Pool Party!

After arriving at Kibo we walked to the market in search of a bowl for mom and what an experience that was! After an hour of looking we left with a headache from dickering but with a bowl in hand. Rehema stayed with us for the night as our treat.  We all enjoyed hot showers and a movie before falling asleep for the night. In the morning the kids joined us for a pool party and lunch on us before mom headed to the airport. Half way through the party we got rained out but we had fun swimming in the rain for awhile!

Like we all expected, Mom had trouble saying goodbye. Rehema, mom and I were walking down to the lobby and the crocodile tears were already coming as she stopped to thank Rehema for everything.  Then when the kids came to say goodbye, the tears just kept coming and coming!

I know when it’s my turn It will be just as hard. These kids have captured our hearts in ways we never expected. Almost everyday I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. The stories of how they got here break your heart but their huge smiles and laughs bring joy into your life. This has been an incredible journey and I will cherish everyday I have left because I don’t really want to leave.

We hope Mom's plane came to get her and she gets home safely. I’m sure you will hear lots of stories from her before I get home!

Safari!

Day 1

Today we left for our safari. It was nice to get out of the Arusha area and see just how beautiful Africa really is! We traveled three hours to our camp where we dropped off Prosper (our chef) and then went out to Lake Manyara to see the animals. This park is known for climbing lions but we never did get to see any. We saw lots of baboons, blue monkey, vevert monkey, giraffes, elephants, water buffalo, impalas, zebras, mongoose, flamingos and storks. The lake is very large but the animals don’t drink from it as it is salt water. After a long day in the heat we were happy to get back.  I had my first shower in 13 days! I never knew a trickle of hot water could make me feel so clean and refreshed! Prosper's meals have been so good and I have eaten them with a big smile that Granny just finds “awesome”.  We laughed until we almost peed our pants in the tent, over who knows what. At midnight we all got up and made a group trip to the washrooms as no one wanted to alone. LOL  And this was in the gated campground! Oh, dear.

Day 2

Today we got up at 7:30! Yippie, we got to sleep in! LOL Prosper made us a great breakfast and then we were on our way to the Serengeti! It was about a four hour drive. The Serengeti is an open plain area with odd rock piles and cliffs every once and awhile. We saw lots and lots of zebras and wildebeast! Out of everything we’ve seen so far the zebras are a hit with us.  Their unique markings really make them stand out and boy have they got a lot of personality! The little mountain cliff things look just like the one off of the lion king.  It was interesting to see them out in the middle of nowhere. We also got to see our first leopard today! We couldn’t even see him until we looked with the video camera and could see he was just laying in the tree panting. It was very neat to see in real life. We also got to see hippos while the zebras were playing in the mud. After another long day and expecting there weren’t showers in the middle of the Serengeti, it was a wonderful surprise to have a beautiful hot shower - even if we had to use the men’s showers! Haha! After lots of laughs and spaghetti for supper, Steve (our guide) came to give us the rules for the night as there were no fences and we just plopped our tent where we liked. He told us to fear the mosquitoes, scorpions and snakes and to feel completely safe hearing the lion breathe while he sleeps next to our tent.  We were also informed that we would never hear an elephant walk through the tents but we will see the tracks in the morning. He also advised us the before leaving our tent to flash the light around the tent and look for the color of eyes that reflect back. If we saw blue or green we were safe to move around as they were impalas or gazelles. But if we saw red or silver we weren’t to make much movement as those were lions, leopards and hyenas. Of course this didn’t sit well with Mom as she had tried hard to get me to do the "lodging" Safari instead of the "tenting" version before we even left. She shed some tears saying she missed Dad thinking of the lions sleeping on the other side of the tent. After she stopped crying,  we all burst into hysterical laughter just like every other night here. After a few minutes of listening to Mom worry, I had had enough so I turned on my hypnosis soundtrack for her and she was sleep within minutes.  What a life saver! Mom would have never gotten to sleep without it and would have kept us up as well. I only vaguely remember hearing hyenas in the night as I was sleeping soundly but I guess Mom was listening more closely as she wasn’t quite as comfortable in the tent at this site.

Day 3

Started with an early morning at 5 that mom was glad to see roll around.  We got dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee and hit the road in the dark to get out when the animals are most active. And that they were. Within minutes we saw three hyenas fighting over a leg on the road and then a lioness taking a stroll on the side of the road in the dark. As the sun came up we got to see another lioness and a male laying on a hump of land in the middle of the grassland. By far my favourite animal we have seen for sure, so incredible! Steve drove right up to the hump so we were 15 feet from the male lion and he was a sight to see. He kept hiding his face from the wind but he also kept lifting his head to patrol his area. On our way back to camp for brunch we saw three baby elephants that were only a couple weeks old. At lunch we got talking to a couple of young girls in our group and turns out last night at supper there was a hyena that stuck his head in the tent door wanting some supper. Thank goodness Mom didn’t see it!

On our way out of the Serengeti we saw three lions sitting on a big rock with two cubs laying in the shade. The lions were hunting so we watched as three went off to hunt and one stayed with the cubs. We then took the long and very dusty road out of the Serengeti. We arrived at our next camp site to have another nice hot shower and another great supper (rice and beef stew). Yes I just said I enjoyed stew for all of you non believers. Ask Mom - she was just as surprised when I said, “Wow this is so good."  Then we were off to bed. It is very cold in the Ngorongoro crater so we all had four layers on and a jacket while bundled up in the sleeping bags. Mom thought she was going to freeze so she wrapped Granny’s scarf around her head like a traditional Muslim head piece. Minutes later she was already complaining she was hot. Do you know how many times I’ve heard THAT since we’ve been here!? LOL - but soon we were soonsleeping and not worrying about the wild pigs that might have been searching for food around our tents!

Day 4

5 a.m. came fast again. Grabbed a quick breakfast and then we were off to the crater floor.  Of course no one else was up and moving yet so we were the first ones to enter the gates. But I’ll tell ya getting up early really pays off, this is when we saw most of the animals. We got to see lots and lots of hyenas today along with the huge heards of zebras and wildebeasts. The highlight was the lions though. There was a male and female with year old cubs, one male and one female. Also another male and two females that joined them later. The one male and lioness laid together only a few feet away from the jeep and posed for pictures. No one will really believe that our pictures aren’t zoomed in at all, we were really that close! The male even came and rubbed on the jeep before laying down. We also saw a new born wildebeast calf that was still wet and stumbling along with his Mama. Also found Pumba (a warthog) with four little piglets running with their tails straight up! After a morning full of excitement we picked up Prosper and our bags and started on the drive home feeling satisfied and thoroughly enjoyed the amazing experience!

Jumas First Day :)

Signing the papers!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon getting everything in line for Juma to go to school to take some English classes! We went to the school where he will be going and filled out all the papers and paid for his first 6 months of classes. Then we went out shopping and got him a dictionary and some note pads, pencils and pens and the whole shebang. After we had all his school supplies we decided he needed some clothes to wear to school so we went and got him some more nice jeans and a shirt! Again, he wore them home along with a big smile from cheek to cheek! He will have to walk and take the dala dala (bus) to get to school and back and it is not like at home where you just walk down the street to the bus. You walk for awhile here until you can catch the bus. Mom thinks Juma should motorbike so he can get to school faster and because he is forever running to get this or that on his pedal bike. 

All dressed in his new clothes with backpack and books in hand he set off for his first day! I told him I want him to say something to me in English before I leave and he said “no problem.”  LOL  I wonder what it will be! Unfortunately we are leaving for safari this morning so I won’t be able to find out how school is going for Juma until we get back Friday! So you won’t be hearing from me again until we get back.

Looking sharp and ready for his first day! Can't wait for him to come to Canada!

First Day of School :)

This morning at 6:30 we watched Ellie go to school for the first time and change his life forever thanks to the help of Nana and Auntie Dar.  As Ellie was getting on the bus Ernest stood with us and kept saying “ sank-you, sank-you, Cianna” . The sun was just starting to come up and Ernest’s big smile showed more than words could be say. All 16 kids stood by Ellie proudly to get him through his first 13 hour school day! They are such great little helpers. In the midst of the circle of children stood Ellie in a little track suit he borrowed until we get to town to buy him his uniform! It was really something to see the kids grab his hand and lead him to the school bus and watch Ernest and Mama Ellie’s reaction as their little boy was finally going to school for the first time! These are the moments that will stay with us forever!

Water Tower is Up!

No ropes, no safety straps just his hands and feet to get 80 feet down!

Well take a look at what you all built! After three and a half months of digging everyday,  he is still going! He is so far down we can’t even see him when we look .  All we can hear is some pounding and humming from the black hole. Despite a few bumps along the road the water tower is now complete and we will have clean, running water! What a difference it will make! Thank you to everyone that helped make it possible.

No fancy way of getting the tank up - just the push and pull method! Once the tank was up there were three men up there with it, walking around it with only inches of space to spare! Scary just to watch!

Thank You, Coalhurst Elementary!

Sweaters, socks, ties and backpacks for all! :)

Today I went shopping to purchase new school supplies with all the money the Kids of Karim option class from Coalhurst Elementary had made with two of their four planned fundraisers! Your hard work was so appreciated by these children. They were so excited to see their new school backpacks waiting for them on their pillow! The kids were so surprised to find part of their school uniform inside. They all received a new school sweater, two pairs of school socks and a new tie. This will help the kids so much as prior to today the kids only had one uniform to wear everyday. And these kids are just like you, so by the end of the day they come home very dirty!

Believe it or not at the end of the day we still had money to spare! Juma is Rehama’s brother and lives here at Karim. He helps all the boys get ready for school and ready for bed everyday. While they are at school he is constantly working around the yard as he is the only male here. For a 19 year old he works very hard and his pay is to sleep and eat here at Karim. He was unable to finish school and his dream is to come to Canada to have a bright future. In order to achieve this or to get a good job here he must learn English. So we thought it seemed fitting to use what we had left to help him go to school to learn English and be one step closer to his dream. This is something that he has always wanted but with no steady income may have taken years to achieve.  After telling him we were going to help him go to school a smile remained on his face for quite some time!

Thank you Coalhurst Elementary for making such a huge difference in so many children’s lives today! And thank you for allowing me to be part of this all. We will be reading the letters you wrote tomorrow as the kids don’t get home until very late on school days! I will keep you posted!

Meet the Kids!

Baby Johnson is just learning to walk! We will have him walking by himself before I leave!

Baby Alex, is best know for his tears! LOL He gets upset at all the little things but when he laughs he says "no! no! no!" It will make your day!

Oneismo is five years old. He had this cute little smile on when we gave him a new car to play with!

Sam, is eight years old and is the second oldest boy here.









Sam, Oneismo and Alex are brothers. They have two other brothers that live with other relatives. Their parents were killed for money by other relatives. Alex has a scar on his head where the bullet skimmed his forehead.

Ibra is almost three, and the cutest little kid you have ever met! For a little guy he knows and understands a lot of English. Ibra is Dada's son. Dada lives here and does all the cleaning and cooking. This is one of the little guys that will need a sponsor for school.










Hawa is five years old. She has the biggest personality and is always talking and telling stories! She doesn't like homework though.  Every night its a struggle to get it all done but she laughs through it all!

Magreth,she is eight years old.She has these big beautiful eyes that just sparkle! She also has more attitude then the rest of the kids when she doesn't get her way but has a very sweet smile!

Hasan, is five years old. He is quiet but lights up when you pay attention to him! He loves to try to tickle you and then runs away when you tickle him but comes right back to tickle you again!

Godfrey is ten. But we call him Babu which is grandfather because he is the grandfather of the kids, looking after them all.

Mwana is eight years old. She is so happy and smiles with her whole face and not just her mouth!

Sabrina, is eight years old. She is Rehama's daughter is always smiling and is very helpful with the little kids!

Lucy is eleven years old. We like to call her lucky lucy! She is always helping with the little ones or helping Dada and Rehama around the house!

Neema is thirteen years old. She is the oldest girl here and very quiet and shy but giggles when ever something is funny!

Saumu is eleven years old. She is quiet as well and is also very helpful getting the girls ready for school and for bed!

Antonia is eight years old. She is very social and stomps her feet if she gets upset but she is a chatter!