Kigoma
Today started with breakfast at 7:30 like usual. Breakfast was pretty much the same although we have now been getting fresh squeezed guava juice every morning. It's amazing! After breakfast we went to Mr Sheyni's school AIC. Mr. Sheyni is the person who owns the hotel we stay in and pretty much everything else around Kigoma. He started a school which is very very nice compared to the other schools we visit. They have computers, chemistry labs, and fiction books to read. The classrooms are nicer than some of the American classrooms I've been in.
Although the school is nice, the kids are still in need. Many of them have sponsors which enable them to attend this school and some of them board here as well. Mr. Sheyni also sponsors several of the children. Last time we were here we provided shoes to older kids & this time we did the kindergarten classes. The distribution went well. Everyone seems to have gotten it down. I was a sizer again along with Jessica. Two little boys came through our lines with Obama belts on. We gave all the kids big sparkly rings as they came through....even the boys loved them! The teachers did too!
After we gave out the shoes we played with the little kids for awhile & I handed out more sunglasses. Laurie brought big red clown noses for the kids so they looked adorable with their noses & sunglasses on & they loved it. Apparently our group did too as they all hijacked the noses for a group photo!
We took a group photo w/ the kids & then asked if we could play w/ the older kids. A bunch of people played soccer, some people jumped rope & everyone handed out gifts. I handed out pop rocks & it was funny to see the kids figuring out what was going on but they loved it! Gil would take some to show them what would happen and then he tried to video them doing them. It was pretty funny. They kept lining up to get more.
The only bad part was that the kids threw the wrappers on the ground but thanks to Laurie they all got picked up! She had started going around w/ a bag putting the wrappers inside & all the kids thought she was giving away something so they ran over to her. She somehow managed to get them excited about running around the school picking up trash!
Once we were done playing we ate lunch in their dining hall. We had chicken & rice & an apple which I was pretty excited about. If I don't see another banana for awhile I'll be ok with that.
After lunch we said our goodbyes & headed to Hope of the Nations...our last school for this trip. This was a favorite from last time so I was excited to get back. It was the first day of school for the kids so they tried to sing for us but some had forgotten the words.
Last time we were here we did not give out shoes but this time we were able to. The kids loved them. I also handed out the rest of my sunglasses. Because this was the last school everyone was giving away a lot of stuff so the kids were very happy. One of the best things about this school is the staff. This school was started by an American couple who we got to meet last time. This time they had returned to America & left the school in the hands of Happiness. This school has a micro business program & teaches the mothers of the children how to make & sell things. Happiness started out as a mother coming to this program & is now the director so she has an amazing story. Her name also fits her because she smiles all the time! Not only is she now the director of the school but she also has 6 orphaned children living with her! She is truly an inspiration for everyone. We were also able to purchase things from the mothers & everyone really loved that. I bought several aprons, bags, necklaces & some really cool pants that Nora is making me wear in Vegas! She bought a dress so we'll be representing Kigoma at the shoe show! A little bit before we were getting ready to leave I ran back in the room where they were selling everything to see if I could find one more bag. I found one I loved & when I said I was going to buy it the lady yelled "yes" & pumped her fist. My $20 bag will feed her & her family for awhile so that is how much that money means to them.
After the distribution we went back to the hotel so everyone could get ready for dinner. Everyone that is except Katie & I. We went to buy books for one of the schools we visited last time & that our group had raised money for. Remind me to skip this part should the opportunity ever arise again! I won't go into all the details but lets just say buying that many school books in Kigoma is not an easy task. The book stall was tiny, it was super hot, we were in direct sun & we'd already had a long day. Next time I'm skipping out! But we did manage to get them so hooray for us!! That's the stall and Katie w/ the owner of the book shop below.
We went back to the hotel & met for dinner later. When I got to the pavillion the wait staff was there to greet me as usual but this time two of them said "what's up?" Somehow they knew that phrase but didn't know how to respond so I taught them to say "not much." they thought that was awesome. All night we kept saying to each other "what's up""not much". There was also an amazing sunset! Dinner was about the same as every other night but dessert was ice cream & fruit.
After dinner several of us stayed down at the table & sat around & talked. I learned two valuable lessons one, if you hold your iPad close to your face in Africa it gets a stronger connection per Amber (as shown below). Or maybe it's just Amber's face. Two, if you hold your car alarm up to your chin you get a longer range of service via Laurie. Yes these are the kinds of conversations you have when you are dead tired. They were super funny though and I don't think I have ever laughed so hard but clearly it's time to go to bed!
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