Happy Thanksgiving!

Living in an international household (currently English, American and German) conversations often arise about differences... for example, cupboard or closet? Dummy or pacifier? Autumn or fall? (obviously I choose the former in each of these cases!) 


Thanksgiving has been mentioned for a while, and my American friends have been getting more and more excited as the fourth Thursday of November drew nearer. I confess to often not being very worldly, and had to 'Google' Thanksgiving, as to me it was just an extra Christmas dinner, and an episode in Friends where Joey puts a turkey on his head. Anyway, now I know it's a little more than that... it is a harvest festival, a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. 


The day started with a note under my door from Cacey, saying Happy Thanksgiving and how thankful we should all be to be sharing this experience. The dining room had been adorned with American flags and hats thanks to creative Izzy, and already water was boiling to make room for our hundred dishes later. It was 8:20am... and then the power went out. And decided not to return for 14 hours. 


This is Tanzania remember?! 


Anyway the whole day involved a lot of activity, the kids made turkeys from their handprints, which now hang proudly in the Baby Home, cooking vanilla pancakes (which the ants invaded, curse them) and enjoying a huge feast of food by candlelight, all of which had been cooked on a hob (stove!). 


It does call for some reflection. I am thankful for family, friends, my best friend here, babies who give amazing cuddles, water, electricity, mango trees, candles and fundis. 


I will leave you with this picture taken a couple of days after Thanksgiving. We had (another!) party at the house. There was a big ball in town, but we chose to have a party of our own and I wore a dress that I have had made here. Cute isn't it!!! 

The serious business

Granted, lots of days here are filled with fun and laughter and it's hardly comparable to a working day in the office at home. I am a very lucky girl. Volunteers come here and say 'but the kids are all so happy and healthy' because they are now, and it is difficult to remember sometimes that all these children have a story about how they came to live at the Baby Home. 


However, the last couple of days here have been emotionally challenging, and it's times like this I sit in awe of Amy, as what I experienced was about a millionth of what Amy deals with on a daily basis. 


A few days ago I went on my daily visit to Tiny Babies. I was pulling stupid faces at Briton and out of the corner of my eye I saw a little china doll staring upwards. This little girl is 6 weeks old, skinny as anything but with the softest hair and the biggest eyes. She had been in hospital since birth with her mother who is sick. Amy came across her mum crying in a room as her milk had dried up and therefore she could not feed her baby, but she was being discharged and had nowhere to go. 


Amy took her under the 'Forever Angels wing' and now the mother lives close by and is trying to rest and get better, safe in the knowledge that her baby is being fed and cared for nearby. 


Anyway my job in all this was to take the mother to hospital yesterday, and obtain all her medical cards and medicines. Again, just a small thing really, but as I sat in the nurses room I was thinking about how many stories there are like this and despite the fact I feel I know the baby home inside out there is so much more in the 'bigger picture' that I want to get to know, and maybe through all this I'll find out what I can/want to do when I eventually leave this place I call home?


On top of all this, I made a number of trips back and forth to the hospital to take some gifts. A container is coming from the UK in a matter of days and there are a lot of used, unwanted toys, nappies and clothes in the attic that need to be moved. We managed to fill 150 carrier bags and took them to the children's wards of the hospital. 


We didn't stop and chat, we just went in, explained we had gifts for the children and handed them out. It was crazy... mamas were chasing us down the corridor for a gift, and in one room that held 8 beds there were about 29 patients. We saw awful suffering along the way, but it wasn't until I got home that I really thought about it. There was an albino child with a deep open head wound the size of my palm. There was a child with all her head, neck, arms and calves burnt and infected. There was a mother screaming in the corridor as her child was being rushed away. There was a toddler the size of a newborn baby and had literally not a gram of fat on him (think of those famous Oxfam adverts). I'm sure there are terrible stories of pain in England, but throw in the poor hygiene of the place, the length of time you have to be in hospital to get anything done and the fact that you have to share your bed with up to five other children and it just makes you think a lot about a lot of things. 


Throw in today's post about Shalom and Charles (read it yourself at www.foreverangels.org) and collectively it just made for a few days of deep thought. Keep these babies, mamas and families in your thoughts, especially when you think life is hard there....

How many fun activities can you do with children?

I'm really not a naturally creative or imaginative person; I was always the one with the mathematical / logical expertise. So when it comes to planning things to do with under fives every day, I have struggled to think of enough exciting things to do. 


However, I have learned over the past couple of weeks that the gestures don't have to be grand - you can have kids running amok looking for orange leaves, excited at the prospect of getting a sweet as a reward, you can let a child jump on a trampoline for 10 minutes, you can play russian roulette with Angel Delight (I had THIRTY TWO kids in silence for half an hour doing this!!), you can get some musical instruments and just let them make as much noise as they like. It's all much better than aimlessly wandering round the garden, pushing children to the floor as you go. 


Here are some pics from a few recent activities:

Note there are no swimming pictures!!! (pulls sad face) I was determined to go today but mother nature had other ideas. We were unsure about the weather, but we decided to try our luck anyway. We got all the shoes out then decide it's too cold and we should head to the beach instead. We got all the shoes and hats on the children (all 16 of them) and then the thunder starts. We decide the beach is a bad idea and we should head to a restaurant 2 minutes down the road. THEN the rain starts pouring it down! Not having the heart to take shoes off the feet of 16 one and two year olds, I decide we are going regardless and get a taxi driver to ship up back and forth in his car! It was a nice afternoon, the kids got to run around and the mamas were compensated for the lack of swimming by plates of chips and soda. 


It has been a good week. Tomorrow we are taking a more serious turn and taking gifts of clothes and nappies to a local hospital... fingers crossed.

Goodbye Angel!

All volunteers have their little favourites... mine has gone a little bit too far and the mama's call certain kids 'mtoto wako' (your child) and yes I've often played along and said 'ah mtoto wangu!' (ah my child!) as it's an excuse to get extra cuddles from my favourite babies! 

Today one of 'watoto wangu' (my children) left today, to go and live in the south of Tanzania with her adoptive mum and dad. I had met the mama a few days earlier... Angel was being her usual clingy/cuddly self and as I was trying to help with snack I took out a kanga and tied her to my back. After snack Moses led the pack in getting on their hands and knees and pretending to be a dog, so I, with Angel still tied to my back, was doing the same as a mama walked into the garden. The manager told me the lady was here to see Angel... I blushed as I jumped slowly got up, said Shikamoo (respectful greeting to elders), untied Angel, and handed her to her very nice mama. 

We know when children are going to be adopted of course, but the day itself comes without warning so the day I discovered Angel was leaving I ran to the Baby Home to spend my final hours with her. I would have done anything to follow all the adoption rules to finally take Angel home; I have seen her go from an ugly little baby (sorry!) to a beautiful little girl, but now she has a mama and baba who I know will love and care for her like a princess... and Angel is a princess!!

Here are pics of our time together, old and new....

Goodbye Angel... I love you. 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween happened to fall on a weekend this year, handy as at the weekends the kids have so little to do apart from run around the garden and ask me too many awkward questions (well Zawadi does!)

I really hate Halloween at home, I have never partaken in any activity of the Halloween kind. However when Jade (a returning volunteer) came up with a party schedule I of course got involved and it was fantastic! The kids carved 'pumpkins' (come on, this is Africa, it was a watermelon painted orange), decorated cookies, dressed up, had their faces painted, ate doughnuts from strings, had feely bags, went bowling, listened to Halloween stories and ate way too many sweets. But it was a blooming good day. 

For Bonfire Night, the busiest woman in the world (AKA Amy Hathaway) decided she was bored (!) and held a bonfire party, which was lovely. We all brought jacket potato fillings and had a good meal followed by marshmallows toasted over the bonfire. Again, this is Africa, so instead of fireworks Amy's kids threw glowsticks in the air repeatedly!!!! 

I actually like Halloween/Bonfire Night this year! 

5 things that have made me cry today...

1. Watching 2 year old Evie sing 'Happy Birthday to you, Bob the Builder can we fix it, Happy Birthday to you, yes we can' (yes in that order), then watching Wakuru, aged 14 months copy her!
2. Getting confirmation of my flight back to the UK and my flight back out here 3 weeks later!
3. Receiving a text message from my teacher saying how she misses me!
4. Discovering Bakerella website, looking at the mouthwateringly real pictures and wondering what type of cake to cook first!
5.. Listening to Antony and the Johnsons, after I have waited 30 minutes for a song to download!


I should also mention Maggie here. On numerous occasions she has made me cry with laughter this week. She has a terrible habit of taking her nappy off and running away bare bottomed - one day it got too much so I sat her on the naughty chair, looked at her at eye level and started to tell her how she cannot keep taking her nappy off. She looked my straight in the eye, smiled and started to sing 'the good morning train is coming how are you choo choo!!' 


So all good tears, but tears all the same!!! Here is the beautiful Wakuru...

xxxx

Swimming, Shopping, Sermons and Storms!

This past week has flown by. Here you don’t work Monday to Friday, then get the weekend off, so the weeks just pass by without you barely noticing. I have been here for four months next week!

Anyway, we had to cancel last week’s swimming trip due to the rain (it’s a Saturday theme it seems!) but we have made up for it this week. We took Big Babies swimming on Wednesday, and Big Toddlers on Thursday. This was not without problem though... clever me forgot to take the towels and it started to rain before the children were ready to come home!

This week I have also (re)discovered shopping! My friend took me to Mlango Mmoja, basically a clothes market. Apparently, as I have lost weight, all my clothes now make me look fat and scruffy and I have to look smart! We wandered round the market for a good couple of hours, and as most places had no mirrors I relied on her judgment as to whether to buy something or not. She clearly knows me well, as I did buy a number of items and once I got home I tried them all on and they fit and suited me... asante sana rafiki!

I also went to church last Sunday (and the Sunday before actually!). I love all the singing and dancing, and though I am not really a religious person I am living in a country where religion is important, and actually it puts me in a good mood for the rest of the day. The two churches I have been to have been very different – one is situated in a hotel, has a projector so you can join in the (English and Swahili) songs and holds around 100 people, the other is in a huge building with curtains for walls, is in only Swahili, has a dodgy radio for songs and holds around 800 people. Either way, it’s an experience... and good Swahili practice! AND... actually, if I am honest, sometimes it’s interesting!

Last thing... the rain has arrived. It’s unpredictable (to say it rains in the morning only is a lie), and therefore the power and roads are unpredictable also. It has ruined a number of plans... and a couple of pairs of shoes. If anyone wants to email me some ideas for indoor activities with under fives I’d be grateful.

I leave you with pictures of today’s birthday party! 

Shopping, Swahili and Swimming

On Thursday we took a trip to a local market. We have a tiny market by our house but the fruit and vegetables are not cheap compared to what you can get at the bigger markets. It was a ideal time to practice my Swahili, and I heard a few utterances about it, maybe because they knew they couldn't charge Mzungu price? They probably still did! 


Anyway, for under £4 I got 2 Tilapia fish, 15 baby bananas, 2 mangoes, a coconut, a lime, 3 green peppers, 13 tomatoes, 4 carrots, 2 onions, some weird sweet seed things and some spinach. A good amount of it was used in yesterday's cookery lesson which produced this delicious meal (I forgot to take the picture before we started to eat, there was a whole fried fish and everything!):

I have really made efforts with Swahili this week; the mobile phone network I am on here gives you 4 free texts a day so I have used them to text my teacher in Swahili. For a text without mistakes I am on about a 50% success rate at the moment, but the mistakes I have made are small! 


We are hoping to go swimming later, but as I write this the rain is loud and the thunder is rumbling. Fingers crossed the sun comes out as we had to cancel last week's trip due to the weather! We are going to take Big Babies... super cute. 

Please give generously!

Last year when I was here, a guy called Campo came to visit for a few days, he made a film about Forever Angels and it was shown at a dinner in London that was attended by lots of rich people (and me!) Anyway he brought with him some canvas and I made a pretty cool picture which had the handprints of all the babies and mamas. It went to auction at the dinner and sold for £400. I was sooo pleased!


Anyway he has been here this week to make another film, and he brought more canvas. Of course I was more than happy to produce more 'artwork' (ha ha, I am no artist) but hopefully another rich Londoner will purchase the pictures and raise more money so we can help all the beautiful babies and their families that I love so much. 


Here are the results of my efforts this time around! 

Today was a good day all round actually, we painted the Big Toddler's faces (using the Snazaroo book, they actually looked good, I wish I hadn't forgot my camera!) and then they walked to Ladson Lodge, had soda, came back and had great fun with a parachute.

Check out Campo's videos at http://www.foreverangels.org/index.php?source=videos/videos.html&transform=stylesheet.xsl&pageName=videos  

It's the little things that make you smile....

Rainy season has started, and therefore water and electricity supplies are unpredictable. Some of the other volunteers call me a princess, as I get stressed if my hair cannot be washed, dried and (most of the time) straightened as and when I want! Joking aside, it makes you appreciate what we have in England without even realising it. Here's my top ten little things, in no order, that have made me smile recently....note how none of them are grand, materialistic gestures...


1. Watching Lucas dance in excitement when he can walk by himself - then fall down as a result
2. Sharing a meal with a local family, in awe of the effort taken to cook it on charcoal
3. Observing the already forming bond between a child and her future mother
4. Cuddling a baby, getting caught in a maternal moment then realising they have fallen asleep
5. Walking down a street in Mwanza and feeling 'at home'
6. Hearing the kids wake up at 5am, and the first thing you hear is 'Mama Erika swimming!'
7. Being invited on a break with a mama to share a cup of hot, sugary, powdered milk 
8. Buying mango at the market for local price, not 'mzungu price'
9. Practising Swahili by text message and getting it right
10. Eating chips mayai with friends in the dark


It was 2 years ago today that I first came to Mwanza, and I loved it then but I love it ten times more now. 

3 months in!

This time, 3 months ago, I was sat in Terminal One of Manchester Airport, eating and drinking my last Starbucks, waiting for the signs to say ‘Go To Gate’.  I knew this trip was going to be fantastic, but I had no idea how much.

Reflecting on the last 3 months, it can certainly be described as a rollercoaster. I have watched babies take their first steps... I have been plagued with stomach problems. I have been a guest at mamas homes... I have had to cope with the breakup of a long term relationship. I have started to learn Swahili... I have attended the funeral of a 5 month old baby girl. Above all though, I get to wake up every morning and I do not dread going to work – in fact I cannot get there quickly enough. I know that today will be unique, different from yesterday and from tomorrow. I know that the more time I spend out of the house the greater the experience I will have. I never want this to end.

On top of that, I weighed myself today... in 3 months I have lost 18lbs!  People here don’t understand my elation at this... here, if someone says ‘you are fat’ this is to be taken as a compliment, but one I will never quite accept!! Check out the skinny arm on this pic!

 Oh, and feel free to post me some smaller trousers. The address is on the Forever Angels website!! 

Privileged is the best word

I have used the word 'Privileged' so many times since I have been here, but it's entirely appropriate. Most nights I lie in bed and think 'did that really happen?' Most things here, even the small things, are one off moments that you can never repeat. 

Today, after a Big Baby shift, I went to the house of one of the mamas. We took 2 dalla dalla's, and... after much persuasion and reassurance... A MOTORBIKE. I have spent the past 2 weeks telling the mama how I am afraid of them, how I don't like them, and next I am sandwiched between her and the driver, holding on for dear life over the bumpy roads. That was the first time I have ever sat on a motorbike... hey, it's all about new experiences, so I won't guarantee it will be the last... 

Arriving at the mamas house, we were greeted by her husband and two beautiful children. Her 'front room/lounge' is pretty big compared to others I have seen, there was seating for 8 and plenty of space for the children to play with the Toy Story bowling set we had brought. She was soo apologetic that she had no floor, which was amusing! (it was just bumpy concrete, they had recently moved in). She proudly showed us her photo album, which has wedding pictures, pictures from her husbands graduation, and a picture of me and her together at the Baby Home! I'm pretty honoured!!! The house was up on a hill so the views were incredible, the environment peaceful, and I so full of thoughts about how amazing the afternoon was that I was speechless and at one point asked if I was happy... I couldn't have been any more happy! 

We decided to leave as we realised the sun was lowering, and the mama held my hand for the entire 40 minute walk back to the dalla dalla stand. This in itself I would describe as a privilege, as you see same sex people holding hands often and is a sign of friendship. 

Upon my return, two volunteers returned from shift with a gift for me, from a mama who was about to start a night shift. Apparently she was really sad that I wasn't at the Baby Home tonight to give me this gift herself. I had seen this mama at 6am as she was working last night, and in the middle of a Swahili conversation about work she had asked me if I liked fish. I answered yes and figured my Swahili had obviously broken down and caused a communication issue, and thought nothing more of it. You've guessed it, my gift is a full, frozen, gutted fish! I can only smile widely at this.. as random as it maybe to us Mzungu's, this mama has given me a gift. Privileged is the right word isn't it :-) 

Pole Sana....I am working here!!

2 weeks have passed since I last wrote? That has flown by! I have been so busy working, I have even done a number of 12 hour days... though I actually jump at the chance to do them. Well you don't learn anything about babies, mama's or Tanzania sitting at the Volunteer House do you?


This past fortnight has been good, busy, I have laughed, smiled, grinned like a Cheshire Cat.. and no tears! Actually just a couple, but for a good reason. 


My Swahili is coming along well. I have an amazing teacher, a mama from the baby home who works her backside off constantly, deals with all the stress when volunteers don't do as much as they should yet still smiles and laughs when I ask her for the 10th time what that Swahili word was again! Wednesday is 'Kiswahili only' day, and not a word of English is spoken for entire shift (well maybe one or two by me!). It does work, as I just clarify any issues in English on the other days I see her, and getting to know the language makes me feel even more at home here. I am so proud of myself when I say something in Swahili and she hugs me (probably amazed that I got it right!) - Cheshire Cat moment.


I stepped on the bathroom scales the other day, and am happy to discover I have lost 13lb since I arrived! However I need to watch that I don't need to slip into old habits... I have taken to making cakes for the mamas, and of course you have to take one piece for yourself! I also had a 'food exchange' with one of the mamas last week... she brought me bananas (not sweet ones), boiled with beans and fish, and I brought sweet bananas, baked in their skin in the oven with chocolate melting in the middle. It was an amazing feast and a wonderful half hour chatting and laughing with a girl I now call my friend.


There have been a range of volunteers coming and going these last couple of weeks, since I arrived in June I have said 'welcome' or 'farewell' to almost 30 volunteers. Let's be honest, you cannot get on with everyone, but some I have been genuinely sad to say goodbye to. Currently there are 9 volunteers, and saying there are 'a range of volunteers' is enough of a comment I think!!!! 


I have been mocked by the mamas for having cracked heels! We go barefoot in the Baby Home and the Volunteer House and it has had a painful effect on my poor Mzungu skin, to the point where I could not put one heel on the floor. Far from getting sympathy, this caused great amusement among the staff, as it is a sign here apparently that you do not wash properly. For someone who showers and washes my hair daily this causes me great worry so I am currently obsessing over soaking my feet, applying copious amounts of E45 and wearing socks!!! 


On Friday I had the great privilege of going to visit the Bethany Project with a staff member who used to live there. The Bethany Project is like a family, it does have that feel, but basically is another orphanage. We took a dalla dalla (local bus) and a bigger bus there, and 4 dalla dallas back. One of them, which has 11 seats, held 22 people at one point, and I was sandwiched firmly between 2 people and standing on one leg for over 20 minutes! Anyway the point is it was a lovely day, all the kids were ridiculously polite in greeting us and showing us round, and we were so happy to attend their choir practice. They sat us at the front and you couldn't help but sway to the music and smile as they blasted out a number of songs, many led by two fantastic singers. This is where I shed a tear... I can't explain why, I was just caught in a moment. You get that a lot here (well I do). 


Finally, last night I fulfilled an ambition ha ha... I did a night shift! I always wanted to know what went on, how soon the kids went to bed, how early they got up. The answers are - you sort out clothes, nappies, give milk to any children that wake, watch a video and (in yesterday's case) temporarily braid some of my hair! There are obviously a number of quiet hours, even with so many children, so I also got to chat to the girls on shift about a range of subjects. Oh, and eat ginger and banana cakes that I had made. The last child fell asleep at 10:15pm, and the first child woke up at 4:50am. I have an invite for next week's night shift... we'll see how my eye bags recover!!! 


Baadaye for now.... off to a mamas house tomorrow for lunch. I am so bloody privileged. 

Getting to know the mamas

These past few days have been busy, and I have barely had time to stop and reflect on these last few days until now. (Sorry if this post is waffle and nonsensical, I'm writing what I'm thinking!!!)


When anyone comes to Forever Angels, they choose to come because they love children. They want to give kids cuddles and kisses, make them laugh, make them smile, give them new experiences. 


Over the last few days a nerve has been hit inside of me, as I have realised fully that there is also an additional 'benefit' to coming to Forever Angels - meeting and getting to know the wonderful mamas. A large percentage of them are twenty somethings, just like us. They are so professional in the Baby Home that you forget that they are more than just child carers. 


On Saturday we went swimming, and we took four mamas with us, and you could say they had more fun than the children! Two of them had never been in a swimming pool before, and as they splashed about with each other and the kids, huge smiles on their faces, you remember that they are just like you - beautiful young women with their lives in front of them and I wonder... I came here to work out what I want to do with my life, what are my hopes and dreams... but what do they want to do with their life? What are their hopes and dreams? What barriers are there? 


Yesterday I also had the privilege of attending the wedding celebration of one of the staff members, and we sat with 4 other mamas and talked about weddings, the culture here, all sorts, and I plan on finding out more. This is definitely a huge learning curve for me.


So, if anyone reading this is planning on coming here, remember the kids will change you, but the mamas can do also...

It's a twin thing!

Today was a good day. Anna and Ben are beautiful twins who turned one in July. Despite still being sickly with a flu like virus that is circulating the Baby Home, they went home to their Baba today. Here are a couple of pics of them:

Pretty much a couple of hours later, these little beauties arrived! The pics aren't that good as I didn't want to disturb their sleep (top to toe in a cot!), but welcome Maua and Sabina, who are just 6 days old:

I didn't intend to stay more than a couple of hours today, but lots of babies were sick and it's so hard to walk away from these angels!! So I stayed for 7 hours in the end and had lots of cuddles, especially with Big Babies. 

Good day :-) x

Just cruising!

Last night I went to Tunza Lodge with some friends. It is a lovely setting, on a beach where the water just seems so inviting (if you want bilharzia!)

We took a a little speedboat and cruised around the edge of the lake, passing by lots of fisherman (one completely naked?!) before stopping a couple of hundred metres offshore to watch the sunset.

Here are a couple of pics of the setting sun, and the fresh coconut cocktail that followed!

Birthdays!

I forgot to mention last week that we held a birthday party at the Baby Home; for every child who was born in July and August, and also for Forever Angels itself - four years old! Four years that Amy has been doing this incredible job... well much longer I guess, but four years it has been open.


I was feeling crappy, and in fact was taking a malaria test as the party was in full swing, so have to say THANK YOU to the amazing volunteers we have right now who made cakes, decorations, all sorts!!

Today was 'my daughter' Ella's birthday! She is 2 today! I LOVE this child, yes she can have epic tantrums and be stroppy but one on one she is so loving and affectionate that I had to treat her. I put her in a new dress I had brought, and together we made a little birthday cake which she shared with all her friends. It wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as the cakes above, but it was still tasty!! 

Getting sick in Mwanza

I have been here for 8 weeks now, and have run out of fingers on which to count the children who have been sick. Off their food, listless, no energy, sad... 


Well this weekend that has been me. I have cried like a baby when my finger was pricked 3 times to complete 2 malaria tests. I have shivered like I am in an igloo in the North Pole, and sweated like I am locked in a sauna with no one coming for a few days. I am so glad I have no new volunteers to 'co-ordinate' this week.


Being sick also makes you home sick. I have had to take a couple of days away from the Baby Home due to dizziness and general weakness, and it has given me time to think about the things I miss.. my family, my friends... and what I wouldn't give to have a Sunday roast dinner right now (extra parsnips please). I even looked up the cost of flights, thinking I could 'pop home' for a fortnight!!!


I am simply wallowing in self pity, so, wallow with me. I will be fine in a few days when I am eating again and spending time with beautiful people like these:

I still love Africa. 

Rest in Peace Stella x

At 11am a burial was held for Stella on a hill behind the Baby Home. All the Tiny Baby staff who had cared and nurtured for attended. We looked after Tiny Babies in their absence and when they returned they were understandably a wreck. 


At 1pm there was a service in the Baby Home. I have never seen the little memorial garden before... little white crosses bearing baby names and dates of birth and death. The service was 'nice', lots of staff attended and lots of tears shed. I sobbed quietly, especially when Amy talked about how she was a healthy baby, and how cause of death was pneumonia and probable infection. 


It is hard to comprehend the whole thing right now... Rest In Peace Stella x

A day off turns black...

I got the worst nights sleep last night, but I was determined to use the internet at Amy's so I got up, got ready and met Emma at 9. However, the dentist arrived so I ended up helping there for 2 hours (while eating sweets!)


Got lots of work done, asked Amy around 3pm how Stella was.. she has been in hospital for 3 days - off her food, pale and listless, and is now on oxygen. Apparently she is now on the right medication and should improve...


However at 5pm I had a text... Stella had died. How can a 5 month old baby, who has always been healthy, just die? Apparently no medications were working. I guess we will find out in the coming days. 


I decided to stay out of the way this evening, no staff know yet and Amy must be like a train crash... 

Seeing the success of Forever Angels

About a year ago, Seba and Omari left the Baby Home as healthy 2 year olds and returned to their father. Today was their baptism and we got the most amazing opportunity to visit them today. 


They have not changed at all! They have grown slightly, but their little faces and personalities are still the same. They were so funny in their smart outfits, and they shunned their friends as they were too busy with crayons and colouring books we brought for them!


It is always good to get in and see 'the real Africa'. We were treated amazingly, and we ate food and drank drinks that these people don't get on a daily basis. It was a real privilege to meet Seba and Omari again, meet their father and see his home. 

(Forgive how rough I look lol, Seba and Omari are the stars here!!)

If you have a shit day, go cuddle a baby.

Yesterday was one of the hardest days of my life for personal reasons. This morning I cried every time I opened my mouth, and then I remembered the famous line:

If you have a shit day, go cuddle a baby.

There can never be a truer word spoken. I went into the garden with Little Toddlers, and Evie, who is for the most part quiet and reserved, came rushing over shouting 'E-ree-ka, e-ree-ka, e-ree-ka!' It made me smile, and shed a(nother) tear! 

Then all at the same time 3 or 4 babies wanted me to cuddle them, they couldn't be comforted by anyone else, and Anastazia, the mama on duty, said 'Erika, today they are all crying because they want only you'. That's not really a nice thing is it, but it made me smile...  I felt wanted, needed, and I suddenly realised I just have to keep busy... and get lots of cuddles...

Goodbye Michael and Aika...

Today was THE day. Arrived at the Baby Home at 10am and the final goodbyes were already being said. They got in the car with a friend they had chosen each, and went to Mavuno Village, and apparently it all went better than they had imagined... they were happy to stay there.

I have to admit I cried when they left as did a number of the older kids... in particular, Michael is an enormous character at the Baby Home and his absence will leave a noticeable gap in the Big Toddler group. But it is for that reason that he needed a family most, and now this is what he and Aika have?

Be happy and good for your mama and baba guys.. we miss you already.

Swimming

Just wanted to post a pic of gorgeous Charles and Shalom, 9 month old twins. Amy and I took them swimming today and they loved it! Shalom knows her routine though; bedtime is 2pm and at that exact time she fell asleep, still in the pool....

Safari on a Manchester United FunBus

I dedicate this post to Amy Young, without you I would have not survived!


We could not resist the opportunity to take a day safari being offered on a minibus for the total cost of £44. We arrived in town at 5am, and was greeted with this:

Yesterday we had shared a table in a cafe with a guy called Samson, and he overheard us ordering this morning's taxi. It turned out he was coming on the safari too, and he rushed over to us and ushered us on the bus to ensure we were on the front row opposite him. The seat had a ledge for us to rest our feet on, but also a heater.. not good for the watermelon! We sat for 20 minutes, and as we were about to set off the front passenger turned round and said 'Guess Who!!' It was Mr Titto, a guy who comes to our house every few weeks to sell us batiks and gifts.


Stopping at the gate, we dashed to the toilet and took a couple of pics while monkeys raided our belongings! We also met glared at the other people on our bus... 3 Tanzanians dressed for a night out and a family of about 17 Indian people. 

For the first hour or so we saw lots of giraffe, impala, buffalo, wildebeest, impala. Then we stopped at a river and walked over a swing bridge, with crocodiles underneath. On the other side of the bridge the 3 guys asked if we could have pics taken with them?! So we did and thought nothing of it. 


Then we noticed the difference between this and a private safari. We drove for 2 hours, seeing virtually nothing along the way, to a Hippo Pool. If you had been on a private safari you could have said no that's not worth 2 hours of driving each way! But no... 


We got to the Hippo Pool, ate lunch, the Tanzanian guys insisted on sitting with us as did Mr Titto and they just took sneaky pictures of us eating! The big family had brought huge polystyrene things of samosas, chicken and chips but we were good with our pasta and melon.. oh and HOT cans of Coke! 


Had to then make the same boring journey back to towards Seronera, visited the Tourist Info centre but couldn't really see anything as we had no idea how long we had. Took pics of random fat rodents and at one point one of our group tried to take my camera so he could take a picture of me with a giant guinea pig???


Then we set off home, took hours to get to the gate but did see a herd of elephants and a lion, on the way back people behind us kept taking sneaky pics of us (bloody mzungu obsession), Samson even showed Amy a pic of me - he had taken a pic me on the bridge and zoomed in the pic on my chest :-( Then when we reached the gate we weren't allowed out as we were too late; after much argument they let us go. It was going to be about midnight when we got home and I was on early shift, so I thought I would ask Sue to do it but my phone had no credit or battery and Amy's had a no signal! Eventually we sorted ourselves out and Zoe agreed to do the early bit. 


Interesting day aboard the Vengabus... 

Damn African Plumbing...and yay me!

When you are here, you get much less sleep than you expect. You try and go to bed, but you end up  chatting to volunteers about anything and everything, then when you are so exhausted you want to go to bed the Ramadan man wants to sing you a song on his megaphone. 


So the last thing you want is to have a knock on your door at 12:35am, or 5:40am, on your day off, to tell you that the sink or toilet has flooded. It would probably help if people didn't put toilet paper down the loo, you can't do that here. So spending 2 hours of my day off, on 2 different occasions, mopping floors, was not my idea of fun.


On a good note, Amy has now offered all the D.A.V.E project girls (and boys) a job, and there will be no one to teach from September. The 2 orphanages that Amy has good enough relationships with do not have suitable girls, so the project is on hold until Christmas at least (probably).


So, since I still need paying, I am now going to be volunteer co-ordinator. Pick up new volunteers, show them round, do the first few shifts.... good stuff methinks! 

Treating myself!

I can't pretend that Mwanza is a town full of dirt tracks and no facilities, so I had to share today's indulgence. Today I went with some lovely volunteers ;-) to Malaika Beach Resort. It's about 10 minutes away from the Baby Home in a taxi, by the shore and makes you feel like you're in a 5* hotel (well you are!!)


http://www.malaikabeachresort.com/

So yes, I spent a day sat to the left of that cute pool, drinking milkshakes, eating burgers and writing postcards. And I deserved it! 

Karibu Watoto...

Today we received 2 new children - welcome to Jacobo and Yona, whose ages we have guessed at 14 months and 2 years respectively. Both children had been abandoned, so it was a sad day in that respect as someone has clearly cared for them for so long and then suddenly something has happened. Hopefully a family member will come for them soon, as they were both so upset to be at the Baby Home...


Welcome boys xx

Making like a local

Being here for 8 months means I really do need to spend as little as possible, so today I went out with Zoe for a 'locals day'. There was no expensive food or taxis involved!


We walked up the the Dalla Dalla stand, and caught one. Yes me. A Dalla Dalla is a local bus which is never full because they don't have seating limitations. It doesn't matter how many people are hanging out the window, they will let more people on if need be! It's the local's way of getting around and costs 250 TSh (10p) into town as opposed to 5000 TSh (£3.50) for a taxi. 


We got off at a place called Kirumba, and went to a local restaurant where you can buy 1kg bowls of beef, pork, chicken and goat that have been cooked on charcoal for about £2 each. Sadly no goat, but the beef was delicious! Then we went to a market in the same area, which sells tons of fruit and veg. There is a local market, just round the corner from our house, but it is more expensive and the choice is limited.


Anyway, I got over excited at seeing grapes and paid 55p for a bunch (but they were vineyard grapes, not as nice). But I also got 4 passion fruit for 5p each, baby bananas for 3p each, a pineapple for 20p and 5 huge sweet potatoes for 20p. The local market has pineapples at double that price, but obviously that is still cheap, and they like me now as I do all my shopping there in Swahili. 


Will try and make the western supermarket a monthly treat...