and we get bathrobes custom made for each one of us with Tanzanian fabric. The cost in Canadian money for each robe is about 8 dollars. Amazing!!
As I visit an historical Sultan house I meet a woman from South Africa and we take pictures of each other lounging on the Sultan's beautiful Swahili bed.
I have to say that we all have had gastro intestinal problems for most of the journey but we are all tanned and looking pretty good for our return to Nairobi.
The team is leaving for Canada tomorrow morning and I am returning to North Maragoli tomorrow or the next day depending on the safety of traveling on my own by bus after the referemdum outcome.
Can't wait to see my chilren again!
I don't know if I will have enough money to travel to Rwanda before I return home. I will decide later on.
Au revoir,
Mme B.
I have had no access to internet or phone since I began the trip to the coast.... I have a lot to share today as I am back in Nairobi. It is referendum day today in Kenya and everyone is really excited to find out the results of the votes. All results should be in later on tonight. I have had very little news from the campain while in Zanzibar and I am trying to catch up on the last few weeks events pertaining to the vote. All appears to be ok in the city so far but there are twice as many police officers and army personel around Nairobi. My hotel is located right downtown but they have added extra security as well so I feel relatively safe here. The team went to visit the elephant orphanage this morning but I decided to sleep in a bit after the 18 hours bus ride from Dar As Alam to Nairobi. We arrived around 10pm, very dusty and hungry. We travelled on a local bus to save money and get a taste for what it is like to travel like the Tanzanians. Of course we were the only white foreigners onboard.
The Journey to the coast:
We boarded a night train from Nairobi to Mombasa. A very very old train with quite a bit of history! I hardly slept as the noise and bumpy road kept me awake most of the time. We were to arrive in Mombasa at 8 am the next day but around 7 am the train stopped and all passengers were informed that a cargo train was coming and we would need to wait until it came through before the journey to Mombasa resumed. Around 11 am most of the passengers had left on private busses and taxis to reach Mombasa by road. There was not one scrap of food or drink left on the train so in desperation we decided to pay the extra money for a taxi to take us to our hotel. We arrived 2 and 1/2 hours later to our little peace of heaven on the coast. We baked in the sun and played in the waves for two days and then boarded a small local bus to take us to Dar As Alam. I have experienced bumpy road trips in Kenya before but this was incredible!! They had no room for our luggage underneath the bus and we sat with luggage on top of us for most of the 12 hours ride. The locals were somewhat suspicious of us at the beginning but Andree began to sing some camp songs with the children and soon enough all the women were singing with us. The women were very protective of us as we crossed the Tanzanian border. There is an area called No Man's Land between the Kenyan and Tanzanian border. We had to cross it on foot as the bus was inspected and waited for us on the other side. No need to say that we crossed as rapidly as we could!! Not too many hassles from the officials but a long delay anyway as it is always the case in Africa. We had left Mombasa at 6:30 am without as much as a drop of water and it was now close to 12 am still no food and no Tanzanian shillings to purchase anything from the food vendors. Finally a stop in Tamba we were able to change some money and get some lunch and delicious water!!
Arrival in Dar As Alam later on that evening, the bus terminal is very noisy and crowded with people. Getting a taxi proved again to be a major challenge while keeping an eye on our luggage and each other. I named our little hotel in Dar As Alam "The coackroach Inn" but really the place was friendly and very cheap. Two young British girls were in the lobby as we arrived and they were told that all was fully booked for the night. As Andree and I had 3 twin beds in our room we invited them to share one of them. I did not have the heart to send them out in the night in the search for something else. They tearfully accepted the offer as they were so tired and quite sick with colds. They had just returned that day from Mount Kilamanjaro.
Early rise again the next day to catch the Sea Bus ferry to take us to Zanzibar. The ferry is quite luxurious for economy class and we watched old reruns of Mr Bean for the next two hours. The sea is beautiful and quite peaceful. Stone Town appears on the other side. Quite a sight.... Bleached stone houses surrounded by turquoise sea. We have reached our Paradise island for the next 7 days.
Our little beach resort is absolutely charming and we are located a few meters away from the ocean. We go to bed with all doors and windows open and fall asleep listening to the sound of the waves very cozy under our mosquito nets.
We spend our stay playing in the sea, walking on almost white sandy beaches but we also do quite a bit of touring of local attractions.
Jambiani Forest
This magical forest is the home of the Columbus Red Monkeys. They hang everywhere above us as we walk on the paths. The babies are absolutely adorable and stare at us with their huge eyes. I have tons of great pictures!
Sea Turtle sanctuary
We are able to pet and feed giant turtles who are more than willing to entertain us.
Again, I go picture crazy!
Butterflies
Next, a visit to a butterfly sanctuary established by a German woman. A feast for the eyes!
Spice tour
No visit to Zanzibar would be complete we were told without a visit to a spice farm.
We tour the farm of Mr. Spice, and independent farmer. We share a very tasty meal prepared by his wife and drink Zanzibar tea before we begin the tour of the farm.
We have the opportunity to sample a wide range of leaves,seeds and fruits and get a lot of information from our guide on all the spices grown on site. My favorite treat is the Coco Bean fruit!
Stone Town
We take a day to visit this old historical town and shop and shop!! We meet a local designer and we get bathrobes custom made for each one of us with Tanzanian fabric. The cost in Canadian money for each robe is about 8 dollars. Amazing!!
As I visit an historical Sultan house I meet a woman from South Africa and we take pictures of each other lounging on the Sultan's beautiful Swahili bed.
I have to say that we all have had gastro intestinal problems for most of the journey but we are all tanned and looking pretty good for our return to Nairobi.
The team is leaving for Canada tomorrow morning and I am returning to North Maragoli tomorrow or the next day depending on the safety of traveling on my own by bus after the referemdum outcome.
Can't wait to see my chilren again!
I don't know if I will have enough money to travel to Rwanda before I return home. I will decide later on.
Au revoir,
Mme B.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
HIPPOS
greetings everyone!
the internet was down for many days I am thankful that I am able to connect with all of you today. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I spent the day in Kisumu with the team and my little friend George. We took a small boat on lake Victoria and we saw a family of hippos! It is the first time that I see hippos in lake Victoria. I bought George a pair of runners for his birthday and he was delighted. His first pair of new runners. His leg is doing very well and we are invited to his house for dinner tonight. We purchased a coucou this morning and took it to his mama's house. She will prepare it for us.
We had another long day at the local hospital yesterday...... The young girl who had eye surgery is doing well, she will have the operation on the other eye in two weeks. I am hoping that I will not be asked for more money...... I will take care of one more surgery this summer and no more as my budget for medical expenses is already spent. There is so much more that I could do if I had more funds..... It will have to wait until next year.
It has been really difficult for me to take care of the construction as well as all of the other businesses but Andree has been so helpful. The rest of the team has left for Rwanda on Sunday, they are having a great trip there and we will connect with them again in Nairobi on Thursday for our trip to the coast. I will be returning to North Maragoli to take care of business and see the opening of the school on August 14. I will then go to Rwanda before returning to Canada. Ahuga is really busy with the coming referendum for the constitution. The vote will take place on August 4.
I am already making plans for next summer. I really need to organize a group of social workers who will go to each house in the 5 villages and make sure that no child is neglected or sick. I have been really touched by some of the cases that I was made aware of this summer.We will really need to build the dorm next year as many of the children will need to be care for by the school.I was looking for some foster care especially for two of them but it is very difficult to find anyone to take them into their homes.The local hospital has provided me with a special powder diet based on protein and vitamins for Alex and John who are severely sick due to malnutrition and for Catherine who has cerebral palsy and who suffers as well from severe malnutrition. I am trying not feel overwhelmed and take it one day at a time. The construction crew is great and very easy to work with, the work is really coming along.Jack who is the construction manager told me yesterday that they do not mind working very long hours because they are so proud to be working on such a good project.
I must end this post as I have errands to run before it is too late. I will write again in
the internet was down for many days I am thankful that I am able to connect with all of you today. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I spent the day in Kisumu with the team and my little friend George. We took a small boat on lake Victoria and we saw a family of hippos! It is the first time that I see hippos in lake Victoria. I bought George a pair of runners for his birthday and he was delighted. His first pair of new runners. His leg is doing very well and we are invited to his house for dinner tonight. We purchased a coucou this morning and took it to his mama's house. She will prepare it for us.
We had another long day at the local hospital yesterday...... The young girl who had eye surgery is doing well, she will have the operation on the other eye in two weeks. I am hoping that I will not be asked for more money...... I will take care of one more surgery this summer and no more as my budget for medical expenses is already spent. There is so much more that I could do if I had more funds..... It will have to wait until next year.
It has been really difficult for me to take care of the construction as well as all of the other businesses but Andree has been so helpful. The rest of the team has left for Rwanda on Sunday, they are having a great trip there and we will connect with them again in Nairobi on Thursday for our trip to the coast. I will be returning to North Maragoli to take care of business and see the opening of the school on August 14. I will then go to Rwanda before returning to Canada. Ahuga is really busy with the coming referendum for the constitution. The vote will take place on August 4.
I am already making plans for next summer. I really need to organize a group of social workers who will go to each house in the 5 villages and make sure that no child is neglected or sick. I have been really touched by some of the cases that I was made aware of this summer.We will really need to build the dorm next year as many of the children will need to be care for by the school.I was looking for some foster care especially for two of them but it is very difficult to find anyone to take them into their homes.The local hospital has provided me with a special powder diet based on protein and vitamins for Alex and John who are severely sick due to malnutrition and for Catherine who has cerebral palsy and who suffers as well from severe malnutrition. I am trying not feel overwhelmed and take it one day at a time. The construction crew is great and very easy to work with, the work is really coming along.Jack who is the construction manager told me yesterday that they do not mind working very long hours because they are so proud to be working on such a good project.
I must end this post as I have errands to run before it is too late. I will write again in
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Shawna
Bonjour everyone!
I had to come to town to use the bank and do some shopping.
The internet is not working very well today but hopefully I will be able to write a bit before it shuts down.I had another meeting with the architect and the surveyor today and finally all is set for the digging of the foundation for the dorm area.I am still working on the furnishing and interior set up for the 3 classrooms and office that will be ready to receive the children before I leave in August. I have hired a wonderful local painter who will be doing a mural in on one wall of the classrooms. It will be a very cheerful environment for the children! We have 2 more students for our school. A beautiful 12 year old girl who is deaf and cannot speak. She is able to use some sign language.A 7 year old girl who is partially deaf and has some emotional problems, her mother has died recently and she lives with her grandfather.
Again, it is so wonderful to know that very soon these children will no longer suffer from neglect and will have a chance to learn all they can.
My little friend George who had a very nasty wound is doing amazingly well with the daily antibiotics. He will be able to join me to Kisumu for my birthday tomorrow. We share the same birthday and we always celebrate together. The plan is to go have lunch on a boat on the shore of lake Victoria. We will have sukuma and fresh fried talapia! A fanta for George and a beer for Mme B.! My sister gave me some birthday candles and I will be able to decorate a piece of ugali. He is very excited and so I am!
I have been busy going to the Sabatia eye hospital with a beautiful little 4 year old girl named Shawna. She is rapidly going blind as she was born with a malformation of both retinas and also needs cornea transplant in both eyes. The price quoted for the surgery was around $2,000.US dollars but after a lot of talking it was agreed that they would do the surgery if I give them a deposit for 20 thousand KS. which is the equivalent of around $340.US. Oh! La! La! Imagine this little girl will not go blind..... I have bought a bus ticket for her mother and father to travel with her to the hospital in Nairobi where she will get the surgery. They will leave for Nairobi on Thursday and hopefully she will be in surgery next week. I will keep you posted on her recovery.
My heart was very happy as I went to sleep last night but also sad as I know that so many more little ones need our assistance.Friday I will be at the government hospital in Kisumu with 7 of our little ones who need some medical attention. I will have a picnic with them on the hospital grounds as we will need to be there all day.
So between the school stuff; teas with the mamas; visits to the family of our children and hospital trips I am kept very busy. My day starts around 6am and usually ends around 10pm. My wonderful headlamp enables me to read and do paper work later than normally possible. I am doing well physically and the mouth ulcers I got last week are almost completely gone so is my eye infection. I was stung by a bug as I was riding a motorbike.
No Blog from Bradley today, our youngest team member as he was napping when I left the house. He is coming along for my birthday celebration and will have lots to say later on.
Missing everyone but I feel so lucky to be part of this adventure.
MmeB.
I had to come to town to use the bank and do some shopping.
The internet is not working very well today but hopefully I will be able to write a bit before it shuts down.I had another meeting with the architect and the surveyor today and finally all is set for the digging of the foundation for the dorm area.I am still working on the furnishing and interior set up for the 3 classrooms and office that will be ready to receive the children before I leave in August. I have hired a wonderful local painter who will be doing a mural in on one wall of the classrooms. It will be a very cheerful environment for the children! We have 2 more students for our school. A beautiful 12 year old girl who is deaf and cannot speak. She is able to use some sign language.A 7 year old girl who is partially deaf and has some emotional problems, her mother has died recently and she lives with her grandfather.
Again, it is so wonderful to know that very soon these children will no longer suffer from neglect and will have a chance to learn all they can.
My little friend George who had a very nasty wound is doing amazingly well with the daily antibiotics. He will be able to join me to Kisumu for my birthday tomorrow. We share the same birthday and we always celebrate together. The plan is to go have lunch on a boat on the shore of lake Victoria. We will have sukuma and fresh fried talapia! A fanta for George and a beer for Mme B.! My sister gave me some birthday candles and I will be able to decorate a piece of ugali. He is very excited and so I am!
I have been busy going to the Sabatia eye hospital with a beautiful little 4 year old girl named Shawna. She is rapidly going blind as she was born with a malformation of both retinas and also needs cornea transplant in both eyes. The price quoted for the surgery was around $2,000.US dollars but after a lot of talking it was agreed that they would do the surgery if I give them a deposit for 20 thousand KS. which is the equivalent of around $340.US. Oh! La! La! Imagine this little girl will not go blind..... I have bought a bus ticket for her mother and father to travel with her to the hospital in Nairobi where she will get the surgery. They will leave for Nairobi on Thursday and hopefully she will be in surgery next week. I will keep you posted on her recovery.
My heart was very happy as I went to sleep last night but also sad as I know that so many more little ones need our assistance.Friday I will be at the government hospital in Kisumu with 7 of our little ones who need some medical attention. I will have a picnic with them on the hospital grounds as we will need to be there all day.
So between the school stuff; teas with the mamas; visits to the family of our children and hospital trips I am kept very busy. My day starts around 6am and usually ends around 10pm. My wonderful headlamp enables me to read and do paper work later than normally possible. I am doing well physically and the mouth ulcers I got last week are almost completely gone so is my eye infection. I was stung by a bug as I was riding a motorbike.
No Blog from Bradley today, our youngest team member as he was napping when I left the house. He is coming along for my birthday celebration and will have lots to say later on.
Missing everyone but I feel so lucky to be part of this adventure.
MmeB.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
kids love bubbles!!
We arrived safely two days ago but I did not have a chance to get to Mbalee to use the internet. It was so incredible to see all my friends and children! I went to our school site as soon as I arrived in the village and sat in one of the classroom......tears of joy and very thankful for the great work that was accomplish by the crew. I had a meeting with the Maragoli board and the five classrooms will be ready for the children to start school before I leave in August. I am really busy right now working on the details regarding furnishing and painting and........... Great news as well the team of students who are at the house at this time from Canada and the States are wonderful and their team has donated all the ciment needed to do the walls and the floors. They will be involved with the work as well!! They have asked if they could start on the foundation for the dorm so the crew began to outline the area yesterday but unfortunately something is wrong with the blueprint and the architect will need to come on Friday before we can do anything else. He is not a very pleasant man and will charge quite a bit to come but it needs to be done. There is a lot more to that story but I will save this for later...... Just to say that he always prefers to deal with men and I need to be very assertive while remaining extremely patient and polite.....
Friday a big party has been planned on the school site to celebrate the school project and other community projects. We have purchased a whole cow to cook for the occasion as we are expecting around 500 people. Today I had to take my little friend George to the hospital in this town and finally had some time to blog. He was stabbed in the leg a week ago as he was playing with friends and the wound was so badly infected that he needed to be seen by a doctoc as the local health clinic is not really able to deal with severe wound infection. So here we are and now, our youngest and cutest team member Bradley, will write a few words about his experience at the hospital.
To all my friends in Canada
My name is Bradley and I went to the hospital with the Muungano team today because George has a leg injury and he has become my friend. While we waited in the waiting room my aunt Michelle (also an incredible and beautiful team member) blew bubbles for all the children and they loved it and everybody was smiling and laughing!! Over and out from Bradley.
I will be writing soon again I hope......
All my love to you in Canada.
Mme B.
Friday a big party has been planned on the school site to celebrate the school project and other community projects. We have purchased a whole cow to cook for the occasion as we are expecting around 500 people. Today I had to take my little friend George to the hospital in this town and finally had some time to blog. He was stabbed in the leg a week ago as he was playing with friends and the wound was so badly infected that he needed to be seen by a doctoc as the local health clinic is not really able to deal with severe wound infection. So here we are and now, our youngest and cutest team member Bradley, will write a few words about his experience at the hospital.
To all my friends in Canada
My name is Bradley and I went to the hospital with the Muungano team today because George has a leg injury and he has become my friend. While we waited in the waiting room my aunt Michelle (also an incredible and beautiful team member) blew bubbles for all the children and they loved it and everybody was smiling and laughing!! Over and out from Bradley.
I will be writing soon again I hope......
All my love to you in Canada.
Mme B.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
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