It has been a very insightful time with lots of achievements:
- Happy and Brenda start Boarding School on April 22nd at KEA Open School.
Taking the girls shopping for their clothes and items for school was such a rewarding day. We took them first for lunch (burgers), before we headed to the second hand market just out of town. They were so excited trying on shoes, t-shirts, kanga's, under-garments, choosing bedding, towels, and combs. When we put them onto the dula dula and sent them home with massive grins, I was a little overcome with emotion. These girls would rarely eat out in a restaurant, let alone be taken shopping just for them - and at that - SO many items. The Memorial Market is a place to get all second hand items that have been donated to Dar es Salaam and then brought to Moshi. You could get some real bargains there and some good quality items too. What I love about shopping here though is that there are no skinny mannequins for displaying clothes, but a wire rack, rounded around the bottom to celebrate the larger bottom of the woman!- Eliza will finally, at the 10 years of age, go to a proper governement school, financed by me as her parents have disappeared and Grandma can't afford the $30 year for her to go locally
- The women's group, Jipe Moyo, have made soap, coconut bangles, coconut dishes, coconut oil ( and given as a gift to me), necklaces and futsies (thanks to Jobede's donation). These creations have been sold at the Hostel and must have raised close to 200,000 shillings for their group ($150 + AUD). They are now selling their products in Fifi's Coffee Shop, a local hang-out for Wazungu! The aim now is for them to not only continue with their creations in my absence, but also to find somewhere in town to sell to tourists. This is the difficult part!
I am so going to miss being run up to every morning by the children shouting - 'teacher, teacher teacher' followed by lots of hugs!
Marion has finished building her 11 houses in Shimbwe, where Rich was working in his first few weeks here and we went to the opening ceremony there a few weeks ago. This was an amazing day. Marion has since received further money to build more houses for those who are in need.
The families include;
- A woman with HIV. A man who is now paralysed after falling from a tree, whose wife then left him because he can no longer earn money, therefore his 10 year old son attends to him 24/7.
- A family with a daughter with cerebral palsy, the father of which died a year ago when clearing trees to build a new mud home.
- A family with special needs triplets, who need constant care.
- An elderly women who has lost the use of her legs and the opening ceremony was the first time she had been outside in ten years.
- And other families in equally tragic circumstances.
We've had some great trip, Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater, as well as visits to Shimbwe Waterfall, a coffee tour and a visit to the hotsprings.
Life at the hostel has also been fun. It has been hard to say goodbye to some people that we get to know and love. Volleyball tournaments and Cocktail parties have been on the agenda, as well as a farewell Fancy Dress Party!!!
