Habari rafikis!

Habari rafikis!

It’s over five weeks since we began this adventure! We seem to have accomplished a lot…we’ve certainly been busy!...but there is always lots to do!

This morning we climbed a ways up Mount Longido. We were high enough to get a view of the plain at the base of the mountain. In the photo you can easily pick out the Guesthouse. The village of Longido spreads out to the left of the picture. Just a little past the guesthouse is the main road between Arusha and Nairobi. If you’re having difficulty finding it, I’m not surprised…it’s paved, but barely 2 lanes wide and no shoulders!

Work inside the building is progressing steadily. The ceilings have been filled and primed and are now being painted. The mud brick wall that you see will be treated and sealed, then left exposed.

The rough floors are finished by packing down about an inch and a half of wet sand and concrete, and then applying a thick layer of concrete. After that dries slightly it is finished to a very smooth surface, and cured over a number of days. In the photo you can see some piles of rocks. These will be used in the septic soak pit.

The windows are installed very roughly and then the sills and frames are finished with smoothed concrete and mortar. The worker in the picture is a magician with a trowel.

This week we ordered furniture for the guesthouse: bed frames, tables and chairs. Stewart has been busy while we have been here making luggage racks that can double as a bench, and hook racks that will be installed in the rooms. He used a battery operated skill saw and power drill. These tools generated a lot of interest!

Maria is a young woman we sponsored who completed teacher’s college about a year and a half ago. Currently she teaches English to three classes of about 75-80 students each. She has some books but not enough to go around, so students sit up to 5 to a desk to share a book. Maria’s students are mostly Maasai children who speak only Maa until they start school. Then they are taught exclusively in Swahili until Grade 3 when English is introduced as a subject. I had “Bingo” and “Snakes and Ladders”, so I showed Maria how to play. She thought these games would be great to help teach the kids their numbers in English.

This week we were in the neighbouring village of Kimokouwa to place more micro-finance loans. These women are part of Mary’s literacy class. (Mary is our employee. She is on the left.) Although they can now print their name, they preferred to “sign” the loan documents with a fingerprint. We now have loans out to 9 groups of women, with a total of 97 women participating.

Let me introduce you to some of our neighbours. Mama Faraja is probably the most important person in the neighbourhood; she is also the hardest working person I know! She is always looking after half a dozen kids in her small 2 bedroom house; she gardens, does laundry, cooks, heats water for all of us, and raises chickens. She just never stops. And she is always laughing or singing! She is truly amazing. In the photo, she is showing off part of her corn harvest. One of the people who was here in January with the “Travelling with TEMBO” program helped her plant this crop. She is obviously delighted. Thanks John!

This is Napellel. She is one of the children who is currently living with Mama Faraja. She is very shy, but I have discovered that she loves to colour.

No blog would be complete without a picture of Arnold! He is Mama Faraja's grandson and as you can see, he is a real charmer!

The sun falls quickly. By 6:30 it is dark and another day is over.
Next week Stewart and I are doing a short safari. We are looking forward to it, but we will miss Longido!

Kwa Heri.

Shangazi Tembo.