Saturday 11 Nov. 

Another interesting but difficult week.  Jenny fell ill on Monday night and went to the Hindu hospital in Mwanza, where she was diagnosed with having a strain of malaria, which she believes she picked up in Dar.  She also had a stomach upset and was violently sick.  Despite medication, she never quite recovered and made the very personal decision to fly home to the States.  She left on Thursday night. We all wish her a speedy recovery and will miss her greatly.  There is a chance she will return, and we certainly hope so, but her health comes first.

The rest of us have been trying to avoid illnesses and despite a few stomach upsets and the almost daily feeling of lethargy we have managed to stay fit.   

As for the kids, well classes continued this week.  We are all taking different standards and rotate them between morning and afternoon shifts, depending on the school timetable.  I had standard 3 in the afternoon this week - eight mostly rowdy boys and two quieter girls.  The boys do tend to dominate and are very competitive.  So when it comes to tests (wordsearches have been big this week), they either race ahead or moan that they don't understand, which comes from not wanting to do badly.  I'm still making it up as i go along.  But the more i plan the night before, the better.  I am still trying to find their level, but they vary so much within each standard.  One of my aims is to try and include the ones who are struggling, therefore staying behind after the hour's lesson to make sure everyone has understood.  They enjoy lessons but they also want lessons to finish early.  Incentives such as stickers and the new 'star student wall chart' will help. 

In the morning I had one kid, Elina, who i tried to do math(s) with and struggled.  We ended up reading stories and asking questions...  Winnie The Pooh has got me out of a hole this week and when Jenny gave me her Pooh stickers it was a nice reward for Elina on Friday.  She also knows the Tigger Song now, which i haven't had to use since i was 11.

We got the benches, they turned up on Sunday, after Church.  They were quickly painted Yellow, the only colour available it seems.   The issues of ex-volunteers coming back to stay at the compound has come up this week.  But there is also the possibility of some of the kids (probably the boys) coming to stay at the compound whilst a new dormitory is built.  Nothing imminent, but still a possibility, depending on the follow-up to the Government Inspection.  If it comes to it, us remaining 5 volunteers are prepared to adapt.. but this, and other issues, have raised a number of questions which we will deal with when Simon visits us next week.

Everything sounds really good out there! Glad you guys are having a good time! Are Rose and Nelson still at the orphanage? I heard they had been gone away for a while - do you know when they'll be coming back or why they went? Do you guys have any plans for christmas!?

Back in the UK, we're having the final proofs of the calendar drawn up so should get them ready very soon and sent out to the people that want them! If anyone else is interested, just give me an email sabinamorley@gmail.com

 Hope you guys out there continue to have a good time, send my love to the little ones!

 Sabina x

Missed an update last weekend, so here are my thoughts 5 weeks in. Lots has happened. Simon and Susie visited us last weekend and this was very useful. Too much info, but lots to work on.

Jenny decided not to return, after recovering and looking like she would. So we are five - Emily, Georgina and Leesa are into their last 2 weeks now. It has been difficult staying fit and well. But generally we are OK. It can be so tiring... especially when you have standard 0 and 1 like i have this week. Sabina, much love sent on.... had to read through some of the letters you sent to them... and of course, they got all the stickers/photos. Marie's letters recently arrived, too.

Building work on a new dormitory is going quickly. Problem is the classroom has been neglected for now... i am hating the rainy days when we have to teach in there because i don't think it is suitable for any child, wherever they are in the world. It is a building site, basically.

Starting from tomorrow we are taking all the kids (in batches of five) to the doctor for general check ups and HIV tests. Funding for this is to come from the current volunteers. We all feel it is paramount we begin some health records for each of them - something Jenny was involved in during her short time here. Georgina has also sorted out a proper, accessible first aid kit. And there other more serious medicines available from Grace if necessary. Communication, however, still is issue... but we having weekly meetings - which are good as long as we can keep them up.

On SUnday we are having a Mexican/Catholic led party with Tacos and Pinyata (i have probably spelt that wrong). I am doing an orienteering treasure hunt and we will have songs, games and a play, roughly based on the Nativity, performed by Standards 3 and 5! Should be fun.

Hope to post again after that.

Hi Phil, sounds like you guys have been beset with problems over the last few weeks, but you're coping with them admirably - an inspiration to us all!  I fly out to Dar on 7th January and am really looking forward to getting out there - reading your entries has been really helpful and I'm sure all of the things you are putting in place will be invaluable to my group of volunteers.

Keep up the good work!

Belinda x

Just a quick post to say we are doing the HIV tests as part of general medical checks right now.  Taking it in turns to take 5 kids at a time to the hospital. Thanks to Georgina who has led the way on this....

Update on the medical checks. All went well, with no follow-ups needed. i.e. all were negative.  Anita has recently had epilepsy diagnosed, and outgoing volunteer, Emily, has helped to consult with doctors on this and obtain the necessary treatment.  Robbie's cast has come off now, so he can walk and even run around now, having broken an ankle at the end of October.  Three of the kids (Castro, Crispin, Aneth) had a tooth removed when we took them to the dentist on Monday.  Some others have had pain, but it is nothing more than new teeth coming through, for which they can take paracetemol.  Great dentist at Hope Dental Centre by the way.

The new dormitory is rising quickly and the rains have relented a little just lately which helps. 

For all those interested, esp Aubree and Sabina.  Rose and Nelson came back to Hisani 2 days ago.  They have landed a place at the Peace Secondary School in Bakoba.  I have no other info at the moment.

The new volunteers, Lorna, Katiyln (Katy), Adrian (AD) are settling in, and myself and Tom have shown them around.  They are clearer about the standards and the expectations of what to teach - more so than when we started.  We have also increased the morning lesson to two hours, two subjects (9-11) although the kids' concentration is being tested by this.  Lorna seems to have brought a wealth of teaching resources with her, which is absolutely essential.  Note to anyone coming out here - resources go a long way to helping plan classes.  We haven't had enough up til now.

I have not quite recovered from my malaria which i picked up and was treated for last week..  It is basically the medication which has made me very drowsy, lethargic.  Hope to back to full fitness by this weekend. In the meantime, I am taking time out from the project.  It is better than i spend time away to regain my energy than to keeping getting sick.  So that I can function for the last few weeks.

 

Hi Guys

I'm sorry to hear you have had a few problems over your time there. Those of you that have fallen ill I wish you a strong and healthy recovery.

Thank you for these posts, they are so helpful. I leave Feb 17th for Dar and the more I can find out about the project the better.

How is the dormitory coming along? Are the children still living in the compound?

Best of luck,

Charli

Hi. A Christmas Update from Hisani.

I finally experienced Christmas in another country. Not much seemed to be different. A few places had lights, i could see a few families out enjoying themselves.. but a lot of shops were open and daladalas were running at just below normal capacity.

The kids had a good Christmas with party tunes - mostly Tom playing Air Guitar along to AC/DC and everyone singing along to 'Sweet Home Alabama'.  They each had a brightly-coloured goodie bag of stuff given to them. All this after going to church for the 3rd time in as many days.  On C/Day and Boxing Day they had nice food - inc chicken, beef and donuts. 

If Georgina is reading this, they performed your nativity play word-perfect, again, at a pre-Christmas Party in Gedelli. I have footage if you are interested. 

This weekend we are finally taking them back to Tunza beach and i think us vols will be there again on Sunday (New Years' Eve).

I am back at full strength after being ill twice.  Everyone else has either had slight malaria or a stomach upset of some kind.  We take precautions but there are just times when you get brought down by something innocent-looking.  Classes have been decimated at times by a lack of vols, but there has usually been at least two of us going in each day ('Team Wazungu' as A.D. Calls us).

Ok, gotta go and DOOM my ROOM. Hope to post once more before i leave next Saturday.

Hi Everyone

 I have just returned from the Hisani which was the BEST experience and the HARDEST experience of my life!

 Whilst I was at Hisani there was a lot of volunteers expressing concerns about where the money was going. If you see what the orphanage was like before Kids Aid Tanzania and Volunteer Africa got fully envolved you would be amazed at the transformation! Here is a link to the Kids Aid Tanzania website to see such pictures http://www.kidsaidtanzania.org.uk/id11.html

The Watoto orphanage is at the stage that Hisani was at in these photos so it will be awesome to see the transformation that takes place on the next year or so. Just a word of warning that the Watoto children cant speak english very well so start practicing your Swahili. The children at Hisani however are brilliant at english and to past volunteers you will be please to hear that the childrens reports came back with most of Hisani children being in the top half of the class with Johanes being no.1 in std 3 and most of the others were 20 or less which is fantastic considering that there is 80 to 130 in each class.

 Good luck to all the new vols going over and dont hesitate to contact me at leesacheree@gmail.com if you have any questions. Also we have 3 boys to send to secondary school next year so if there are any ideas for fundraising i will be more than happy to help.

Lees