Week of July 23-29
On Sunday, the 23rd, I met up with the American team and some others to go to church a little outside Moshi. The American team, Pastor Frank, & Ben were having a Bible retreat with the older kids in Moshi. Jack met up with Dave and Adam (yes, my electrician fundi) and then picked up me and Tiz on the way to Moshi. Dave is an amazing guy and really reminds me of my brother. He and his wife arrived here about a month ago with their two young children (1 & 3yrs). They are from Seattle along with another older couple from Seattle, Wes & Beth. When Mama Lynn went to the US, she stayed with them. Both couples have been out here before and are wonderful people. (They're trying to set me up with some guys from their church in Seattle;-)!). So anyway, we eventually all met up and rented a matatu to take us to this church that the Seattle couples helped start. We went along many bumpy dirt roads and finally got there at a little after 11a, so not too late. I sat in the front with Juliette, one of the older LIA girls who I absolutely adore. She is slow to warm up to you but I think she is a very strong young woman who has had to go through more than I'll ever know. She is one that I think will haunt my thought when I return home. This church was amazing and they translated too! Most of the songs were in Swahili but the choruses were easy enough that I could somewhat sing along. Juliette and I were dancing in the front row along with the chorus! It was a wonderful time and the Pastor's message was great too. He talked about the 7 steps to getting married. He also introduced an engaged couple and they had a short cermony. There was another group from America (not with LIA) that was there. Three of the women had decided to move to Moshi to start an orphanage. They are from California and brought a few other women out with them. It's amazing to meet people who are willing to give up the comforts of the U.S. to come help the children here. It is certainly inspirational. After lunch, I took everyone (25 in all) out to lunch in Moshi. The kids had sodas and whatever they wanted to eat and icecream after. Jack told me later that the boys had told him they couldn't believe how much they were able to get etc. It was a really fun time hanging out with them outside of LIA. We headed back after doing some errands in Moshi.
Monday, I met Jack and Michael in Boma to buy materials. (Ya know, I hadn't realized until now how many times I have bought materials...) We bought all the materials needed to move the outdoor kitchen at Pilgrim. The new cabin and shower room were finished except the sewage needed to be pumped out of the septic tank before Michael could hook up the new lines. So we returned and Jack & I did more weeding and such while Michael & Augustine put up the new kitchen. After the timbers were up, Jack and I carried all the cement from Augustine mixing it to Michael who was smoothing it out in the new kitchen. Carolyn was leaving that night, so I had to get back to Mailisita at least by 5p. I got back in time and ate an early dinner and then set off the airport with Carolyn, Mama Lynn, another volunteer and 2 others. It was really sad to say goodbye to Carloyn. She was like my big sis here and I really loved having here inout on things while I was here.
Tues, I set off to Pilgrim with 2 of the new New Castle group, Dan & Hannah. I was going to fund the new preschool at Pilgrim but thought that it was such a great thing for a group to do that I passed it off to them in part. I still have helped with everything, but they are funding most of the project. We planned out everything and then I took the fundis out to lunch before Jack & I headed to Moshi. It was great to take out Michael, Augustine, and another fundi. Michael's daughter came along as well. It's difficult sometimes though bc I feel bad in a way that I am younger than they and yet I am paying for their lunch. They are so grateful but ashamed in a way, too. But we had a good time nonetheless. Jack & I went to Moshi to check on the mattresses and I wasn't sure I remembered the way. We eventually found our way there after asking. They weren't done bc the fundi said that the material was really expensive etc. So, I gave him more money and set up a time to pick up the 10 mattresses. I felt rushed to get the new cabin ready to be moved into bc then the younger boys at Malika could be moved to Pilgrim and the toddlers moved from Mailisita to Malika. I went back to Boma with Jack bc I was going to sleep at Malika that night with Julie from the American team. Jack, Ben, Josh (American team), & I went to a crusades sort of thing in Boma but it wasn't very good so I went back to Malika. Julie was out at Tindegarney still checking on the house. I called up Mama Gemma and made plans to go to the Hai Club for a beer. I saw her earlier that day and she seemed pretty stressed so I suggested it and she agreed. I rode from Malika to her house on the back of her watchman's bike. It was dark by then and I was just holding on as tight as I could. We went to the outdoor bar and were the only ones there! She taught me how to make a "shandy" which is beer and sprite mixed. And I actually liked it (as you all know, I don't normally drink beer;-)). She dropped me back at Malika and Julie was already in bed with Juliette so I went and slept with Katherine, one of the older girls. Later in the night, she was snuggling up with me--so cute!
Weds morning, I met up with the New Castle group & Jack to buy more things. We bought all the cement for the preschool foundation & to plaster the floor of the new cabin. After returning to Pilgrim, I helped the fundis plaster the floor of the new cabin--it was Ben's idea to make it easier to mop, which is such a great idea! So Jack & I carried 30 buckets of gravel/sand! Working with cement is really exhausting here and I am not very good with the shovel (spade as they call it here). I am constantly impressed by the fundis and how easily they can do things like mix cement and such. In the afternoon, Jack & I went to go collect stones for the preschool foundation. Here, they put stones in where the foundation is and then cover with a cement and gravel mixture. Now, I thought that to collect 2 truck loads of stones, we would go somewhere where there is a big mound of rocks and we would gather them. Instead, you take a Masai man out in the middle of nowhere and a few men walk around and gather stones! As you can imagine, it took the rest of the day to fill up to truck loads. I met up with Antony at the end of the day and arranged for him to help me pick up the mattresses in Moshi the next day with the LIA matatu. He said he would meet me at Mailisita at 10a and I must say I was looking forward to sleeping in a bit.
I met Antony the next day (Thurs) and set off for Moshi. We dropped off 7 mattresses to be covered, and picked up the 10 that were done. We also gave the fundi money for 5 more mattresses to buy and then cover those. We arranged to pick them up the next Tues afternoon. We dropped off 4 mattresses for the girls' room at Malika and 6 at Pilgrim. The girls at Malika were so excited to have the nice new covered mattresses. They were actually jumping up and down and helped me take off the old ones and replace them with the new ones. I knew that the old ones were bad but it wasn't until I personally rolled them up that I realized how bad they were. The children wet the bed often and there are at least 3 children per bed. The mattresses here are just foam so they don't clean or dry very well. I feel like replacing them is one of the best things I've done while I've been here. I checked on Pilgrim after Malika to see how the plastering was going in the new cabin and how the preschool foundation was going. The plastering was done adn the preschool was coming along well.
Friday was certainly a hard days work. I collected the rest of the beds for the new cabin, bought supplies, and headed to Pilgrim. We mixed cement and carried heavy stones all day. The fundis were surprised by the stones I was able to carry and they often laughed when I would throw them into where the foundation was. Though the work is very hard and I finally understand the phrase "back breaking work," it's really satisfying to put in a day of hard work. I often thought how proud my Dad would be if he saw me being the tomboy he raised me to be. I really appreciate that my parents raised me to hang tough with the guys. (I think it helped too having a older brother that I wanted to be like;-)!). This entire past week I had been feeling off & on sick but not enough to sit out another day. But Fri night I did get sick again. Many of the volunteers had been sick these last couple of weeks so I wasn't surprised that I had caught some bug. So, I barely ate dinner that night and one of the volunteers, Rosie, made me promise I would take it easy the next day.
So, I did in the morning (Sat) take it easy and the went to Pilgrim in the afternoon. The Leeds med students were leading the birthday party at Pilgrim. They celebrate all the kids' birthdays at once for the month. They organized many fun games--lots of relay races and duck, duck, goose (aka zebra, zebra, simba). The fundis even joined in when they were done with their work. I played jenga with a lot of the kids which was a lot of fun! After the bday party, we headed into Boma bc Mama Gemma was having a BBQ at her house for all the volunteers. Many of them were leaving the next week & her daughter, Gemma, had arrived the night before also. Jack & Frank & some of the older boys came as well. It was great fun and the food was amazing-we had popcorn and chips and all sorts of things! The older girls (about 10) performed songs with dances for us as well. Most of the volunteers went into Moshi for the night to go to Pub Albertos (dance club) but I still was feeling 100% so I went home instead. And the American but Josh were heading home that next week so I wanted to spend time with them as well...
Monday, I met Jack and Michael in Boma to buy materials. (Ya know, I hadn't realized until now how many times I have bought materials...) We bought all the materials needed to move the outdoor kitchen at Pilgrim. The new cabin and shower room were finished except the sewage needed to be pumped out of the septic tank before Michael could hook up the new lines. So we returned and Jack & I did more weeding and such while Michael & Augustine put up the new kitchen. After the timbers were up, Jack and I carried all the cement from Augustine mixing it to Michael who was smoothing it out in the new kitchen. Carolyn was leaving that night, so I had to get back to Mailisita at least by 5p. I got back in time and ate an early dinner and then set off the airport with Carolyn, Mama Lynn, another volunteer and 2 others. It was really sad to say goodbye to Carloyn. She was like my big sis here and I really loved having here inout on things while I was here.
Tues, I set off to Pilgrim with 2 of the new New Castle group, Dan & Hannah. I was going to fund the new preschool at Pilgrim but thought that it was such a great thing for a group to do that I passed it off to them in part. I still have helped with everything, but they are funding most of the project. We planned out everything and then I took the fundis out to lunch before Jack & I headed to Moshi. It was great to take out Michael, Augustine, and another fundi. Michael's daughter came along as well. It's difficult sometimes though bc I feel bad in a way that I am younger than they and yet I am paying for their lunch. They are so grateful but ashamed in a way, too. But we had a good time nonetheless. Jack & I went to Moshi to check on the mattresses and I wasn't sure I remembered the way. We eventually found our way there after asking. They weren't done bc the fundi said that the material was really expensive etc. So, I gave him more money and set up a time to pick up the 10 mattresses. I felt rushed to get the new cabin ready to be moved into bc then the younger boys at Malika could be moved to Pilgrim and the toddlers moved from Mailisita to Malika. I went back to Boma with Jack bc I was going to sleep at Malika that night with Julie from the American team. Jack, Ben, Josh (American team), & I went to a crusades sort of thing in Boma but it wasn't very good so I went back to Malika. Julie was out at Tindegarney still checking on the house. I called up Mama Gemma and made plans to go to the Hai Club for a beer. I saw her earlier that day and she seemed pretty stressed so I suggested it and she agreed. I rode from Malika to her house on the back of her watchman's bike. It was dark by then and I was just holding on as tight as I could. We went to the outdoor bar and were the only ones there! She taught me how to make a "shandy" which is beer and sprite mixed. And I actually liked it (as you all know, I don't normally drink beer;-)). She dropped me back at Malika and Julie was already in bed with Juliette so I went and slept with Katherine, one of the older girls. Later in the night, she was snuggling up with me--so cute!
Weds morning, I met up with the New Castle group & Jack to buy more things. We bought all the cement for the preschool foundation & to plaster the floor of the new cabin. After returning to Pilgrim, I helped the fundis plaster the floor of the new cabin--it was Ben's idea to make it easier to mop, which is such a great idea! So Jack & I carried 30 buckets of gravel/sand! Working with cement is really exhausting here and I am not very good with the shovel (spade as they call it here). I am constantly impressed by the fundis and how easily they can do things like mix cement and such. In the afternoon, Jack & I went to go collect stones for the preschool foundation. Here, they put stones in where the foundation is and then cover with a cement and gravel mixture. Now, I thought that to collect 2 truck loads of stones, we would go somewhere where there is a big mound of rocks and we would gather them. Instead, you take a Masai man out in the middle of nowhere and a few men walk around and gather stones! As you can imagine, it took the rest of the day to fill up to truck loads. I met up with Antony at the end of the day and arranged for him to help me pick up the mattresses in Moshi the next day with the LIA matatu. He said he would meet me at Mailisita at 10a and I must say I was looking forward to sleeping in a bit.
I met Antony the next day (Thurs) and set off for Moshi. We dropped off 7 mattresses to be covered, and picked up the 10 that were done. We also gave the fundi money for 5 more mattresses to buy and then cover those. We arranged to pick them up the next Tues afternoon. We dropped off 4 mattresses for the girls' room at Malika and 6 at Pilgrim. The girls at Malika were so excited to have the nice new covered mattresses. They were actually jumping up and down and helped me take off the old ones and replace them with the new ones. I knew that the old ones were bad but it wasn't until I personally rolled them up that I realized how bad they were. The children wet the bed often and there are at least 3 children per bed. The mattresses here are just foam so they don't clean or dry very well. I feel like replacing them is one of the best things I've done while I've been here. I checked on Pilgrim after Malika to see how the plastering was going in the new cabin and how the preschool foundation was going. The plastering was done adn the preschool was coming along well.
Friday was certainly a hard days work. I collected the rest of the beds for the new cabin, bought supplies, and headed to Pilgrim. We mixed cement and carried heavy stones all day. The fundis were surprised by the stones I was able to carry and they often laughed when I would throw them into where the foundation was. Though the work is very hard and I finally understand the phrase "back breaking work," it's really satisfying to put in a day of hard work. I often thought how proud my Dad would be if he saw me being the tomboy he raised me to be. I really appreciate that my parents raised me to hang tough with the guys. (I think it helped too having a older brother that I wanted to be like;-)!). This entire past week I had been feeling off & on sick but not enough to sit out another day. But Fri night I did get sick again. Many of the volunteers had been sick these last couple of weeks so I wasn't surprised that I had caught some bug. So, I barely ate dinner that night and one of the volunteers, Rosie, made me promise I would take it easy the next day.
So, I did in the morning (Sat) take it easy and the went to Pilgrim in the afternoon. The Leeds med students were leading the birthday party at Pilgrim. They celebrate all the kids' birthdays at once for the month. They organized many fun games--lots of relay races and duck, duck, goose (aka zebra, zebra, simba). The fundis even joined in when they were done with their work. I played jenga with a lot of the kids which was a lot of fun! After the bday party, we headed into Boma bc Mama Gemma was having a BBQ at her house for all the volunteers. Many of them were leaving the next week & her daughter, Gemma, had arrived the night before also. Jack & Frank & some of the older boys came as well. It was great fun and the food was amazing-we had popcorn and chips and all sorts of things! The older girls (about 10) performed songs with dances for us as well. Most of the volunteers went into Moshi for the night to go to Pub Albertos (dance club) but I still was feeling 100% so I went home instead. And the American but Josh were heading home that next week so I wanted to spend time with them as well...
posted by Jess at 5:26 AM
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