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Well the first thing I have to say today is, 'happy birthday Ollie and Josh!' I am feeling a little homesick today, it would be nice to be at home for my brothers' 16th. Also, I'm suffering from a lasting headache. We all seem to be coming down with colds. I was told that a lot of volunteers get sick in the rainy season because of the weather but I think it's more likely that we're catching colds from the locals who aren't used to rain-not like us British!!! So unfortunately I haven't been able to go in today, especially as the sun is beating down really hard. We had a nice weekend weatherwise, it feels like the first in a long time.
I can't believe how fast the weekends come around. The new volunteers have been here a week already but I swear they only just got here yesterday! We spent this weekend in Mombasa shopping and at an animal park. On Saturday we went to a local market where they sell traditional local souvenirs. You can't imagine how eager these market sellers are to get you to buy something from their stall. I decided to check out all of them, comparing prices and ended up with some very good bargains (not just a pretty face!) After this we headed to a café for lunch. I have discovered savoury pancakes in Mombasa! After more spending, we headed to the Kanga market to get some African materials. I do enjoy the weekends where we go away somewhere but I love the relaxing weekends too. They give us time where we don't have to think about the things we are faced with at work.
Saturday night was Lauren's goodbye/un-birthday meal. We went to a restaurant/bar called Il Covo. It is set right on the beach and has the most amazing food. It's a bit pricey but definitely worth it. I even got to try sushi. We had a bit of a play on the beach afterwards (as you do) It was a clear night so we just ran about and took photos until our taxi arrived. We had a bit of a problem while trying to get on a matatu home. It seemed that the conductors were trying to chuck the locals off purely because there were a lot of us and we were white so they could try to cheat us out of money. We refused one matatu that did this. The next that also tried soon regretted it. The woman who was in the front kicked up a fuss (as I would expect) and gave the conductor some grief. It turned out that they drove us to where we wanted to go first which meant that the others had a further hours drive ahead of them. I don't really understand why we're treated differently. We are as aware as the locals of what the prices should be and we won't be cheated out of money. This was proven on Sunday when a matatu took some of the other volunteers to the police station because they wouldn't pay the amount asked. In the end the police just told the driver to go away and the others got their money back (a pretty pointless exercise really).
On Sunday, we had another quiet day. We went out for lunch then some of us went to an animal park called Haller Park. I was really excited to see the giraffes being fed but we were too late. Getting to see the hippos being fed though made up for this. We only saw hippos from far away on the safari so I was really excited to see them nearer. I got some amazing photos of the hippos, also crocodiles, monkeys and the best attraction-two giant tortoises!!! My photos show how amazed I was with these, I took so many! The best part was that it was only 200shillings to get in-about £1.80!
The woman who lives in the house with us and cooks and cleans-Nancy has had to go away to visit her father this week who's ill so we have a new woman. She's not great-she can't cook and doesn't clean. All I've really seen her do today is lie on the sofa! Before this, nobody really liked Nancy but I'm almost looking forward to her coming back now.
Yesterday was a bit of a hectic day. It was a good morning, the kids worked really hard and behaved themselves. I had been thinking about buying one of the boys (Baraka) some shoes because since I've known him, he has had 1½. At break I called him over and told him that I was fed up of his shoes and that I wanted to get him some more. He seemed really pleased and bought me some maize on the cob (disgusting but a sweet idea). He also gave me a bracelet and said he would be very thankful. I suggested we go at lunch and he agreed. When it came to lunch though he disappeared and when I found him he said he wouldn't go until I'd asked the Pastor. I went to the Pastor and told him what I wanted to do. The first thing he said was 'did he beg you for them?' I made sure I told him what had happened, that I had offered to but them because I was pleased with his work, he was such a good student and I wanted to reward him with something he actually needed. After a long spiel about how a lot of the kids have nothing and he can't afford to buy them all what they need, he agreed. I went back to the orphanage and told Baraka the good news. We decided to have lunch first then go before school started again. During lunch we had a bit of a drama. One of the younger boys, Onesmus had stepped on something and had quite a nasty cut on the bottom of his toe. I said we would have to wash it then luckily I had a plaster. Judy, the maid, got a bucket of water and rubbed his foot so hard that he had to be held down by four boys. The screaming was awful. I just stood there trying to calm him down to no effect. Once we had it washed I put a plaster on and sat him on my knee while we ate our lunch. Usually, the children don't cry, no matter how much they've hurt themselves so it must have hurt a hell of a lot. After this drama, me, Baraka and Sabrina (another student and now a friend) went to get these shoes. We walked about 20mins and found a shop selling rubber sandals like he already had. He chose some exactly the same (except for the fact that there were 2 of these ones!) They only came to 170shillings-about £1.45 and they will last him a while so I was really pleased, almost as pleased as he was in fact. He put them on straight away and walked back in them. Unfortunately, this is when things started to get a bit weird. Baraka went to the orphanage to wash his leg and me and Sabrina went back to the school. When he got back to school, the Pastor approached him and spoke to him in Swahili (this really made me angry as if the children speak Swahili, they are beaten and yet now he does it himself). Baraka left the class and I asked the Pastor what was wrong. He said that Baraka was still wearing his old shoes and he found it disrespectful to me. This was fair enough, although I really didn't mind if Baraka didn't wear them, as long as he had them there. I knew there would be a good reason for it and when he came back I asked him. After a while he told me that the Pastor's wife (Madam Margaret) had accused him of begging for the shoes. I thought I had made it clear to the Pastor that this wasn't the case but obviously not clear enough. I told Baraka that as long as he was happy with the shoes, it didn't matter what anyone else said. It means I will have to speak to the Pastor though, I don't want Baraka to suffer for something I suggested. That's the problem here, you can't do right for doing wrong. I can't believe that what I thought would be kind and beneficial has turned sour. It isn't easy here, there needs to be a huge change.
I took the opportunity of Lauren going home to send some of the letters that the children wrote to people in England. So anybody receiving them from somewhere in England-not to worry, I am honestly here!
I decided to include a letter written to me from one of the students-Sabrina. I'm sure she wouldn't mind me including it on here and it shows how much of a difference we can all make here.
Dear Ellie,
How are you? I hope you are fine and your family is too. Ellie, how is life? I hope it is OK and how is your job? Tell your mother hi for me Ellie. I wish one day you will come to Kenya again. We are going to start our exams soon. I have new friends, they are so good and honest too. Ellie, will you come again to our school? Can you send a letter if you have time? Sometimes I feel I am alone. Have you found your dream man? I hope so. I want to ask you to send me your picture.
I miss you
Take care of yourself
I love you
Other letters are more personal and speak about their lives and families. Talking to these children is amazing but you don't learn a lot unless you ask the right questions. Death and poverty are a natural part of their lives so they don't find it unusual and don't speak about it. However, if you ask the right questions, they are quite happy to talk about their pasts and how they feel about their lives. A lot are unhappy and don't enjoy Restoration but they believe they will get a better education there as the public schools are very crowded. I hope a little more research into the subject will tell me exactly where any mistakes are being made and where any corruption lies.
It sounds like a bit of a negative part of my blog today but I think it's just more realistic, it's the part that we only see on Children in Need and don't quite believe.
Less than two weeks before I leave Mombasa, I would really love to stay, I'm missing home though and I'm sure the next trip will be amazing. 56 days to go!!!
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