Highlights of the week

It’s been a pretty awesome week this week and so I thought I would share a few of the best moments with you...

Let’s start with the most important. I found dream white chocolate with biscuit in. For ages in the UK you couldn't find it anywhere so when I came here I was most excited to find dream white chocolate. Imagine my excitement then when this week I discovered this new creation! Of course I had to buy a bar or two!

I absolutely love to go to the orphanage and this week I managed to go 5 evenings in a row. We get back from Rehema about half 4 and then I go and spend an hour and a half playing with them, bathing them and then getting them into their pyjamas! It is the best way to end the day, especially when Alexi and I have Swahili banter. Now, whenever one of us says kwa nini (why) in response to a statement the other responds’ kwa sababu’ (because) then  ‘kwa sababu nini’ (because what) and we go round in circles until one of us gives in! That is as much banter as you can have with a Swahili speaking 4 year old and a white person slowly learning swahili! Bathing them is great fun, especially with the older ones. They finish their food and then come over to me, some undressing whilst walking and others walking with their little arms in the air needing some help! Alexi can be a little monster in the bath tub and turned the dial so that the water shot out of the shower head and onto me. His laugh though is so cute that I can’t help but laugh! They love bath time so much and so it is great to be able to give them that little bit of fun, even though I get a few looks from the mamas who just want to get them into bed and even if it gets them a little bit hyper when they should be calming down! When they are all changed into their pyjamas and i’m cuddling them and putting them into their own beds, i could almost forget their horrible pasts, they are just like any other child being tucked into their beds and for that split second i forget they are living in the orphanage.

Some of you may find this next highlight a bit of a weird one. I absolutely love cleaning, tidying and sorting and this week before Rehema reopened after our two week holiday we needed to do just that. It was so much fun! It is such a satisfying feeling when you see what you have achieved. It was a great start to the week and it was such a good atmosphere cleaning with the women. I especially loved Flora and I cleaning together in the workshop, although I really hated all the spiders!  We are very like minded when it comes to cleaning which was fab! Being back at Rehema has been really good and busy and it has been lovely to see all the women again.

Great end to the week...holding a baby that was just 15 hours old! One of the Rehema women had a baby this morning and this afternoon after work I went with some of the women to have a cuddle! It is such an adorable baby. So tiny! I had a moment of panic (much to their amusement) as she was handed to me, as I have never held a baby that young before but her cute facial expressions, tiny tiny hands and feet and watching her sleep in my arms was something special and I thank God for this precious new life.

It’s something like 4 months 9 days until I fly home. I seriously cannot believe how fast this year is going!

Catching up in Kyamajoje

Just a quick update! Nat’s family have been here to visit which has been great fun and lovely to meet them. One day we hired a truck to show them around the different Go MAD projects and of course we went to Kyamajoje! It was amazing to see the progress that had been made on the health centre. The mural the team painted on the side of the health centre, of John 3:16 written in the shape of a cross on a hill created by handprints, is beautiful and it was great that a child i was holding pointed out her hand print! The current team are now working on houses for the doctor and nurses to live in. We then went on to see Mtani and his toilet and water tank. The toilet looks great and the mural they painted on it is also beautiful. It was awesome to see Mtani so happy!  When we arrived he wasn’t at the house but then we turned and saw him whizzing down to us in his bike which was great. I then showed her family into his room. His bed was neatly made and in the centre of it was his bible. I asked him if he has been reading his bible everyday and he said yes and smiled. He is such a great guy.  From the top of some rocks in Kyamajoje there is the most spectacular view so we did what you would never dream of doing back in the UK, we asked some barefoot children to take us up the rocks, with them going ahead on the lookout for snakes!

We also visited Anifa and her family which is always fun. We didn’t have a translator and i loved having to use the Swahili i know to communicate with her. Obviously my Swahili is way off being amazing but i also loved that i am so comfortable around these people now that it doesn’t matter if we laugh at the mistakes made. We are patient with each other and eventually, after rephrasing sentences with words i know and after some acting, we figure out what we want to say!

Rehema has been shut for two weeks to give all the women a well deserved and much needed break! It has been great to have a couple of weeks to sleep, go to the beach and go and play with the children at the orphanage! I also went out with Go Mad to start a water tank in Kyamajoje which was good.  Whilst Nat’s family were here we went over to Lukuba Island. It is so beautiful there and a great place to relax for a couple of days at the start of a two week holiday! It’s just 40 minutes away from Musoma but you just feel like you are in the middle of nowhere which is amazing! Slightly less amazing was the snake that popped his head out of the roof above our heads as we are eating breakfast!  TIA!

There have been a few snakes around recently which is quite unnerving. There was one in the workshop at rehema, one on the beach, two at Lukuba and then the biggest was found on our compound. It was a forest cobra that was over a metre long and that was found outside the house opposite and then chased before being killed. It was fascinating to see it but has made me more conscious of them! 

8th July 2014

I’d like to start with a big thank you to everyone who donated sunhats, cream and glasses for the albinos. We have a good collection now to suit all ages which is amazing and means they can try several on to get the best fit. At Rehema we get albinos coming in for help but now we have lots of items i would love to be able to hold a day where we invite lots of albinos and and distribute the hats etc but also be able to spend time with them and educate them in the importance of the cream and hats but also to spend time talking about God and his love for them.

Albinism is a genetically inherited condition where the person has a lack of pigmentation in the hair, skin and eyes causing them to be vulnerable to sun exposure and bright light. They are at high risk of skin cancer and lack of suncream and wide brimmed hats lead to epidemic rates of skin cancer in all ages. The average life expectancy for an albino in Tanzania is 30 years but in countries with adequate health care an albino has the same life expectancy as the general population. There are powerful myths concerning albinos because of a lack of education of the medical causes. This lack of knowledge leads to people killing albinos as they believe that their body parts possess magical powers capable of bringing riches when used in witch doctors potions. Others kill albinos as they believe that they are a curse, bring bad luck and are a punishment from god. Another myth is that albinos are born to a black woman who has slept with a white man. The father of the child will accuse the mother of being unfaithful and abandon her and the child. The chid will then often be treated as unwanted and in many cases are killed.

I admit that when i was on a go mad trip in October and we visited the disability school where there are lots of albino children i was a little bit freaked out. It was just as we were approaching in the truck and there were so many of them around that i was a little bit apprehensive. It’s not like i believe any of the myths about them which are just horrendous but previous to this visit i had only seen a few albinos walking around and always quite far away and it was a shock to see so many and then they sang ‘we are marching in the light of god’ in English which just threw me a bit! After spending time with them i felt so bad for how i had first felt. They were just like any other children. Since then i have come into contact with many more and am currently helping an albino family that i have previously spoken about. We are going to visit them this week which i am very much looking forward to. Before, albinism was something that i just saw and heard spoken about but i never really thought much about how horrific their lives are and how each day they must fear for their lives plus face their physical problems. As you may have realised by now, i am keen to learn as much as i can to be able to help them.

Last week, the son of a friend of ours became very sick. He had a malaria count of 800. Normally a count of 4 is bad. It was awful to see him in the hospital so ill and his face was scrunched up in so much pain. A little bit later we discovered the cause for such pain...he had a huge worm in him. After the worm passed out of him he looked more comfortable but still had a very high temperature. We went back the next day and he was so much better. He completed his medicine and now praise God he is doing much better. It was tough seeing a boy of 4 years old fighting for his life but i found it was also a reminder to me how precious life is and without Rehema there to help he wouldn’t be here today. I don’t say that to boast but to encourage everyone that the money is being used to make a difference to everyday situations like this one.  

Low point of the week -This week was a very sad week as it saw the departure of the Go Mad team that have been here with us since January. They arrived a week after me and the last few months would definitely not have been the same without them here. They were so welcoming of me every time i joined them on projects, at church, for parties and dinners and i made some good friends that i will miss very much. Most lunch times they would pop by rehema and it was great to hear about what they had been up to and what was going on with people in the village. It’s not like the compound is going to be quiet without them though as more teams are arriving throughout the summer.

Highlight of the week- This week Nat and I had a city break in Mwanza! I needed to meet up with a guy who does work for Rehema and Nat needed to stock up on things for the cafe. It was the perfect opportunity to have a night away and visit the beautiful supermarket. It is the first time we had done the journey on our own but thankfully had no problems at all. We had air con and a tv in the room we were staying in  which was amazing, even though i did freak out when i first picked up the remote as it felt such an alien thing to be holding! We explored a bit but both of us just wanted to get to the supermarket! This time there were more white people around so i had to contain my excitement a little bit but we still had a great time browsing the shelves and seeing familiar brands. I would like to be able to say we did a sensible grown up shop but that is so not true! We came away with a fairly unhealthy bag of shopping but one that will see us through the next 6 (maybe 3) months! Highlight was when we just happened to pop into this little shop on the street and found milkybar chocolate!

Forgot to say in my last blog that I have sent some gorgeous Rehema products home for mum and dad to sell so if you are interested in buying some beautiful bags, table runners, cards, giraffes and much much more then please get in touch with them or me. All the money from the sales will go straight to helping women and children living in desperate situations.

Last but not least, i randomly found this song last week and absolutely love it so just thought i would share this thought provoking and challenging song with you... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OaqjPt8phA

When my dad and best friend came to Tanzania...

Hi everyone!

 I will start by apologising for being a bit quiet on here recently.  I am very sorry. It has been so long that i had forgotten my password for this blog!

The last two weeks have been really good. My dad and best friend came out to visit/check up on me! We had an amazing time together and it was good to be able to show them around Musoma and meet everyone on the compound where i live. It was a boost for me in terms of Swahili as i was their translator! I am very far off being fluent but it felt good to realise that i have learnt a lot since being here and love speaking it! It was lovely to be able to introduce them to the women at Rehema and show them all that goes on there.

We had a very busy time when they were here as i wanted to show them EVERYTHING! I knew Lydia would love the orphanage and so that was one of the first things we did! Of course she couldn’t help but fall in love with the children and it made me smile to see dad playing on the floor with them and chasing them around outside.

I had been so excited for them to experience travelling on a dalla dalla and it did not disappoint! No matter how tall you are you get squashed in just like everyone else and it was entertaining to watch dad on one! In that same day i introduced them to the hostel lunch. The least said about that the better!

On one day we hired a truck and driver and Nat came with us as we went to visit some of the villages that i worked in when i was with Go MAD. Having told them so much about these places it was great that they were able to see it all firsthand. We went to Kyamajoje first where we stopped to see the health centre that the current team are building. It is looking so good and it is amazing how much they have achieved. Whilst there we managed to recruit a boy that would take us up the rocks behind the church! There is the most stunning view from up there and you can literally see for miles and miles. I was thankful that we managed the climb without any injuries or snake bites! We were then able to visit Mtani who i am sure i have said before is the most amazing guy. The team are in the process of building him a disabled toilet which will make a huge difference to his life. He is such a joy to be around and has the loveliest smile and i am so happy that dad and Lydia could meet him and him them. After Kyamajoje there was time for a quick Rehema lunch and then a visit to Anifa and her family in Mikaringo. They were so welcoming and as friendly as ever! We then arranged to meet a guy who was going to take us to visit an Albino family that rehema has been helping. They lived in the middle of nowhere but i am so glad we visited them as we had a truly special time with them. We played with them and handed out sunhats and glasses and lots and lots and lots of balloons! In return they gave us lots and lots of rice and beans! Nat and i are used to this happening and prepare ourselves for it, Lydia on the other hand didn’t know what to do when faced with a heaped bowl full of rice! They were so thankful for our visit and walked with us the whole way back to the car, gathering more family members along the way! As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one day, we were invited over to the Vinks house for dinner and darts. I was meant to impress dad with my amazing new darts skills but he was too busy being an embarrassing father to notice and give me some fake congratulations!

Wow, just realised i haven’t even started talking about safari yet..! Safari was awesome! My highlight was having a bath and a swim but seeing 5 sightings of lion really close up (nearly seeing one hunt and seeing a group of them chilling on a picnic bench), 22 giraffe in one go, an elephant and a lots of zebra, warthogs, hippos and monkeys wasn’t that bad!

There was a bit of time allowed to just relax and enjoy Tembo beach and wander round the market looking at the beautiful material. After hearing so much about eagle rock from my go mad trips i had to take them up it. It was as stunning as ever up there and it was refreshing to be up there with people experiencing it for the first time.

I don’t know how dad coped being in a house with three very noisy girls for two weeks but he survived! He sought sanity by going out with Go Mad a few times and even trying to kid himself that he is still young by going out to play football with them...of course he came back with an injury!

The house was a little quieter after our guests left, even quieter when our little puppy Kip died. She had an incredible short life though and achieved quite a lot...her biggest achievement (though not funny at the time) was killing our chicken Rusty. We came home from work one day and she had taken down this chicken and eaten her from the inside out. Really disgusting and upsetting but quite a big achievement for such a little puppy!

An adventurous week in Africa!

It is easy to get into the routine of doing the same thing each day. Slightly different things happen each day but mostly our days have become a bit predictable. I’m not saying this is a bad thing but i had just begun to notice that we have settled into just sticking with what we know and not doing exciting new things. After thinking this we then probably the most full on adventure day so far! It started out going material shopping at ‘material lane’ one of my favourite places to go to. We have done this many times and have our set order in which we visit the shops! We had just reached our first shop when suddenly about 100 men come running past from all directions. We learnt from the lady in the shop that someone stole something and now they were trying to catch him. We do not know what he stole but these men were chasing him with big rocks in their hands. We even saw one man with a mallet and another with a hacksaw. The chase lasted a little while with them running backwards and forwards and when we thought it was safe to leave we left our shop and carried on shopping. As we turned up the lane we saw the crowd at the side of the road, they had clearly caught the guy. We hurried into our next shop and as we did so a gunshot rang out. Safe in the shop we heard another couple of shots and saw the crowd moving away from us down the street. I do not know what they did to the guy but my guess is they killed him or seriously injured him. It was quite scary being so near to where i knew someone was being really hurt and hearing shots so close but i think the even scarier thing for me is seeing the look on the guys faces as they chased this man. They looked and behaved like animals and also looked to be enjoying themselves.

Back at Rehema we quickly recovered and then headed out to visit Bhoke. Some of you may have heard about Bhoke. She is a women that works at Rehema making jewellery. She has been going through a particularly rough time recently and has been in hospital so we wanted to go and see how she was and take her some food. Isabella from the kitchen saw Nat, Flora and I getting into a taxi and decided she would come and visit as well. We had a little food shop and then piled back into the car for the bumpy long ride to Bhoke’s house. I was amazed when the taxi could make it down the bumpy roads and was willing to take us there. We walked the rest of the way and when we got to Bhoke’s i really didn’t know what to expect and how she would be. I was totally amazed when she came running to meet us and then went running to the next house to grab some chairs for us to sit on! She was a proud mum and introduced us to her children who were absolutely adorable! It was such an answer to prayer to see her looking so well. We had been there a little while when she told her sons to catch a cockerel. Nat and I discovered that we were both thinking the same thing, we are either staying for lunch and eating that chicken or she is going to give us that chicken. Sure enough as we were leaving she ran into the house and came out with it! I’m very happy that she handed it to Nat to carry and then we put it in the boot of the car! He spent the rest of the day sat outside my workshop but when we came to go home we tried putting him in a box and for a while he was quite content but then he started flapping his wings and we both freaked out! Fortunately the taxi driver knows us by now and so he took the chicken and put him in the footwell at the front and even carried it to our back garden for us! He has had a couple of escapes but is now happy in his new home and even goes into the chicken coop at night of his own free will! He is far better behaved than Kip! We gave Kip another bath today. I hold her and Nat chucks water over her (and me!). It was going well and she was being a good girl  until we washed her head. She then freaked out and decided the only safe position was to straddle my arm, wrapping both front and back legs around and refusing to move! She looked like a hog roast!

If that wasn’t enough adventure for one day we then went to a party! Joyce, one of our beauticians had invited us to a party that we thought was a wedding but sadly it wasn’t. We weren’t sure whether to go or not but then she turned up at our house and said she had come to take us to the party! We put on our party dresses and trekked up the track to the party with no idea what to expect and no one who spoke English! When we arrived everyone was sat in a big semicircle and cheered when we walked in. Feeling very awkward we were given front row seats and given a drink. I am so glad i said i was full and didn’t want food as i couldn’t even identify what meat the lady next to me was eating! It was like no party i have been to before. Joyce and this guy (who i now know is her husband) stood at the front with a bowl and people came up and put money in. What we didn’t realise is that this goes on for a while so we go straight in with the big notes and soon realised our mistake when the bucket kept coming to us! So even though we realised we had probably only been invited because we are white people it was lovely that the other spa women were there and came and sat with us! We didn’t want to stay long as it was getting dark so Joyce said if we had a dance we could then go. I said we would only dance when others got up but clearly my Swahili isn’t that great or she just ignored me as the next thing we know some old school English music is blaring out and me and nat are up there, dragging the other two women with us and expected to dance. I decide we are not awkward shuffling like Nat wanted so much to her horror I launched into a speedy macarena! She soon joined me and it got quite a good reaction from the other guests!  

On Saturday we had an amazing time with the Go Mad team doing a ceilidh. It is so much fun even if everyone is so sweaty and it is a great form of exercise! Some of the cafe women came over to watch and even joined in which was cool.

Yesterday was awesome as we did Sunday School for some of the missionary children. A local missionary lady was being ordained at the cathedral and so to help out Deb, Nat, Andrew and I took the kids and had a great time acting out the story of Noah, playing games, singing and of course doing some craft! It was so good to do Sunday school again and it was great doing it here and actually being able to talk to the kids without needing a translator! It turned out to be a 3 ½ hour service with everyone staying for lunch afterwards. With a big rice lunch I was ready to join some of the team in the afternoon climbing dead chicken rock.

We have had some crazy times here but we feel safe in God's loving arms and trust in him to guide us and protect us each day.

Sorry it has been such a long one! If you have made it this far, thank you for sticking with me!

Easter and my birthday!

It has been so refreshing to celebrate Easter here. There aren't chocolate eggs everywhere (it was nice to have a packet sent from home though!) and people are focused on the true meaning of Easter. On Good Friday Rehema was closed so i was able to join the Go Mad team for a service at Mikaringo church which was really good. Then on Easter Sunday i went to the cathedral with the team. The service started at 8.30 and 4 hours later it finished! It was an amazing service though and there was a true feeling of celebration. It is amazing how much can be put into a service. There were baptisms, communion, auctions, lots of singing and other bits where i didn’t really know what was happening! There were several different choirs and we were one of them! Being up the front of the cathedral is something special. I love their singing and dancing and the spontaneous dancing that broke out in the congregation every now and then!  The bidding was also very interesting. They started with the usual kind of stuff and then produced chickens and a duck and pieces of material. The bidding was a bit more confusing at the cathedral because people didn’t always bid against each other but just added more to the price to raise the price of how much something went for. This is because the collection was done by area and everyone wanted their area to give the most so went crazy in the bidding. One piece of material went for 107,000 tsh (i would usually buy for 25,000tsh!)! The auction went on for quite a while! One of my highlights from the service was when a guy was asking visitors to stand up and wave and he then looked at us and began asking us to stand when the bishop interrupted him and said we weren’t visitors! I am a resident of Tanzania, not a visitor. That feels good to say and i don’t think that feeling will ever get old!

I also just want to thank those of you who sent me birthday messages and emails. I am now a grown up 20 year old! I had an amazing day full of surprises. The night before my birthday i was asked if i was going to join the Go Mad team the next morning to listen to a sermon. The sermon is at 8.15 and as it was my day off i was thinking of just having a lie in but Deb told me i needed biblical teaching and i should probably go! So the next morning i do as i am told and the sermon was really good. After the sermon Deb came and blindfolded me and a few bumps later i am sat on my porch being served mango, French toast and coco pops! After opening some awesome presents and cards from home I am told that i will be going on an adventure to find clues that lead to presents. A few hours later i had been to the orphanage, Vink’s house, my old bed in eagle lodge, a neighbours chicken coop, up the track to the soda shop and eventually ended up up eagle rock enjoying a picnic (marmite and cheese sandwiches...yum!) with Nat and Deb. The trail took me to some of my favourite places and people and places with special memories. The team came up to eagle rock  later for games and then we watched the sunset in the rain. By then i thought that must be the end of the surprises but oh no! After sliding down eagle rock (unfortunately that is literally speaking, i have the bruise to prove it!) i found the team on my porch singing happy birthday and i go inside to find a puppy in a box! As a child i always put a dog at the top of my Christmas list. I never got one though, probably because my parents knew i was scared of dogs! Now a lot of things have changed and liking dogs is one of them so to have Kipwriggler come and live with us on my birthday was just the best. The day still wasn’t over as we went to eagle lodge for pizza and a time of worship and the best chocolate cake! After (finally!) getting my birthday cake i thought the fun must be over but i was wrong again. I had just finished locking Nat and I in for the night when Deb comes round and tells me she has come for a sleepover! Food, films and facemasks later my special day is over. It was such an incredible day and it showed me what amazing friends i have. I thought it was exciting to have a birthday in Africa last year even though most of it was spent in an airport. Little did i know that i would have another birthday here and be spending it with people who have become such special friends!

Kip is settling in to her new home well and we are having lots of fun with her! The first few nights  she spent a lot of time howling which resulted in us feeling like sleep deprived new parents but thankfully she is now much better.

My last day as a 19 year old!

WARNING: Some of you may not want to read this first paragraph...it is about a beautiful secluded island that I escaped to for a wonderful weekend!

A boat came to collect us at Tembo beach here in Musoma and then 45 minutes later we arrived at Lukuba Island and was greeted by a man holding a tray of non alcoholic cocktails with crystallised sugar around the rim and a slice of lemon! We were then shown to our cabin on the beach which was beautiful. The food was amazing and there was lots of it. Each meal had 3 delicious courses and although i loved them all i was most excited about having weetabix, custard and bacon (not together of course!). We had time to do devotions together and also to have a time of worship and listen to a great sermon together and play games. We went on a sunset walk and it was awesome to be given a soda and popcorn when we reached the end of our climb up! Going out canoeing, swimming in the pool, going round the island on the boat for sunset and chilling on the beach (keeping a wary eye on the monkeys! )made for a very relaxing weekend and I could have happily stayed there for several more days! Previously i wrote about a big storm and hearing the loudest thunder i had ever heard but that was nothing compared to the storm we had on the island. It was right above us and the whole sky lit up so i could see the beach outside and we had to shout to be heard above the noise! It was very surreal in the morning to wake up and hear the water calmly lapping outside.

I get an extra day off once month and last week I spent it all with Go Mad and had a really good day. In the morning we went out to Kyamajoje and it was incredible to see the progress on the health centre. It is looking so good and i couldn’t believe how much had been done since I last saw it! We then went to Mtani’s house where the team are building him a toilet. That is also coming along really well and I was able to help move the lintels onto the pit. It will make such a huge difference to him when that is built. In the afternoon I went with the other team to the chicken sheds and had a wonderful time with Anifa and her family. I absolutely love what I do at Rehema and the women i work with but it was so lovely to be able to spend the day with the team and be back in the villages.

Yesterday Rehema had the Easter Fair. The Friday was a busy day and we were there until late transforming the shop and putting out new stock but we had the awesome Go Mad team there with us being a big help. It was then an early start on the Saturday to finish putting up decorations and setting up the games. It was great that so many people came and at one point they were queuing up to get in! The atmosphere was just what i had hoped for, the children were running around playing games and having a great time and the adults were all chatting to each other and watching the children play. The egg and spoon race was so much fun and watching everyone get involved in that was super and it felt like I was at a school sports day! Then it was time for the Easter egg hunt where the children had to find a silver egg made of paper and then find the ‘chicken’  (aka Callum on the Go Mad team who was dressed up as a chicken) to get some mini eggs! It was great to look around Rehema and see people relaxed and enjoying themselves. The day was so much fun was a very good day for Rehema.

I can’t believe how fast time is going here and that tomorrow is my birthday and I will be turning 20! How exciting!