I left the last blog entry on Wednesday evening after the sports day and evening barbecue. Thursday came far too quickly and it was back to Mukeu for me, but today I would be going with another volunteer. I was in the junior class that day, with the ‘Giraffes’. Some of the kids could add up, some were a little further behind, so my task was to quickly assess their ability (by looking back through their text books) and set them some appropriate work. The kids soon got the hang of it and they absolutely LOVE you to mark their books, so they furiously work through their set sums then come flying back to you and plonk their books in your lap. It is quite a challenge keeping up with eight kids doing this simultaneously – obviously in the UK there would be worksheets for them to follow, and with a school for mentally disabled kids there would a much lower staff- to-child ratio, but this is just not possible at the moment for Mukeu. God knows how the teacher copes when there are no volunteers. I really admire their patience and kindness, and their energy!
That afternoon after lunch (chicken sandwich, much better), we hand-washed all their school uniforms. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they’re still at it now the pile was so high. All the kids chip in and scrub the clothes, even the little ones. I decided to help little Paul with the cute face. Paul has got to be maximum six years old, but I watched in astonishment as he scrubbed five shirts clean that day, even stopping now and then to show me the correct method of hand-washing. Well who else is going to wash their clothes, and without electricity they can’t use a washing machine!
During washing the bucket for the well broke, leaving us without any clean water. We all scratched our heads and looked down the well for a while, trying to think how we could fix the problem. I spoke to the teacher about the problems they face with water. He said that ideally what they could do with is a pump and tank, so that they wouldn’t need to lug a bucket of water up the well every time they need some clean water, but that pumps and tanks are expensive. This is the kind of thing that African Impact are there for – as Mukeu is not a business and has no income, the prospect of getting something like this without donations would be pretty bleak, but African Impact are running a particular donation pot for this pump and tank as it will improve the school significantly and it’s sustainable. I will now be donating all my Kilimanjaro climb donations to this fund scheme as I’ve experienced firsthand what an effort this is for them. Eventually the kids happily took buckets down to the local river and collected water there, laughing as the clumsy kids tripped and splashing and joking. It was a great afternoon.
That evening I had my first Swahili lesson. I felt right back at school as I was asked to speak and repeat phrases such as “Jima langu ni Lydia, jina lako ni nani?” (Hi my name is Lydia, what is your name?) again and again until they became ingrained on my mind forever. I have to say that the teacher was fantastic and I really enjoyed the class, I think I may continue to learn Swahili back in the UK.
On Friday most of the girls went to the Masai Mara Safari, but with a lack of funds I opted to stay, and so Robert and I went to Body of Christ School and took up painting the new orphanage. As I mentioned, there is such variety of things to do with the African Impact volunteering, and painting was a welcome mental break from the week. I plugged into my iPod and sung and danced my way through the morning listening to Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer and Silhouette Showgirls whilst painting the girl’s toilet doors blue.
In the afternoon we went to the local markets and shopping mall to pick up souvenirs, presents and any essentials we may need. In my case that was new headphones (I broke mine with vigorous paint dancing), and bras, as I completely forgot to bring any with me… well I knew I’d forget something! Robert picked up some local spices from the supermarket, and we both got loads of great gifts from the local markets. Luckily we had learnt a few do’s and don’ts in the language class which helped us get better rates, for instance, never say “Jambo” as this will brand you a tourist immediately. Instead, reply “Sijambo”, or better still, follow up with “Habari Yako?” I’d like to think this gave us a few better rates on things but when we got back Robert found that he’d paid 50 shillings more for a bowl than in the Brackenhurst gift shop! Ah well, c’est la vie!
The weekend is here so we can relax in the Brackenhurst grounds. My first week with African Impact has been absolutely incredible and I can’t wait to see what my second week has in store!
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