Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Rest and relaxation on lake Milawi
Hi All,
Above shot is actually in Zanzibar - but currently in Milawi. We've camped in two locations and have been able to rest and explore on some of the most rediculously idyllic beaches. The weather's been so hot you can't walk bare footed and the Milawi gin is delicious. I've done some walking and swimming etc, and climbed for 6 hours in 40 degrees to see a waterfall and explore remote village living. I've also been enjoying the fresh mango's which have been falling from the trees (and taste mild and honey like). A few of us went to Church on Sunday - what a wonderful experience to see Christianity bind people all over the world, and work across such different cultures (photos below). A lovely girl called Nat took all the photos attached - my camera is seriously not up to scratch.
But before you get angry with how relaxed and sunned I've been - it's not all been perfect....
A few days ago myself and three others (Sarah, Nats and Tosh) decided to go on a bit of an adventure to find a friend of a friend's tea plantation (where I am currently). We set off at 6pm and arrived just before sunrise the next day after a very crowded bus, a number of police stops, a flooded bridge, a walk in the dark across a wooden plank to a second bus, a short sleep on the road waiting for the second bus (sorry ma - this bit really upsets her, but I had been so ill, and the others did watch over me - particularly Tosh who's been a husband to all of us whilst travelling remotely) and general illness for the entire journey. But we met a lovely lady, I'm calling angel 'Angelina' who insisted I put myhead on her lap to sleep (the seats were impossibe and I was feeling so ill), so after a chuckle to myself, I rested my head on her lap and slept for a fair chunk on the jounrey. I have her address, so will write to thank her for looking after me.
The tea plantation is 4.5thousant hectors - and houses 2 schools, a dispencery, a social club, and a small village for 30% of the workers etc. It also grows macadamian nuts - which I ate far far far too many of whilst being shown round the factory (delicious).
We had tea, cakes and Milawi gin with Tom's (the chap we were visiting) grandparents. His grandfather founded the plantation - it was the first tea plantation in Milawi. He was also one of 4 ex-colonials to be invited into the new government post independence, and is still on the board of 30 companies (at the age of 80). Amazing day - and on a less profound level - what a luxury to have a night in a bed.
Crossing the Mozambique border tomorrow morning - setting off at 4am (ish) to join the other travellers which we're meeting on the other side. Tom is joining our travels so all very excited for the next leg (and desperately looking forward to Harare).
Much love x
Sunday, 16 January 2011
Friday, 14 January 2011
Serengetti and the crater
We also saw some lions nose to nose (ooow - just managed to upload - see below). Seriously exciting being so close. The leopard was also super cool, hanging from the tree above this shot was a disembodied head of a gazel staring down at us.
Stone Town - Zanzibar
I'm in the Stone Town - stunning labyrinth like, narrow streets, carved wooden doors and white washed buildings. Very easy to wander round a few corners and wind up lost (or just 'exploring' for longer than you'd planned). Will try to upload some photos - but connections are super slow and have taken lots on someone I've met's camera.
Last night I went to a night fish market where all the fish (Marlin, king fish, shark fin,tuna, lobster, scallop, prawn, etc) cooked in front of you - with garlic/ coconut naan's and chapattis (sp?), falaffel and samosas - all served with salad and chili sauce. I ate until I was stuffed for $3USD (approx).Again I have amazing photos on friends camera - will upload connection permitting.
I also explored the old slave market site and sat in the underground chamber where they waited before being sold. It's was too shallow to stand and people would die of suffocation there. Zanzibar was the slave trade hub for the East of Africa until 1873 (when Livingstone was successful in shutting it down). Now a Christian Church stands on the site - and the high alter is where the whipping post was. Very moving. Am finding this trip has really inspired my faith.
Today I'm heading up to the north of the island for a 'half' full moon party - and some relaxation. The camping is getting pretty wearing - so a good shower and a proper room for a few nights will be amazing.
A few nights ago I upgraded with a friend to a little shack on a beach near Dar and swam in the Indian ocean - it was honestly warmer than any shower I've had since I've been away.
sorry for long one again.....
x
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Tuesday, 11 January 2011
Texts from Africa
Hi all! This is Andrew (Annabel's brother) - she's asked me to relay some texts to the blog, so here goes...
9th Jan
First night camping, rained. Had to pack a day pack for the next 2 nights. Going to the crater now & Serengeti tomorrow. Can't load photos for a while. Everyone on the trip is brilliant.
10th Jan
Literally just sat a metre from a young lion pride. Breath taking. There are no words for it. Up at 4:30am camping in Serengeti tonight. Amazing. Very wet. Amazing. X
11th Jan
Coming out of the wilderness. Serengeti and crater - the most amazing experience. Saw all the big 5 almost nose to nose. Spectacular, amazing rush. Scared to go to the loo in the night tho. Everyone with me are very cool. Lots of storms and mud and not washed in a long while. Loving it. x
Thursday, 6 January 2011
In Nairobi Central
Hi All,
I'm in a silly plush hotel for the next 2 nights before I start camping.... Going to explore Nairobi tomorrow. Very excited. Also think I'll treat myself to my first beer of 2011 tonight. There are full length mirrors here, I hadn't realised but I hadn't seen my reflection for days....
I am struggling to reaclimatise myself having left the orphanage. I think I've picked up a Kenyan accent/ intonation. I say 'ayyy' a lot when something bad happens - i.e. bad driving. I've also started saying 'Wow' a lot (they say it in such a nice way for when something is really good), and the following phrases: 'Won't you take [supper/ food/ tea]?', 'I want all that is good for you' and lots of 'God bless you'/ 'god be with you'.
All my love and 'God Bless'
x
I'm in a silly plush hotel for the next 2 nights before I start camping.... Going to explore Nairobi tomorrow. Very excited. Also think I'll treat myself to my first beer of 2011 tonight. There are full length mirrors here, I hadn't realised but I hadn't seen my reflection for days....
I am struggling to reaclimatise myself having left the orphanage. I think I've picked up a Kenyan accent/ intonation. I say 'ayyy' a lot when something bad happens - i.e. bad driving. I've also started saying 'Wow' a lot (they say it in such a nice way for when something is really good), and the following phrases: 'Won't you take [supper/ food/ tea]?', 'I want all that is good for you' and lots of 'God bless you'/ 'god be with you'.
All my love and 'God Bless'
x
The girls at Kenya Children's Centre
Hi All - just copied in the email I sent round 4th Jan for those who didn't get the email..... I will attach photos somewhere asap. Not worked out if I can share on blog. But will scatter across facebook, email etc I'm sure.
****Observations from ‘Kenya Children Centres’ (Thika)***
There are 30 girls ranging from 3 to 19years….. despite it’s name, it is a relatively small children’s home set up by Alice (who is currently a social worker in the UK but comes from Thika).
Back to schoolFor most of the girls it is the first day back to school. On a school day they get up at 4am to catch the bus…. And return by 6pm (although some earlier).
So - last night was the usual ‘back to school’ activity; plating each other’s hair (which is a school requirement and all the girls are expert at doing for each other), mending shoes and sorting school
books etc.
I was really taken by how sensible they are - the girls had each been saving money over some time, and were asked to decide how to spend it in a way that would benefit everyone. Rather than choose to go out for
the day, swimming etc, they spent the bulk of the money on an iron. The girls don't have an iron and wanted to be smart for school. The remainder was split between vegetable seedlings for their garden (to save on market expenses) and a lollipop and a small bottle of ‘soda’ each.
There is a huge amount of respect for each other and for oneself here. It feels like a very happy, optimistic place to be. The girls all work so hard at school, there is a lot of emphasis placed on school achievement, with several aiming for university. [Addition from email: last night they were working on their homework until I went to bed at 10.30pm and they get up at 4am... nuts]
Cooking and busy dayOn a typical holiday day (which I’m glad I’ve been here for, for the most part) the girls will get up at 6.30 – 7am, and wash, do cleaning duties and have breakfast before 9am. I’ve been struck by how hard working all the girls are. As well as their holiday cleaning tasks and hand washing their clothes, they also take it in turns to cook the meals (which is an enormous undertaking for 30 plus people), serve the food and clean up afterwards. They also clean their room everyday, and I’ve learnt to make my bed everyday (let’s see how long that lasts in England)….
I get up at 6.30 – and butter the bread for breakfast (with a spoon – which is the preferred approach here). I’ve also tried to help cook most of the meals - which I’m loving. Most of the cooking is done on a gas ‘camping’ stove, but to save on gas some things are cooked outside on a fire (which the girls think makes the food taste ‘sweeter’). I’ve been taught to cook chapatti; last night was my third time. Some ladies from the nearby church cooked for us on Saturday and showed me a quicker way of doing it which I tried last night, but even so it still took us 3 hours from making the dough to the finished product. I couldn’t eat all mine last night, so saved one for breakfast – delicious…. My favourite meal is green gram (small green beans in a
stew – yum).
Typically the girls have a really healthy, low fat, vegetarian diet (although do eat meat once a week or so). I can’t say I’m missing meat at all. Again, I wonder if I’ll carry this on. And they put PPU to shame with the no snacking. Similarly, I haven’t even noticed not drinking alcohol – except for last night when I wondered what it would be like to have a cold glass of white wine with my chapatti.
Love for one anotherThe most striking thing for me is the tremendous love the girls have for one another, and the levels of support and help they offer. Each older girl is responsible for one of the younger one’s (and they often share a room with them). This involves washing and dressing them, washing their clothes and generally looking out for them. This is all done in abundance and more. The older girls give out lots and lots of cuddles to all of the younger girls, watch out for their safety, plan games to involve and entertain them etc. These girls mother each other in a way I’ve never seen amongst other children. There have recently been a number of new, younger girls (pre school age). I was interested in how the established girls felt about new ones joining them – and spoke to a number of them about this. They all said the same that they loved having the little girls because they brought joy (and they really do – they laugh so much). Not one mentioned the additional work it required. The girls are also hoping to receive more new girls when rooms and beds are ready.
New Years EveThis year was apparently the ‘best ever’, I’m not sure it had so much to do with me being there as it did the amount of sugary things we consumed….
We played balloon games, blew party horns/ blowers, sang, danced, painted our nails (great idea Ma/Kat to take nail stuff – although they want more pinks and purples and glitter is the key). The little girls had half their celebration before they went to bed, and half in the morning. After midnight the bigger girls poured out the ‘soda’ and said a prayer for the new year (and for Alice – the founder). A new year is a deeply religious event here – many of the churches stayed open all night, and on NY’s day the girls went to a church
service (and again on Sunday which I joined them for).
Fun things we’ve doneAside from NYE we have been playing lots of Rounders in the afternoon (they love the game itself). For a very harmonious group, this game brings out a fantastic level of competition– which is great but… my
whistle has been really invaluable. The girls are much better at Rounders than I am at Referreeing it – I’m sure I’ve accidentally made a few new rules up. At the end of the game I’ve taught them to shake
the hands of the opposition, and say “good game” which they think is brilliant.
We’ve done loads of craft; sewed fabric dolls (with dungarees and jackets), made felt flowers, and loo-roll flower wall hangings (which look much nicer than they sound), made puppets and done general
colouring in. We have also had a few nail painting sessions – although it’s all had to come off for school. There is a need for more craft bits and pieces, scissors, pencil sharpeners, paper, needles, cotton,
buttons etc….
I’ve taught them ‘Bear Hunt’ – with the actions etc. They sing it quite a lot. They also prefer to do it without the supporting DVD so they can sing it really fast – which is fantastic. I have had to explain what snow is a number of times (it features in the song)…. They want to know how we don’t 'perish' [a word they use a lot] when it’s that cold. In turn they’re trying to teach me their favourite song ‘Oh Lord I want to be like you’ (which I can hear playing in the background as I type). So far I haven’t managed to learn much more than the chorus (which is just the title of the song x4). There’s some Kikuyu in it, which has slowed me down a bit. They are trying to teach me to speak some of this – and bizarrely you can follow some of their conversations because there are often English words naturally dropped in – and it’s usual to swing between English and Kikuyu in one sentence.
We’ve also been to church, gone for walks and done a huge amount of talking and singing (they know all the Christmas songs, so I’ve been signing them with the really little ones)….
More help is always neededAll in all – I’m loving my time here – I do really want to come back – and I’d encourage anyone to come and visit this amazingly unique group of girls and young women.
Most of the girls have sponsors but the costs are high; with many going to private schools (which for a good education over here is the norm with over 80% of children paying fees), and some hoping to go to
university. There are also lots of things that could benefit the girls, more craft and sport equipment (they haven’t much of either), books (the girls don’t get novels/ reading books), enough chairs for them all to sit on, more knives to speed up cooking, fruit seedlings etc.
I have an interesting idea of how to raise some money which I hope you’ll all like, and will be organising when I’m back. If you’d like to send the girls anything (parcels etc) or to give a donation in the mean time then you can visit the website for more details – http://www.kenyachildrencentres.com/ – you can also subscribe to their newsletter.
Loads of love xxx
Ps – sorry it’s been so long, next updates won’t be.
****Observations from ‘Kenya Children Centres’ (Thika)***
There are 30 girls ranging from 3 to 19years….. despite it’s name, it is a relatively small children’s home set up by Alice (who is currently a social worker in the UK but comes from Thika).
Back to schoolFor most of the girls it is the first day back to school. On a school day they get up at 4am to catch the bus…. And return by 6pm (although some earlier).
So - last night was the usual ‘back to school’ activity; plating each other’s hair (which is a school requirement and all the girls are expert at doing for each other), mending shoes and sorting school
books etc.
I was really taken by how sensible they are - the girls had each been saving money over some time, and were asked to decide how to spend it in a way that would benefit everyone. Rather than choose to go out for
the day, swimming etc, they spent the bulk of the money on an iron. The girls don't have an iron and wanted to be smart for school. The remainder was split between vegetable seedlings for their garden (to save on market expenses) and a lollipop and a small bottle of ‘soda’ each.
There is a huge amount of respect for each other and for oneself here. It feels like a very happy, optimistic place to be. The girls all work so hard at school, there is a lot of emphasis placed on school achievement, with several aiming for university. [Addition from email: last night they were working on their homework until I went to bed at 10.30pm and they get up at 4am... nuts]
Cooking and busy dayOn a typical holiday day (which I’m glad I’ve been here for, for the most part) the girls will get up at 6.30 – 7am, and wash, do cleaning duties and have breakfast before 9am. I’ve been struck by how hard working all the girls are. As well as their holiday cleaning tasks and hand washing their clothes, they also take it in turns to cook the meals (which is an enormous undertaking for 30 plus people), serve the food and clean up afterwards. They also clean their room everyday, and I’ve learnt to make my bed everyday (let’s see how long that lasts in England)….
I get up at 6.30 – and butter the bread for breakfast (with a spoon – which is the preferred approach here). I’ve also tried to help cook most of the meals - which I’m loving. Most of the cooking is done on a gas ‘camping’ stove, but to save on gas some things are cooked outside on a fire (which the girls think makes the food taste ‘sweeter’). I’ve been taught to cook chapatti; last night was my third time. Some ladies from the nearby church cooked for us on Saturday and showed me a quicker way of doing it which I tried last night, but even so it still took us 3 hours from making the dough to the finished product. I couldn’t eat all mine last night, so saved one for breakfast – delicious…. My favourite meal is green gram (small green beans in a
stew – yum).
Typically the girls have a really healthy, low fat, vegetarian diet (although do eat meat once a week or so). I can’t say I’m missing meat at all. Again, I wonder if I’ll carry this on. And they put PPU to shame with the no snacking. Similarly, I haven’t even noticed not drinking alcohol – except for last night when I wondered what it would be like to have a cold glass of white wine with my chapatti.
Love for one anotherThe most striking thing for me is the tremendous love the girls have for one another, and the levels of support and help they offer. Each older girl is responsible for one of the younger one’s (and they often share a room with them). This involves washing and dressing them, washing their clothes and generally looking out for them. This is all done in abundance and more. The older girls give out lots and lots of cuddles to all of the younger girls, watch out for their safety, plan games to involve and entertain them etc. These girls mother each other in a way I’ve never seen amongst other children. There have recently been a number of new, younger girls (pre school age). I was interested in how the established girls felt about new ones joining them – and spoke to a number of them about this. They all said the same that they loved having the little girls because they brought joy (and they really do – they laugh so much). Not one mentioned the additional work it required. The girls are also hoping to receive more new girls when rooms and beds are ready.
New Years EveThis year was apparently the ‘best ever’, I’m not sure it had so much to do with me being there as it did the amount of sugary things we consumed….
We played balloon games, blew party horns/ blowers, sang, danced, painted our nails (great idea Ma/Kat to take nail stuff – although they want more pinks and purples and glitter is the key). The little girls had half their celebration before they went to bed, and half in the morning. After midnight the bigger girls poured out the ‘soda’ and said a prayer for the new year (and for Alice – the founder). A new year is a deeply religious event here – many of the churches stayed open all night, and on NY’s day the girls went to a church
service (and again on Sunday which I joined them for).
Fun things we’ve doneAside from NYE we have been playing lots of Rounders in the afternoon (they love the game itself). For a very harmonious group, this game brings out a fantastic level of competition– which is great but… my
whistle has been really invaluable. The girls are much better at Rounders than I am at Referreeing it – I’m sure I’ve accidentally made a few new rules up. At the end of the game I’ve taught them to shake
the hands of the opposition, and say “good game” which they think is brilliant.
We’ve done loads of craft; sewed fabric dolls (with dungarees and jackets), made felt flowers, and loo-roll flower wall hangings (which look much nicer than they sound), made puppets and done general
colouring in. We have also had a few nail painting sessions – although it’s all had to come off for school. There is a need for more craft bits and pieces, scissors, pencil sharpeners, paper, needles, cotton,
buttons etc….
I’ve taught them ‘Bear Hunt’ – with the actions etc. They sing it quite a lot. They also prefer to do it without the supporting DVD so they can sing it really fast – which is fantastic. I have had to explain what snow is a number of times (it features in the song)…. They want to know how we don’t 'perish' [a word they use a lot] when it’s that cold. In turn they’re trying to teach me their favourite song ‘Oh Lord I want to be like you’ (which I can hear playing in the background as I type). So far I haven’t managed to learn much more than the chorus (which is just the title of the song x4). There’s some Kikuyu in it, which has slowed me down a bit. They are trying to teach me to speak some of this – and bizarrely you can follow some of their conversations because there are often English words naturally dropped in – and it’s usual to swing between English and Kikuyu in one sentence.
We’ve also been to church, gone for walks and done a huge amount of talking and singing (they know all the Christmas songs, so I’ve been signing them with the really little ones)….
More help is always neededAll in all – I’m loving my time here – I do really want to come back – and I’d encourage anyone to come and visit this amazingly unique group of girls and young women.
Most of the girls have sponsors but the costs are high; with many going to private schools (which for a good education over here is the norm with over 80% of children paying fees), and some hoping to go to
university. There are also lots of things that could benefit the girls, more craft and sport equipment (they haven’t much of either), books (the girls don’t get novels/ reading books), enough chairs for them all to sit on, more knives to speed up cooking, fruit seedlings etc.
I have an interesting idea of how to raise some money which I hope you’ll all like, and will be organising when I’m back. If you’d like to send the girls anything (parcels etc) or to give a donation in the mean time then you can visit the website for more details – http://www.kenyachildrencentres.com/ – you can also subscribe to their newsletter.
Loads of love xxx
Ps – sorry it’s been so long, next updates won’t be.
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