Final Day in project

So, today was a very sad day as we had to say goodbye to all the lovely children and teachers in both projects.

 Hadassah put on an assembly for their volunteers where the very young children sang/shouted twinkle twinkle little star. The volunteers then returned the favour by singing, "YMCA" and " I get by with a little help from my rafiki"

Our friends at Destiny were very sad to see their volunteers go, and the journey home to the resort was very quiet. After a quick stop at the supermarket we had some down time at the hotel, ironically this first and last rest period bought on the rains and a thunder storm, but this didn't stop the guys swimming in the pool.

For dinner we were invited to a local hotel by African Adventures where they hosted a celebration meal, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. We were awarded certificates for our work and a rather large clock for the staff room see pic below.

An early night now as we have a long drive tomorrow as well as a visit to the giraffe sanctuary.

Night All, See you soon.

 

Update

We have had some messages re the troubles in Garissa, just to say we are all fine and it's double the distance from where we are in Nakuru to Niarobi, so a really long way a way and no signs of trouble, we are all safe and well. 

Day 8 in project

Today was our home visit day where we walked to a local shop/shack and purchased food for families it was amazing how much you could buy for £7.50 and even more amazing to know that this would feed 2 families for at least 4 days!

The two homes Hadassah looked at were incredibly small but very well looked after, one had electricity the other did not. Neither of the two rooms that the families lived in had water/toilets and only a tiny corner of the room was for a kitchen. It was certainly a humbling experience.

The afternoon involved teaching and exams at Hadassah and the group at Destiny continued with their building work, nearly finishing the office, copious amounts of painting as well as putting up guttering and a water tank, which was very well timed as the next day it rained for a long time! Many Thanks to Hannah and Lauren from Chichester College for the donation money for this vital equipment, as at Destiny do not have any running water.

Final day tomorrow!

Day 7

Another interesting but thought provoking day. We spent the morning in our projects, Destiny were still recovering from all the donations they had been given.

After lunch Fred arrived to pick us up and take us to The Walk which was the first project that had been set up by Alex. Although the area seemed larger than both our projects they feed 400 children for lunch everyday, most of whom live on the 'Hilton'.

Following on from The Walk we visited the Hilton. The Hilton is the name of the dump where many families and their children live, and make up most of the children that attend The Walk for school and those who visit for lunch. The dump was quite shocking to see how people lived but was good to see how resourceful they were recycling and living off of waste from the local area. At the dump we were all able to buy gifts to bring home, which were amazing.

Donations

Day 6 in project

Where has the time gone, we are on week two already!

So after sorting our donations out the night before we headed to our projects for a day of teaching, invigilating and handing out donations.

In Destiny they used a large classroom to lay out all the donations, then each child was invited in to pick three items. The rest has been stored safely away for when the 150 children start in the Summer. 

The next project was slightly different as they are full to bursting point with children. Here the clothes were sorted into classes and the students then handed these out to the children. We had enough donations for every child to have 2 items of clothing as well as some pencils, and pens for the older children. 

The highlight was going into the youngest room (the babies) where they were all asleep and placing a knitted teddy in front of them and watching their faces as they woke up to find they had their very own teddy to keep. 

What a day :0)

Sunday

Up for 9 today which was a welcomed rest. Left for Church after breakfast which was interesting. Returned after Church for a trip to the supermarket to stock up on supplies.

We had an hours free time before supper after which we all sorted out our donations. Everyone is on high looking forward to projects on Monday.

Laura is hoping for an early night!!!!