27th September 2010
Today we are off to Mathini, to see the progress on the construction of the house being built for the family of 9 and help out. We leave at 7.30am it's two Matatu rides an hour and a half in total, at least a 6 km walk up and down mountains and crossing rocky rivers and the hottest day we have encountered yet. First though we walk to visit a local school in Mathini. Erin & Jenny, two of my friends from Australia sponsor her and I have bought a letter and a gift from them. Elise and I have also bought her clothes and will take photo's of her to show the girls. We arrive and all of the children in the school are so excited, they come running out of class screaming and jumping all over us, word spreads fast through the school we are here. Most of them haven't ever seen white people before and some are a little hesitant to approach. We are directed to Mercy's classroom and she is extremely overwhelmed and a little shy. We read the letter to her and Martha translates for us. She is very thankful for her visit and smiles sweetly as we wave goodbye.
We make our way to the Mathini construction site where Felix (the german volunteer) is over seeing the project. On our way we collect and carry wood up the mountain so they can make a start on the windows. The view up here is amazing, something that would be worth millions back home. We sit and enjoy the views for a while, catch our breath and re hydrate, before heading back to the orphanage for our last night with the children.
We spend the evening hanging out with the kids and the volunteers, doing our regular school night routine.
I'm start to feel a little sad as I pack my bags and prepare to say goodbye..........
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Day 14 & 15 The weekend chaos.....
25th/26th September 2010
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
It's a beautiful sunshiney Saturday and we are off to Naoribi, some of the volunteers are taking the kids to swimming and the rest of us are heading to the Markets. I look forward to the 2 hr bus rides, it's an opportunity to chill, escape and listen some tunes.
Sunday morning and we are up and getting the children ready, I put on the cleanist clothes I can find, wash my hair and make myself look" African" presentable (still covered in red dirt) and head to church. Church here apparently lasts for at least 6 hrs so Im not sure how long I will last considering it will all be in Swahili. We arrive at the little shed in the middle of an open field and try to go in un-noticed, which is hard since we are the only white people (mazugu's). As per usual with 35 kids to get ready we are late, we stop the church and everyone stares. We are welcomed however, today is a special day, a baby will be christened and a sacrifice is made. A woman stands, takes the microphone and begins to sing, one by one everyone follows. Eventually they bought in the drums and everyone began to dance at the front of the church including myself. We dance for sometime enjoying the sounds that echo the room, the vibration of the drum and the harmony of the vocals. The music came to an end and the woman went into a trance where, she channelled messages from a higher power. After she had finished the baby was brought in and a chicken to sacrifice. After saying our prayers "African style" we snuck out the back door, not before the precher called out, stopped the church and brought us back in. He blessed and thanked us for coming and we headed back to the orphanage for luinch. Beans and Rice :-)
We buy the children some gifts at the local town, help out the children for the rest of the day with their daily chores and plan our final day helping out in the community.
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