The rains have come

The rains have arrived early, much needed because the dust is everywhere, the ground is rock solid and the crops were fading. Now I see the kids in tights, long trousers, hats-just like autumn in the UK except that it isn't cold just very wet. It doesn't rain all day but when it does it's like a waterfall. We have deep rain gullies by the side of the roads but the side roads are not tarmacked leading to mud everywhere. Not nice being on the dalla dallas with mud on the floor and everyone steaming, fortunately my complex has gravel so no mud in the house.
Rehema came to my house to learn mzungu cooking, 5 hours later we had made pancakes 2 ways, biscuits, banana bread, burgers, meat balls, spaghetti sauce, bean burgers and fish cakes. the pic shows her proudly showing off her endeavours
Met a lovely lady at the centre. Marie is divorced, her 2 kids live with their grandmother because she cannot afford to have them with her. She has nothing, knocked on some doors, found a nice lady who offered her a place to sleep for a few days and told about the walk in love centre. She came to see if we could help her. Initially discussed a loan to pay the 3 months rent up front to rent her own place then discussed a business. She thinks that she could sell second hand clothes but doesn't have the capital to buy any, she has no furniture but said that she could put cardboard on the floor to sleep on. Lucy and Aubree made some calls, Rehema knows the lady who was kind enough to offer her a place to stay for a few days, end result is that she can stay with this lady for longer at a rent of 10,000 shillings per month-£4, Walk in Love will pay this for the first month, clothes have been scrounged for her to start a business. She didn't come looking for a hand out just a hand to help her get up from where she is. What a lady, we could learn a lot from her. There may be more news in the next blog about her. Watch this space.
Bravon and the 2 Joshuas started school this week. It's an early start for them, 2 dalla dallas and a 20 minute walk to get them there but it's worth it. I went to pick them up and they were chatting the whole way back to the centre. They only go in the mornings as they are in the lower classes. The school is great and may well be the school of choice for all sponsored children at the centre. It's a great way for them to start their education
Mo is back to his pre illness weight, still small for his age so he's being given extras, this is obviously working as he has gained, I'd like to see him gain a couple of kilos but, as they say here, pole pole-slowly slowly.
Biscuit day to day courtesy of my kitchen tried to persuade the twins to give me bite of theirs but they were having none of it, laughed and hid them. One put it under her arm, the other laughed and turned away. Oh well, helps me keep to my diet.
Retirement is anything but boring, should have done it years ago but I was too young.
Wonder what the next week will bring? What ever it is you will read about it here
Thanks for taking the time to read dolly's drival, I do appreciate it.

hey ho it's NOT off to work I go

Hey Ho it’s NOT off to work I go

My visa has still not come through which means I can not, officially, work. If immigration check and discover that I do not have the right visa then it’s a fine for me and another for Walk in Love-$600 each, just not worth it. I still go to the centre daily but am extra vigilant when the gates open BUT, on the upside I am now a pensioner WITH a pension. It was paid almost a month late but at last I’m getting and spending it.

Weighed the kids again this week, no problems I just wish that Joeli would grow, now that the rains have come maybe I should plant him next to my tomato plants, they are thriving. Despite good, nutritious food, the little man is still in single figures-in kilos that is, he’s an active, cheeky chap, just doesn’t grow!

New walk in lover, Mary’s mum does laundry for local people, she was leaving Mary home alone so that she could work. Mary’s not too happy about it, I met them at the chapatti stand and, whilst she was happy to hold my hand all the way to the centre, when it came to going in, she was having none of it and ran past. She settles down after a few minutes of protest crying and loves playing with the other kids. The old hands-Ramson, Adriana and Amina are really good to her bringing her toys, jabbering away in swahili and holding her hand

Word seems to be getting around and we are having women, almost daily, asking for help. Some seem to see the centre as a place where they can get their kids into a good school-most of the kids are sponsored, when they are ready for school this money then transfers to school fees. This is not what we are about. The centre provides day care to enable to the women to work and thus provide for their children. We have made 2 small loans to women to start up businesses, 1 to sell cooked maize, the other to sell vegetables. They are given 2 months grace then have to start repaying the loan, which is interest free. Micro finance has proven to be extremely successful world wide, the amounts loaned are, initially, quite small-£5-£25, this is enough to start up a small business. Once the woman has proved that the business is successful, that she can repay the loan, then she could ask for more to pay, for example, school fees.

 Marie is a divorced mum who walked away from the marriage with nothing. the kids live with her mum, she was renting a room from a local lady who expected her to clean, care for her children and sell her vegetables all day leaving little time for Marie to try to sell her clothing, despite having received 1 months rent from Walk in Love. After some discussion Marie has moved into my spare room in exchange for keeping the house clean and teaching me how to cook Tanzanian food-good exchange of work as I hate cleaning!. When she starts to earn money from her clothing business she will contribute towards food. The arrangement is until the end of March, in that time she should be able to save the money needed for the deposit on her own place. It will be an interesting experience as she has never used an electric cooker before, although she can speak some English, a fact she kept well hidden when interviewed by Lucy and Neema the new social worker. Lucy, will make an appeal for house hold items for her as she, literally, has nothing. Marie, you are welcome to share my house and I am glad that I can do this small thing to help you re-establish your life.

Marie receives her key, Juma is one happy baby and is starting to crawl, balloon fun on a rainy day

 More on Marie next time, until then, thanks for reading dollys drival

 

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