Am now fully recovered from Malaria, and life has definitely taken a turn for the better. It's amazing how good health can change everything.
Christmas with the children at Hisani was absolutely wonderful. We arrived at the compound at 9:00 in the morning, and helped give out their Christmas breakfast treat, which was hot tea and ample fried pasty triangles. All the kids had new t-shirts to wear too.
We all walked to the nearby Catholic church for Christmas Day mass. My heart was warmed when one of the older Standard 3 boys held my hand the whole way. His friends teased him, but he steadfastedly refused to let go. His name is Godfrey, although we call him Kulwa. The love of kids is just wonderful.
After mass, we went back to Hisani were the children had a huge Christmas lunch with rice, beans, vegetables, fruit, chicken, sweet potatoes and a whole bottle of soda.
After lunch, we gave out their presents of candy, snacks, pencils, stickers, and cards. I think every child ate every piece of candy that day! Later, we put on music and had a big dance party with the children. It was so much fun.
That night a group of volunteers went to Tunza Lodge, on the shores of Lake Victoria, for our own celebration. We had a great meal, played pool, and reveled in the fact that we're in Africa for the holidays. We're taking the children there on Saturday for a special beach outing. They can swim, play volleyball, build sand castles, and generally have a good time. We will buy them sodas and chips (french fries) as a treat too.
As I come close to marking one month in Africa, I'm beginning to see how impossible it will be to leave this place. I'm always dirty, there are always bugs. mice, and constant stares, and yet I feel very content and happy. Live for the moment!!!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Sickness, unfortunately...
Sorry it's been so long since the last post. Much has transpired in the last week.
The end of the first week of teaching went quite well. The Standard 3 kids are so sharp, and all scored very well on their quiz on Friday. I'm impressed with how well they know and understand geography. Friday was an adventure for me too! It is grasshopper season in Mwanza, and the kids catch them by the handfull. They kept trying to put them down the back of our shirts, and quite often succeeded.
Anyway, they are for eating here, and after the girls pluck the legs and wings off, they saute them up in a giant pot over the fire. Yours truly decided that she needed this experience, and so I ate one - and even chewed it. It wasn't really that bad, but i didn't like the fact that it still had its eyeballs.
The weekend was fun, as there were two new volunteers arrived from Spain, working at a neighboring orphanage. We've got quite the international contingency, and it's a real treat right now to have some girlfriends to chum around with and talk to.
Monday of this last week (the 18th) I woke up feeling lethargic, feverish, and with a rather rumbly tummy. I got worse over the day, and Katy (a volunteer here with Hisani) was ill too. Tuesday we decided to go to Hindi Hospital (the private hospital here in town) and get tested. Lo & behold, a moderate strain of malaria in both of us. Thus we were housebound and sick for this whole week. That is why you have not heard from me in so long.
The hospital is an experience unto itself. Cement floors, open to the outside, people sitting around everywhere waiting to be seen. They keep good hygeine standards, and fresh needles, etc., when they took the blood draw. It is just so very different from home.
Today is Saturday the 23rd. I'm feeling better and have braved town to email, and collect some last minute items for Christmas this weekend. We've cobbled together sweets, school supplies, stickers and toothbrushes for the kids. There are also some Lion's Club toys that they should be receiving. I will email next week to tell you how those tidings went.
Folks keep asking for photos, but being quite ill this week has taken all my energy. In order to post photos, I need to bring the memory card to town, get it burned to a disc, then make sure I have a computer that is able to upload the photos. Today, it took 10 minutes just to access my blogsite. You can see why adding photos might not be the easiest thing in the world.
I hope I"m done with sickness. I was downright crabby by Friday, and insisted I go out to dinner or else I would eat someone's hand for my meal. The doctor insists we have no meat or dairy, just bread and rice. Well, when you've got an allergy to wheat, that doesn't leave many choices!
Africa continues to fascinate me, and sometimes sadden me. The kids are lovely, and I am becoming more attached to them. The neighbor kids are wonderful too. Always they cry "Mzungu" (white person) and come ripping up our road to hold our hands for a walk. Most people are very friendly; lots of people want money. The money that was so kindly donated is of course earmarked for the kids at Hisani and Watoto. However, I will also be making a donation to the local street kids center. They sleep on the sidewalks during the day (too dangerous to do that at night) and prowl around at night. They seem to need the help most of all.
By the way, I would relish any letters or cards from home. Email is great, but not very personal. If you wish to write, please send letters to:
Lorna Jackson
Volunteer Africa
c/o Hisani
PO Box 1817
Mwanza, Tanzania
East Africa
I'm here until February 24th, and mail takes about 2-3 weeks from home. Just be sure to send by early February (at the latest).
I wish my dear friends a very Merry Christmas. As always, thanks for reading and keep the good thoughts coming.
The end of the first week of teaching went quite well. The Standard 3 kids are so sharp, and all scored very well on their quiz on Friday. I'm impressed with how well they know and understand geography. Friday was an adventure for me too! It is grasshopper season in Mwanza, and the kids catch them by the handfull. They kept trying to put them down the back of our shirts, and quite often succeeded.
Anyway, they are for eating here, and after the girls pluck the legs and wings off, they saute them up in a giant pot over the fire. Yours truly decided that she needed this experience, and so I ate one - and even chewed it. It wasn't really that bad, but i didn't like the fact that it still had its eyeballs.
The weekend was fun, as there were two new volunteers arrived from Spain, working at a neighboring orphanage. We've got quite the international contingency, and it's a real treat right now to have some girlfriends to chum around with and talk to.
Monday of this last week (the 18th) I woke up feeling lethargic, feverish, and with a rather rumbly tummy. I got worse over the day, and Katy (a volunteer here with Hisani) was ill too. Tuesday we decided to go to Hindi Hospital (the private hospital here in town) and get tested. Lo & behold, a moderate strain of malaria in both of us. Thus we were housebound and sick for this whole week. That is why you have not heard from me in so long.
The hospital is an experience unto itself. Cement floors, open to the outside, people sitting around everywhere waiting to be seen. They keep good hygeine standards, and fresh needles, etc., when they took the blood draw. It is just so very different from home.
Today is Saturday the 23rd. I'm feeling better and have braved town to email, and collect some last minute items for Christmas this weekend. We've cobbled together sweets, school supplies, stickers and toothbrushes for the kids. There are also some Lion's Club toys that they should be receiving. I will email next week to tell you how those tidings went.
Folks keep asking for photos, but being quite ill this week has taken all my energy. In order to post photos, I need to bring the memory card to town, get it burned to a disc, then make sure I have a computer that is able to upload the photos. Today, it took 10 minutes just to access my blogsite. You can see why adding photos might not be the easiest thing in the world.
I hope I"m done with sickness. I was downright crabby by Friday, and insisted I go out to dinner or else I would eat someone's hand for my meal. The doctor insists we have no meat or dairy, just bread and rice. Well, when you've got an allergy to wheat, that doesn't leave many choices!
Africa continues to fascinate me, and sometimes sadden me. The kids are lovely, and I am becoming more attached to them. The neighbor kids are wonderful too. Always they cry "Mzungu" (white person) and come ripping up our road to hold our hands for a walk. Most people are very friendly; lots of people want money. The money that was so kindly donated is of course earmarked for the kids at Hisani and Watoto. However, I will also be making a donation to the local street kids center. They sleep on the sidewalks during the day (too dangerous to do that at night) and prowl around at night. They seem to need the help most of all.
By the way, I would relish any letters or cards from home. Email is great, but not very personal. If you wish to write, please send letters to:
Lorna Jackson
Volunteer Africa
c/o Hisani
PO Box 1817
Mwanza, Tanzania
East Africa
I'm here until February 24th, and mail takes about 2-3 weeks from home. Just be sure to send by early February (at the latest).
I wish my dear friends a very Merry Christmas. As always, thanks for reading and keep the good thoughts coming.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
First few days of teaching...
Teaching:
We started our teaching duties on Monday. I was assigned Standard 0 (little 5-6 year olds) for morning lessons; Standard 3 (about 9-10) in the afternoon. My first morning with the little ones was a nightmare! We had moved to a covered classroom to keep out of the sun, but that only increased bad behavior from the little ones. Every time I turned my back, they were chasing each other, slapping each other, or trying to ride each other. Marwa, our boy with polio, is in Standard 0. As I did not know the routine with him (they forgot to tell me) he did not get to the toilet in time, and so he started sobbing after he peed his pants. Two other kids hit each other, and all the while I'm trying to gamely teach them body parts in English. It was exhausting, frustrating, and of course I felt awful about Marwa.
Thankfully, these last two days have been decidedly better. I lesson plan at night, and find that the extra time then is well worth a more organized day following. Right now were working on basic math in Standard 0, and fractions and world geography in Standard 3. Next week I will get new classes. We all end up teaching all the standards once or twice in the 11 weeks that we are here teaching.
The Orphanage:
Hisani is about 1/2 acre of land or so. There is a main building with a living type room, and dorms for the kids. The bunks are handmade, stacked 3 high. They sleep two or three children per bed. Most kids have a couple changes of clothes, and maybe a pair of shoes. They have a squat toilet inside, and two outhouses. They are building a showerhouse, but right now they just scrub in a bucket in the courtyard. The children eat porridge, ugali (a Tanzanian dish, basically a cornmeal type stew), and then they get some vegetables and fruit. They are very sweet (most of them) and have the best smiles in the world. Their life is not easy, but I don't know if they know this.
The volunteer compound:
We actually have quite a nice house, by local standards. We do have running water (no hot) and get electricity a couple times a day for a few hours at a time. We have some tatty old furniture, and a hodge-podge of eating utensils/cooking ware. Enough to get by.
The bugs continue to vex me. Last night we waged war on 2 giant cockroaches. I swear they hissed at us, and were stubbornly defiant when Tom bashed them with a magazine. After he severed one, the leg kept twitching. I yelled so loud, our Masai guard (whose name is Jackson!) came running in, spear in hand, to make sure everything was okay. When I finally went to bed, I was woken up out of dead sleep to a mouse making noise in my cupboard.
We eat fairly well, and drink bottled water. We have a girl who will cook for us a few nights a week, and the food is quite good: rice, beans, cooking bananas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, maybe some eggplant. Breakfast is usually bread or fruit, and lunch is whatever you can forage.
I feel tired and lethargic all the time, but I blame that primarily on the heat, and the incredible amount of mental and physical energy it takes to accomplish things around here. Walking to Hisani is a feat unto itself. A little over a mile, often in sandy and muddy conditions. It's lovely though, little kids running everywhere, people carrying things on their heads, bicycles etc. It's actually quite rural and peaceful up in our village, compared to the relative city frenzy of Mwanza.
More soon.
We started our teaching duties on Monday. I was assigned Standard 0 (little 5-6 year olds) for morning lessons; Standard 3 (about 9-10) in the afternoon. My first morning with the little ones was a nightmare! We had moved to a covered classroom to keep out of the sun, but that only increased bad behavior from the little ones. Every time I turned my back, they were chasing each other, slapping each other, or trying to ride each other. Marwa, our boy with polio, is in Standard 0. As I did not know the routine with him (they forgot to tell me) he did not get to the toilet in time, and so he started sobbing after he peed his pants. Two other kids hit each other, and all the while I'm trying to gamely teach them body parts in English. It was exhausting, frustrating, and of course I felt awful about Marwa.
Thankfully, these last two days have been decidedly better. I lesson plan at night, and find that the extra time then is well worth a more organized day following. Right now were working on basic math in Standard 0, and fractions and world geography in Standard 3. Next week I will get new classes. We all end up teaching all the standards once or twice in the 11 weeks that we are here teaching.
The Orphanage:
Hisani is about 1/2 acre of land or so. There is a main building with a living type room, and dorms for the kids. The bunks are handmade, stacked 3 high. They sleep two or three children per bed. Most kids have a couple changes of clothes, and maybe a pair of shoes. They have a squat toilet inside, and two outhouses. They are building a showerhouse, but right now they just scrub in a bucket in the courtyard. The children eat porridge, ugali (a Tanzanian dish, basically a cornmeal type stew), and then they get some vegetables and fruit. They are very sweet (most of them) and have the best smiles in the world. Their life is not easy, but I don't know if they know this.
The volunteer compound:
We actually have quite a nice house, by local standards. We do have running water (no hot) and get electricity a couple times a day for a few hours at a time. We have some tatty old furniture, and a hodge-podge of eating utensils/cooking ware. Enough to get by.
The bugs continue to vex me. Last night we waged war on 2 giant cockroaches. I swear they hissed at us, and were stubbornly defiant when Tom bashed them with a magazine. After he severed one, the leg kept twitching. I yelled so loud, our Masai guard (whose name is Jackson!) came running in, spear in hand, to make sure everything was okay. When I finally went to bed, I was woken up out of dead sleep to a mouse making noise in my cupboard.
We eat fairly well, and drink bottled water. We have a girl who will cook for us a few nights a week, and the food is quite good: rice, beans, cooking bananas, sweet potatoes, cabbage, maybe some eggplant. Breakfast is usually bread or fruit, and lunch is whatever you can forage.
I feel tired and lethargic all the time, but I blame that primarily on the heat, and the incredible amount of mental and physical energy it takes to accomplish things around here. Walking to Hisani is a feat unto itself. A little over a mile, often in sandy and muddy conditions. It's lovely though, little kids running everywhere, people carrying things on their heads, bicycles etc. It's actually quite rural and peaceful up in our village, compared to the relative city frenzy of Mwanza.
More soon.
Saturday, December 9, 2006
Mwanza, finally!
At long last, we arrive in Mwanza to finally begin the work we came here to do. Got up at 5:00am to take an interior flight from Dar to Mwanza via Kilamanjaro. You could see the mountain from the plane, and that was quite a wonderful sight.
The Mwanza airport is quite rudimentary; they do have a paved tarmac, but baggage claim consists of guys pushing your bags through a slot in wall, whilst you wait upon a cement platform. Hilarious.
Fred (the director of the Hisani orphanage) met us with a taxi. They couldn't get the trunk to open, so all our bags had to go pushed across our laps. That's 6 large suitcases upon us. Egads.
You would simply not believe the roads here. I swear the potholes are easily 2 feet deep, and I'm certainly not exagerating.It's amazing what they can maneuver a car through here. We are located in Buswelu, about 30 minutes outside of Mwanza. Once there, our first stop was Hisani, to quickly greet the kids and have a quick tour. (I will go into length about the compound in a later posting.)
The kids are gorgeous, smiling, and I instantly felt better about everything, just by seeing them once. They come rusing at you with, "hello madame, my name is...." I think I shook all 46 hands. Now to remember the names.
After this brief visit, we headed to our home for the next three months, which is quite a step up in comfort compared to the hostel in Dar. Mind you my toilet has no seat, but at least I have one! We do have electricitly (albeit spotty) and apparently the water consistency has been fairly good. I have my own room and bathroom, so that's a nice treat as well.
There are giant birds that look like Great Blue Herons. They perch at the tippy-top of trees, and snort like pigs. Really. I'm not kidding. There are quite a few geckos, green and somewhat iridescent. I'm finding quite a kinship with them, and like to make squeaky noises at them when they run. It's like my own little cartoon come to life.
The two volunteers who preceeded my team (phil & tom) have taken us into Mwanza for a basic lay of the land, lunch, and a laying in of supplies. We are all taking an hour at the internet cafe, which is how I'm able to send you this info! The cafe is well run, and has about 20 computers. I'm sure I'll be putting in some serious time here in the next few months.
I definitely have a spring in my step, now that the physical "journeying" is over for the time being. Part of my difficulty last week was pure loneliness. My two teammates are both 18, and have already started a romance. So, basically I was alone for the first week, without someone to talk to. Now that we're at the compound, I have Phil & Tom for company, so that should be very nice. When Phil & Tom leave in early January, another team of 4 volunteers will arrive, and then my team will become the "experts".
In the next week or two I hope to have some photos uploaded, and give more information about the sites, smells, tastes and sounds of this part of Africa. Right now, it's almost too much to describe.
The Mwanza airport is quite rudimentary; they do have a paved tarmac, but baggage claim consists of guys pushing your bags through a slot in wall, whilst you wait upon a cement platform. Hilarious.
Fred (the director of the Hisani orphanage) met us with a taxi. They couldn't get the trunk to open, so all our bags had to go pushed across our laps. That's 6 large suitcases upon us. Egads.
You would simply not believe the roads here. I swear the potholes are easily 2 feet deep, and I'm certainly not exagerating.It's amazing what they can maneuver a car through here. We are located in Buswelu, about 30 minutes outside of Mwanza. Once there, our first stop was Hisani, to quickly greet the kids and have a quick tour. (I will go into length about the compound in a later posting.)
The kids are gorgeous, smiling, and I instantly felt better about everything, just by seeing them once. They come rusing at you with, "hello madame, my name is...." I think I shook all 46 hands. Now to remember the names.
After this brief visit, we headed to our home for the next three months, which is quite a step up in comfort compared to the hostel in Dar. Mind you my toilet has no seat, but at least I have one! We do have electricitly (albeit spotty) and apparently the water consistency has been fairly good. I have my own room and bathroom, so that's a nice treat as well.
There are giant birds that look like Great Blue Herons. They perch at the tippy-top of trees, and snort like pigs. Really. I'm not kidding. There are quite a few geckos, green and somewhat iridescent. I'm finding quite a kinship with them, and like to make squeaky noises at them when they run. It's like my own little cartoon come to life.
The two volunteers who preceeded my team (phil & tom) have taken us into Mwanza for a basic lay of the land, lunch, and a laying in of supplies. We are all taking an hour at the internet cafe, which is how I'm able to send you this info! The cafe is well run, and has about 20 computers. I'm sure I'll be putting in some serious time here in the next few months.
I definitely have a spring in my step, now that the physical "journeying" is over for the time being. Part of my difficulty last week was pure loneliness. My two teammates are both 18, and have already started a romance. So, basically I was alone for the first week, without someone to talk to. Now that we're at the compound, I have Phil & Tom for company, so that should be very nice. When Phil & Tom leave in early January, another team of 4 volunteers will arrive, and then my team will become the "experts".
In the next week or two I hope to have some photos uploaded, and give more information about the sites, smells, tastes and sounds of this part of Africa. Right now, it's almost too much to describe.
Thursday, December 7, 2006
First week in Africa
Well, I have now been in Tanzania for 6 days, and what an adventure I've already have. Getting our visas at the Airport took the better part of an hour, and the power was lost twice in the airport during this time.
The heat is overwhelming, overpowering, and just plain awful. It is usually about 85 degrees with what must be close to 100% humidity. I'm managing, but just barely. I wish I'd packed an entirely different wardrobe, but not much I can do about that now.
We are staying at the Salvation Army Hostel in Dar es Salaam. It is a large compound with a school, kitchen, job training and the like. We stay in a cinder block style bungalow with a bucket shower, rudimentary beds with nets, and a lone fan dangling by a mostly exposed wire. We have red ants, mosquitoes, geckos, cockroaches, beetles, and giant millipede type things. I'll bet most of you wouldn't think I could last a day with this!
Most of our days involve lengthy Swahili lessons. It's a bit much with the grammar, but otherwise is okay. The food has been simple, but good. Here at the compound we drink only bottled water, but once we arrive in Mwanza we have some sort of filtering device in the house.
The biggest crisis so far (besides sweating through all my clothes three times a day) was the bout of heat exhaustion yesterday. We rode the daladala to the center of town. A daladala is a small van/mini-bus that they cram at least 25 people into. I had to crouch down the whole time, all the while fighting off the curious hands of the man sitting across from me. It was easily 90+ degrees, and after 20 minutes, my legs started to shake. By the time we got out, my face was as red as a tomato, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to vomit or pass out.
Thankfully, we cut short our trip to the fruit market ( to practice bargaining) and got me under the shade with a cool bottle of water. It was quite scary actually, and I've decided that even though I want to go "local" , I would also rather pay $3 for a taxi and avoid the whole process.
I have so much more to tell, but our time on the internet here at the compound is quite limited. Once in Mwanza (starting this Saturday, the 9th) I should be able to spend an hour or two at least once a week.
I am hanging in there, trying to stay strong and positive. This is such a big leap for me.
The heat is overwhelming, overpowering, and just plain awful. It is usually about 85 degrees with what must be close to 100% humidity. I'm managing, but just barely. I wish I'd packed an entirely different wardrobe, but not much I can do about that now.
We are staying at the Salvation Army Hostel in Dar es Salaam. It is a large compound with a school, kitchen, job training and the like. We stay in a cinder block style bungalow with a bucket shower, rudimentary beds with nets, and a lone fan dangling by a mostly exposed wire. We have red ants, mosquitoes, geckos, cockroaches, beetles, and giant millipede type things. I'll bet most of you wouldn't think I could last a day with this!
Most of our days involve lengthy Swahili lessons. It's a bit much with the grammar, but otherwise is okay. The food has been simple, but good. Here at the compound we drink only bottled water, but once we arrive in Mwanza we have some sort of filtering device in the house.
The biggest crisis so far (besides sweating through all my clothes three times a day) was the bout of heat exhaustion yesterday. We rode the daladala to the center of town. A daladala is a small van/mini-bus that they cram at least 25 people into. I had to crouch down the whole time, all the while fighting off the curious hands of the man sitting across from me. It was easily 90+ degrees, and after 20 minutes, my legs started to shake. By the time we got out, my face was as red as a tomato, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to vomit or pass out.
Thankfully, we cut short our trip to the fruit market ( to practice bargaining) and got me under the shade with a cool bottle of water. It was quite scary actually, and I've decided that even though I want to go "local" , I would also rather pay $3 for a taxi and avoid the whole process.
I have so much more to tell, but our time on the internet here at the compound is quite limited. Once in Mwanza (starting this Saturday, the 9th) I should be able to spend an hour or two at least once a week.
I am hanging in there, trying to stay strong and positive. This is such a big leap for me.
Saturday, December 2, 2006
Halfway there....
Am sitting in Heathrow, killing some of my six hours by checking emails and updating this blog. Packing was a NIGHTMARE, to say the least. I repacked each bag about 4 times, contstantly trying to get them smaller and more manageable. In my defense, one entire bag is full of supplies for the kids, so that means that I fit seven months of supplies in one modest sized duffel bag. Pretty impressive for a girl who normally overpacks everything.
Sat next to a great guy from London named Alex. We both know common people in Seattle. Very Six Degrees of Separation indeed. His friend runs safari tours in Kenya, so I will look that up as well.
Three more hours, then off on the plane to Tanzania. Will arrive around 8:00 on Sunday.
By the time I write the next update, I'll be there....
Sat next to a great guy from London named Alex. We both know common people in Seattle. Very Six Degrees of Separation indeed. His friend runs safari tours in Kenya, so I will look that up as well.
Three more hours, then off on the plane to Tanzania. Will arrive around 8:00 on Sunday.
By the time I write the next update, I'll be there....
Sunday, November 19, 2006
10 days to go...
Am fully in panic mode now as I scurry to prepare for this journey! I seem to have enormous decisions facing me about what to pack. Do I take the extra T-shirt? How much shampoo will fit? 6 pairs of socks, or 7? These are the questions that nag at me each day. And with a baggage allowance of 44 lbs (for 7 months!) I think things will only get worse.
In addition to packing woes, I'm trying to figure out where to put my car, get my taxes filed early and deal with other strange logistical issues. Frankly, getting on the plane will be a great relief. If it's not done then, I guess I won't worry about it!
My Volunteer Africa team was just informed that we will now be supporting a second orphanage, this one mostly younger primary school-age children. I think this brings the total number of kids to about 100. I've got a huge pile of teaching aids and toothbrushses; just hope it all fits!
Departure date is December 1st. I hope to have one more pre-departure post out before I go
In addition to packing woes, I'm trying to figure out where to put my car, get my taxes filed early and deal with other strange logistical issues. Frankly, getting on the plane will be a great relief. If it's not done then, I guess I won't worry about it!
My Volunteer Africa team was just informed that we will now be supporting a second orphanage, this one mostly younger primary school-age children. I think this brings the total number of kids to about 100. I've got a huge pile of teaching aids and toothbrushses; just hope it all fits!
Departure date is December 1st. I hope to have one more pre-departure post out before I go
Friday, November 10, 2006
Volunteer Africa
What will I be doing in Africa, you ask? From December 4th - February 28th, I will be volunteering with Volunteer Africa at the Hisani and Watoto orphanages, both located just outside of Mwanza. Teaching is the primary duty; heaven help me that math is one of the most important subjects. It has been years since I touched algebra and/or geometry. I keep reminding myself that any little bit of help I can lend is better than none at all!
The month of March will be a travel month for me. I hope to go on a safari, go to Rwanda to see gorillas, head to Gombe to see the chimps, and I guess go where the day takes me.
April, May and part of June have me at the Open Arms Infant Home in Malawi helping to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS. After Malawi, I hope to travel a bit more in country there, and then go to Mozambique for a bit of exploring.
I plan to head home sometime in late June/early July!
The month of March will be a travel month for me. I hope to go on a safari, go to Rwanda to see gorillas, head to Gombe to see the chimps, and I guess go where the day takes me.
April, May and part of June have me at the Open Arms Infant Home in Malawi helping to care for children affected by HIV/AIDS. After Malawi, I hope to travel a bit more in country there, and then go to Mozambique for a bit of exploring.
I plan to head home sometime in late June/early July!
Home from Romania; preparing for Africa
My second trip to Romania was as fantastic as the first. My three weeks at the Failure-to-Thrive clinic in Tutova touched my mind, my heart, and my spirit. I remain even more dedicated to pursuing adoption in the next few years. I don't feel quite as sad upon my return home (as I did last year). Perhaps it's because Africa is looming in my near future. Each week now is a flurry of paperwork, banking, collecting teaching aids, and spending as much time with family and close friends as possible.
(Pictures: Lorna and Sylvia at the clinic; in Brasov town square)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)