We've had a fabulous couple of days. We set up a preschool for the little ones that follow us everywhere we go. The resource center was full of coloring books and crayons that no one seemed to be aware of so we set up different tables in the freshly painted room and introduced the kids to watercolor paints and coloring pencils and pastels. They kids sat at the tables and were absorbed for hours! Andrew and Matthew showed them how to put together k'nex and Tony introduced them to jigsaw puzzles. The puzzles were such a foreign concept to them. It was definitely a test of patience for him. Sarah and I were busy handing out fresh coloring pages....some of the kids finished at least 10 of them. I think it felt a bit like Christmas for them.
The day before Tony (our Team Leader) and I went to visit Stumai - the woman in the wheelchair at the edge of the village. We wheeled her into the shade and read her a few stories through Omari who translated for us. The best part was when one of the Masai men came over to listen to `Wwombat Stew'.
We managed to get into the school today and hand out all the wooden cars that Terry Shupe (a local volunteer) had made and donated to DWC. Together with our toothbrushes, I think we had enough treats for everyone in the school. Each class sang the anthem for us and one of them sang a version of `If you're happy and you know it.' We were the most surprised by the enthusiasm of the class that were given balloons and a pencil. Note to self.....next time pack more balloons. They are light, fun and easy to pack.
We're hoping to set up the preschool again tomorrow. The kids, mine included, love all the interaction. Andrew comes home filthy every afternoon from all of his flipping and frisbee games.
Time for dinner.
Cheers,
Karen Klassen
DWC Participant
Tanzania, November 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Nov 9: Fun times at the Elementary School
It’s Friday and we’re delighted to take the weekend off, just in time for a break because we thought it couldn’t get any hotter and today it was. It rained in the morning which helped the sauna like conditions today.
We went into the elementary school this morning and visited 2 of the classrooms. I gave them a tooth brushing demo which was quite fun. The classroom was an airless dreary concrete room and the sweat just dribbled down the back of our legs while I told the kids to pretend the toothbrush was a train and the teeth were the tracks. I sounded like a complete fool while I was imitating the sounds of a train riding the tracks.
The kids were quite taken by Matthew’s braces so I explained what the they were and why he had them. They had never seen anything quite like them before. Our Team Leader, Tony asked them how old they thought he was and they decided that he was probably 40! Tony was really delighted with that answer.
A couple of the girls showed us one of their clapping games and Sarah and I tried to demo a couple of clapping rhythms but I couldn’t keep up with the speed. Andrew has his own following and the local boys would like Andrew how to teach them to do back flips off the trees. While Matthew is king of Frisbee games with the kids.
My battery is down to 10 percent so I’ll sign off for now. Cheers!
Karen Klassen
DWC Participant
Tanzania, November 2012
We went into the elementary school this morning and visited 2 of the classrooms. I gave them a tooth brushing demo which was quite fun. The classroom was an airless dreary concrete room and the sweat just dribbled down the back of our legs while I told the kids to pretend the toothbrush was a train and the teeth were the tracks. I sounded like a complete fool while I was imitating the sounds of a train riding the tracks.
The kids were quite taken by Matthew’s braces so I explained what the they were and why he had them. They had never seen anything quite like them before. Our Team Leader, Tony asked them how old they thought he was and they decided that he was probably 40! Tony was really delighted with that answer.
A couple of the girls showed us one of their clapping games and Sarah and I tried to demo a couple of clapping rhythms but I couldn’t keep up with the speed. Andrew has his own following and the local boys would like Andrew how to teach them to do back flips off the trees. While Matthew is king of Frisbee games with the kids.
My battery is down to 10 percent so I’ll sign off for now. Cheers!
Karen Klassen
DWC Participant
Tanzania, November 2012
Nov 9: End of our first week
Today, being Friday, we are off to the school to meet with the students. We hope to be able to distribute the tooth paste and brushes we brought with us. Sarah has volunteered to act as a demonstrator. Rob and Matthew have been the carpenters of the group applying mozzie screens to windows of the computer area.
The idea is to get some of the adults to come in at night as well for a demonstration on hygiene. But, with the lights on so come the bugs which may discourage some from attending the sessions that are planned for them.
Seems as though the Massi herdsmen are planning to get new grass for their animals and have been actively burning areas around Kisampa (our camp/accommodations) much to the owner Richard's disgust. Kisampa is a conservation area and as such they should not even been on the property with their cows. He chased one herd off by firing his revolver into the air the other day! Anyway it looks like the Massi may get their wish of new grass as we awoke to rain this morning.
Tony Dufficy
DWC Team Leader
Tanzania, November 2012
The idea is to get some of the adults to come in at night as well for a demonstration on hygiene. But, with the lights on so come the bugs which may discourage some from attending the sessions that are planned for them.
Seems as though the Massi herdsmen are planning to get new grass for their animals and have been actively burning areas around Kisampa (our camp/accommodations) much to the owner Richard's disgust. Kisampa is a conservation area and as such they should not even been on the property with their cows. He chased one herd off by firing his revolver into the air the other day! Anyway it looks like the Massi may get their wish of new grass as we awoke to rain this morning.
Tony Dufficy
DWC Team Leader
Tanzania, November 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
November 7: "TIA" - this is Africa!
Today is hot, smoking hot. I didn't think that we could smell worse today than we did yesterday, but alas it is true. We all smell equally ghastly. It's no wonder we don't see any animals. We're chasing them away with our foul odor. It's fantastic. They only come out at night to make noise while we lie under our mosquito nets and I wonder if they will come in to eat us. For all of my telling our daughter Sarah that all would be well, I'm the one a bit freaked out by the lack of walls in our banda. Sarah has chased me out of my bed and sleeps beside her dad, Rod and I lie sleep in my own bed a few feet away. On occasion, when the bush babies wake me at night, I ponder crawling into bed with the two of them. Our sons are in their own bandas and are loving the adventure of having it all to themselves. They woke this morning to find blue monkeys sipping out of the water dish set out to water the birds just a few feet away from their beds.
We've adopted the acronym `TIA' - This is Africa - for anything that seems foreign or backwards to us. We set out to paint the resource center and library but were instructed not to use the new rollers that we brought, so we painted the entire thing with brushes. This is incredibly difficult for our son Matthew who is very logic smart. He has a more efficient way to do anything and is almost going mad doing it the African way. My motto has always been, 'when in doubt or extremely frustrated, just laugh.' There is much laughing that goes on daily!
The children in the village are very taken with us and it's hard to describe what it's like to have them run up and grab our hands to walk along side us. Sometimes, I have to divide my hand up into 5 fingers and each child gets one. I get a bit annoyed when they hit each other to try to get as close as they can to us, but they are adorable and I want to put them each into my pocket and take them home with me. Although, one small child must not have seen a white face before because I scared her into the arms of her mother, shrieking in horror.
Andrew's face is covered with dust and his cheeks are super rosy. He's been teaching the boys in the village to do flips off the trees. They follow him around and cheer him on.
We're all still working off our jet lag. Sarah has missed dessert for 2 nights in a row because she keeps falling asleep at the table. Something, I have never seen happen before! We're getting a ridiculous amount of sleep at night and it feels glorious.
Karen Klassen
DWC Participant
Tanzania, November 2012
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