Busy Times

First we weighed and measured all of the kids at the centre, 4 are cause for concern, 3 of them will gain weight with the good food which they are getting plus we have added peanut butter sandwiches for them to take home, 1 is very underweight and suspected to have anaemia so I took him for a blood test which he certainly didn’t like and his hb is in his boots. Doctor prescribed an iron supplement, fortunately he likes this, and a deworming medication which he hated, we are giving him green veg and extra portions but his little stomach is so small that he gets full very quickly. We will retest in April and weigh him fortnightly. I made peanut biscuits and he loved those, this means baking a batch very week, if this is what it takes to get this little chap healthy, then Sunday is baking day.
Went to visit a potential school for 2 of the Walk in Love boys, very similar to a UK primary school except that it is fee paying, start up costs are high-uniform, admin etc but it may be affordable. They would have to go by dalla dalla every day but this is doable. They need to go to school and the local government ones will not meet their needs.
Finally we went to see Helena who I first cared for at Cradle of Love in Usa River, she has grown so much, looks healthy and happy. She lives with her grandmother, father is close by with his other children, neither have jobs except for unskilled work when they can get it. Aubree, the founder of WiL, is looking at training bibi in tailoring so that she can earn a living, Helena is sponsored so she will be able to go to school so, all in all, the future is bright for this family.
I’m still doing Benny’s dressings every day, he is a friend’s guard who was on a motorcycle taxi when it was hit by a car. 2 weeks in hospital, surgery to put a screw into his big toe to stabilise it and a huge wound from below his knee to his ankle. The dressings are expensive and if he had to pay for some-one to do it then he would be in debt for years to come. Fortunately his employer is paying for the dressings and I’m teaching his sister how to do them just in case I can’t get there one day. The new skin which is coming through is pink so I told him that his leg is mzungu and the rest of him is Tanzanian, he saw the humour but one of his sisters thought that I was serious! He now jokes about his mzungu leg.
All in all it’s pretty busy here in Tanzania, I am fortunate that I have good health, can choose to live where I want to. Life is good.

First week of 2014

The first week of the new year has flown by, I am officially retired after 36 years in the National Health Service. I started on 01/01/1978, boy is that a lifetime away but it doesn’t seem it, and ended on 05/01/2014, although my last actual shift was way before then. The NHS has given me full employment and then some, thank you. I met some of my best friends through the organisation and had many laughs along the way. Thank you NHS.Now I look forward to receiving the pension for many years to come.

Walk in Love opened it’s doors again this week, spent the first day cleaning out cupboards, moving furniture and getting rid of 2 weeks of dust. Welcomed 3 new co-volunteers 2 Lucys and Brianna and also our loyal leader back from the Serengeti. Here’s to a great year, hopefully WiL will go from strength to strength, there’s still much work to be done.

On Friday I went out to Karatu with Rehema the manager of WiL, apart from the centre WiL also has some outreach programmes, it is supporting Mama Teddy and her 2 young daughters to stay in their home, providing food, money for rent and school whilst encouraging Mama Teddy to earn her own living by cooking and selling food to the local area. 2.5 hours on a minibus and a walk through the back streets of Karatu bought us to Mama Teddy’s 2 roomed home made of local bricks. The house was clean but sparsely furnished, the girls looked well and happy. We took a water filter-essential for basic good health and the girl’s xmas backpacks, we then went shopping to get dry goods, fruit,veg and charcoal. The girls loved being bought home in the wheelbarrow almost as much as they loved the backpacks. A tough journey to get there but well worth it. Teddy will start school on Monday and Irene very shortly afterwards as it closed at mid day so we couldn’t enrol her. Aubree, the founder of WiL, has secured sponsorship for this family, the money is being well spent.

Hopefully, in the next few months, I will be able to visit more outreach projects, until then I will work at the centre, enjoy my garden and my retirement. Today I have chillies to pick, they are ripening and I don’t want the bugs to eat them.

The pics show the family with their gifts, the dry goods and Teddy sitting at, what will be, her desk at Armani school, the girls being wheeled home with the shopping

 

It's been a funny old year

It’s been a funny old year

2013 was always going to be my last full year of paid employment. I am fortunate enough to have a 1978 contract which allows me to retire at the age of 55, and from my late 30’s this was always the plan. I have been lucky enough to work with some great people in the various hospitals over the years and I loved most of it. But, after almost 36 years, it has come to an end.
There have been some great highs and some lows this year but overall, personally, it wasn’t so bad. O.K I got sick a couple of times but that was nothing in comparison to what friends have been through. I am lucky to have been born into a country where healthcare is free at the point of need
One of the great highs was seeing my daughter graduate for the 3^rd time and start her career as a doctor, where will it take her, who knows? My only wish for her is that she is happy in her life and in her chosen career, that she has a £/$/€ more coming in than going out and that she continues to like my banana bread. Spending time with friends is also very special, now that I am 700 miles away from some of them, the memories are oh so precious.
November 20^th I left Lancashire to start a new life in Tanzania, what will 2014 bring? Hopefully good health, new interests, learn new skills-one should be Swahili, meet new people and experience whatever life throws at me, oh and fewer power cuts would be nice.
As I look back over the past year I remember people who are no longer with us, each one special in their own way. I hope that their families can look back with pride and love. So here’s to 2014, hope it’s a great year for everyone both personally and globally     
The pics show that I do actually have something which is pink, most people know that I have aversion to this colour, OK it's only an egg tray and I keep it in the store room but it is pink
The 2nd pic is my daughter's graduation day with her 'mini' present, Why? Because she is totally worth it, the final pic is me saying Cheers and Happy 2014 xx     

                                                                                                                                         

No apologies

I make no apologies for reblogging about a very special little girl who was so tragically taken from us on Sunday.
This is difficult to write but I feel that it has to be shared.
Today we laid her to rest.
The funeral started at her home, the one she shared with her foster mum and 2 foster siblings, Musa looked very bewildered and Vivi didn't really know what was going on. A collection was then made to help with the funeral costs.
 After much singing, Rahma was bought into the room, after prayers the top 1/4 of the casket was opened to reveal her face, people were invited to walk around the casket to pay their last respects. I found the opening of the casket the most harrowing experience, seeing that little one in a place where she should not have been. She had been dressed in white cloth with small cotton roses around her neckline. Strangely, people took photographs of her, apparently this is quite normal. we then went to the burial ground where, after more prayers and Rahma being laid to rest. I was given the honour by Batilda, her mother, of placing a flower on the grave on behalf of all volunteers past and present. This I did on their behalf as I know that there are many people scattered over the globe who have their own special memories of Rahma. I also gave Batilda a card signed by me and mentioning that many people have sent their best wishes via the social media
I returned to Rahma's home in the back of a truck where we sat and spoke of our memories of her.
It was a difficult day but one that I had to go through, never in my wildest dreams did I think that the start of my retirement would be like this.
I hope that Batilda, her family and those close to her can look back with pride knowing that, as short as Rahma's life was, it was filled with love
Sleep well sweet one xx

For Rahma

On Sunday 22nd of December a little girl lost her life to a motor cycle taxi driver. Road traffic accidents are a common occurrence here, life is hard and everyone is trying to make money where they can-drive just that little bit quicker to earn a few more shillings, overtake any which way. But at what cost? Was it really worth a few shillings to put a child's life at risk and actually end it? Accidents do happen but was this one avoidable.
A family and community,here in Tanzania and worldwide because Rahma came into the lives of so many volunteers who will each have their memories of her, are in mourning. Her mum Batilda, her brother Musa and sister Vivi, none related by blood but a family in the true sense of the word-they love and care for each other, are in pain, I hope that they know how many people share that pain and are thinking of them
Rahma you were the sweetest child, you had an infectious laugh and your love for life shone out of you. Rest in peace sweet one

A month has gone by

A month has gone by

I’ve now been in Tanzania a month, it’s flown by, and I feel that I have achieved quite a lot-found and settled into a house, still things to sort out but it’s going well, found out that I have a guava tree and a chilli plant in my garden, thanks Collins, have made a trade off with one of the workers at the centre, she will show me the best places to shop, I’ll teach her how to bake cakes and biscuits. Met some amazing women who are working their socks off to improve their lives, one collects and sells discarded plastic bottles for a few shillings, they are dropped off at the centre and she walks 45 minutes home with several hundred bottles on her head, another took her 2 nieces out of an orphanage at the age of 12 months when most would leave them there until they are 2, she catches 2 mini busses with one strapped to the front, the other to the back of her so that she can work as a tailor at the centre, she also has 2 of her own children and her husband has left her. Each woman has a story to tell as do the mamas of the children whom the centre provides free day care for, without it they would struggle to work

Friday was party time at the centre, all kids received a special meal, pressie thanks to online donations plus an outfit of donated second hand clothes. Each family received a water filter which is produced locally and provides clean drinking water for up to 5 years-again supplied by online donations, what greater gift than to provide clean water for families thus massively reducing ill health. I use the same filter without any problem, the cost is way above the reach of most local families but is very much needed.
So, 2 weeks off before I start work, by then I’ll be retired and my much needed visa will be being processed.
Have a peaceful time over the holidays and continue reading in 2014
Much love to all
pics show mama juma and family with their water filter mama mayassa, a fantastic jewellery maker, with hers, Aubree's boys in their school clothes from Aldi, Great Harwood  and baby juma with his moustache, thanks Scott

 

 

the first mangoes, lots of rain and a bank doing good for once

The first mangoes have fallen from the tree, not ripe so they are sitting patiently on the window sill waiting for the sun to appear, which it does occasionally. We seem to have entered the rainy season, most days it rains+++ then the sun comes out but today it rained on and off all day. I'm so grateful to be in my house rather than the lodge, as nice at it was it was not the sort of place to spend a rainy day in.
Spent a couple of days at the centre, the kids are getting used to seeing a strange lady appearing and some of them will actually come up to me without prompting. The tailors continue to do a fantastic job and I've asked one of them to make me a computer case in the new year.
Santander has actually turned up trumps and refunded the ££ I didn't get from an atm 12 days ago, they didn't refund the charges but at least I haven't had to wait 45 working days which was their initial estimate
Here are some pics of the house and my four lonely, unripe mangoes