Day 5: Tanzania (Usa River, Kilala, Nkoaranga)
Mama wowed again with breakfast this morning (veggie omelettes). Thank God I learned the word for "delicious" today ("tamd") so I can start telling her how good her food is.
Rob, Michael, Doris, and myself left the guest house between 8:30-9:00 with Kleopa to go and meet the Bishop of the Mount Meru Diosces while the rest of the team left for the hospital. Bishop Paul was really nice (and one of the most fluent and fluid English speakers I've heard here yet) and expressed his thanks for all St. John's has done to help the Lutheran church here in Tanzania. He then talked a little about the primary school currently under construction that St. John's has funded and showed us a map of all of the parishes of the Mount Meru district (there are a ton). Afterwards, he and his two companions (I don't remember what exactly it was they did...something church-y, obviously) gave us all gifts: a Tanzanian mug, a really beautiful African tote for Doris and me, and some African Hawaiian-style shirts for the men. It was really awesome.
De. Rob then went to the hospital, while Michael, Doris, and I went back to the guest house for a while until Kleopa came to pick us up to take us to see the school under construction and the church's pre-school children graduating from pre-school to primary school.
The graduation was so cute! The graduating older kids (around 6 years old) were sitting in chairs separate from the little kids, and they all had little sashes that were supposed to say, "Congratulations!", though many said "Cogratulations!" They showed off their scripture knowledge in Swahili and their English and geography skills (basically the same stuff they were doing in the church yesterday). We then presented them with letters from the St. John's families who've sponsored many of them by paying the cost of their tuition. After that, they presented us with a cake that said "Welcome delegates from St. John's". (It was pretty cute) And then we were pretty much done. At that point, we all went outside to take a picture with the kids (super chaotic), and then were invited to join them for lunch (no roast goat this time :P).
After lunch, a driver came to take us back to the hospital where we got back to work on the rooms. The hired workers were painting the second ward when we got there, so Michael joined them while Doris and I scraped the old paint plaster off the walls of the third ward.
That lasted maybe an hour or so before we were finished and looking for something else to do, so we decided to take the Beanie Babies around to the Children's Ward. The first kids we saw were our little friends from yesterday, Peter and Gifty. They both had casts on one leg and were in wheelchairs, though Peter (who had a horrible, clubbed foot) was able to--and frequently did--get up and move around with his crutches. He picked out of the bag first and grabbed two dogs. Gifty then grabbed a rhino--much to Peter's chagrin--which he proceeded to make fly all over the wheelchair. To make it fair, I gave him a second one (a ladybug), which he apparently traded later on since Michael said he saw Peter rolling around with a dog and ladybug later :P
There were hardly any kids in the Ward apart from our little friends, so we only ended up giving away, I think, one more Beanie Baby there; however, we did find out that the orphanage was nearby and decided to head up there.
Now, the orphanage is apparently not really an orphanage, but a sort of long-term daycare service for children whose moms have died or are gone and the dads can't take care of them/have to work, so they leave their children in this place until they're able to go to school.
As soon as we walked up, a few of them came running to us and already knew exactly why we were there; apparently, these kids are used to strangers bringing them things. It's funny because these orphanage kids were more like American kids than any of the other children we've met. They were whiney, selfish, and fairly ungrateful. They sort of had that kill or be killed mentality that reminded me of how mom has always described group home kids, which is understandable given their environment.
Colette and I played with the kids for a while while Doris was content taking pictures (I would later find out why...). I had a bunch on my lap at various times and one little boy (couldn't have been older than 3 or 4) named Peace who crawled up on my lap--thumb in mouth--and snuggled up on my shoulder. It was so sweet, I immediately started tearing up. How could I not? These poor little kids have no mommies and their daddies have left them. It was heartbreaking.
We left soon after that when a bunch of the kids started crying cause other kids were stealing their beanie babies. Yep, we were those guys who come to an African orphanage, start a riot amongst the kids, and then bolt out when things get ugly.
It wasn't until we got back down to the OR that Doris revealed that Dena had mentioned that the orphans had lice last time she was here -__- Colette and I didn't recall seeing any on their heads, which wouldn't have been hard since pretty much all of their heads were shaved, buuuuut yeah. I may have contracted head lice from African orphans...hooray.
We drove back to the guest house shortly after that where I immediately jumped in the shower and scrubbed my head. Don't know if it'll do any good, but I figure I should at least try.
Dinner was a delicious cucumber soup, rice, and some vegetables followed by pineapple for dessert, and I spent the rest of my evening journaling and reading Sherlock Holmes...I should probably read my English Aquisition text book, but I really don't feel like it.
Until tomorrow! (Or keshu!)
mjl.
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