Intern Blog: Lucy M

One of the reasons I love working here is that everyday is different- and I know that’s a cliché- but it is true. For every tragic story that we come across, each day something surprises me and makes me smile.

This week we welcomed 11-year-old Eneza to our Walk In love family. The Acting Director, Lucy Cottee, had often seen Eneza in the village; washing, cleaning and caring for younger children. Lucy and Neema looked into the situation further and learnt that Eneza had only attended one year of school at the age of five. Lucy put out a plea on Facebook for a sponsor and within a few hours we had one. Just like that, the pathway of Eneza’s life changed.  She has a second chance at education, no longer resigned to the Dada housegirl life. Neema will tutor Eneza at the community centre before she starts school at the fantastic Shepherds School. I can’t help but wonder…what will her favourite subject be, what job will she have, will she travel, perhaps she will be inspired to help other young girls…? Suddenly she has a future of possibilities. And that is the power of education. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIvmE4_KMNw

 

Eneza

On Monday Six-year-old Elisia joined our day care. In her short life she has already lost so much. But WIL aims to stop her losing any more of her childhood. Now she is able to play with the other children with lego or on the swings, and that is a great thing. She is a friendly little girl and I know she will fit in perfectly.

Brianna ran her first gymnastics class for the children on Wednesday and it went amazingly well- they loved it. They ran, jumped, rolly polly-ed, and admittedly fell splat on the mat several times. Very entertaining for the children and spectators alike…

Meanwhile we have also been busy in the office this week. On Saturday we are running a stall at Mango Tree- ‘What’s Up Arusha?’. Dolly, Lucy and I have been prepping stock, pricing items and painting signs. We will be selling our beautiful bags, quilts and accessories. The Ipad cases are so nice they make me want an Ipad just so I can have one! We have high hopes for lots of sales. It should be a fun event, so if you know anyone in the area please tell them to come along!

https://www.facebook.com/events/290683634420121/?fref=ts

In last week’s blog I think I mentioned the lovely American ladies who donated lots of useful goodies. Well yesterday even more arrived from them, in fact an overwhelming amount of clothes, blankets, towels and material. Plus buckets of rice and lentils. This means rice and beans for lunch today, our fave. No sarcasm intended! 

This week I have noticed the girls doing something that little girls the world over do- playing ‘Mums’. In the West, this might mean pushing a pram, luxury toy cots, baths, and a battery operated doll. In Africa it is slightly different. The girls here play with a one-eyed, armless doll...quite an ugly thing as you can imagine! Anyway, just like their Mumas, they strap their ‘baby’ on their backs with Kitenge material. It is so sweet to see. I have also noticed them carry toys on their heads from one side of the playroom to the other, just like their Mumas may carry buckets of water or bowls of bananas. Considering how much is different, when it comes to children, it is amazing to see how much is really the same.

One last thing: if there is any chance you could spare a pound/dollar please click on the link below and donate. We are trying to raise enough money to buy all the children a pair of wellies and a raincoat ready for the rainy season. We appreciate all donations so much, however big or small. Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/keep-the-walk-in-love-kids-dry-/150867

Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for up-to-date news and pictures 

https://www.facebook.com/WILBelieveInMe?fref=ts

Lucy

While a few of us volunteers had a short break in Zanzibar this week (what an incredible place!), there were plenty of developments happening at the centre.

Firstly thanks to a very kind donation we were able to install a modern toilet facility for the children to use. No, the toilet is not a particularly glamorous addition, but it was an essential improvement and many thanks go to our donor.

Brand new mosquito nets were also added to the nap room and Reuben has built shelves into all our cupboards. New shelving does not tend to be the most exciting news, but we are excited by it never the less! The same cupboards suddenly have so much more space to store clothes, donations and our hand made bags and quilts. The community centre has such potential and I feel that every day, bit by bit, we are growing and improving. Here is Reuben putting up a Mozzy net

One of WIL’s current goals is to sell our hand made items at summer/music festivals in the UK. The bags, quilts and accessories are popular here in Arusha and also sell well with Aubree back in the US. The beautiful fabrics and expertly made items are bound to go down a storm with the summery, bohemian vibe of British festivals. If you have 2 minutes to spare please answer the following survey, the results of which will help us plan for the festivals. There are less than 10 questions and every reply we get will help more than you know, thank you. Here is the link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LRQTCM2

On Wednesday we had two lovely ladies turn up at the WIL gates. Only this time, they were not Tanzanian women struggling with new babies. These were American women coming to make generous donations, following the passing of their Mother. The donations included big sacks of rice, beans, toys, clothes, cakes and biscuits. What we could not get over was how grateful they were that we were accepting their donations- but, really, we are the grateful ones! The rice and beans will save us money, the cakes were a lovely treat for everyone, and the toys are much needed and always appreciated by the children. The truth is, the children here seem content with very little, but I think every child deserves a biscuit and a new toy every once in a while.

In other news, baby Angel is starting to settle in. She still cries a fair bit but amazingly I have seen her a few times sat on the mat, content with a rattle. Our baby boys Juma and Ima are changing by the day and it is great to see. Juma, is crawling and exploring, he moves at a scarily fast speed! Ima is becoming more animated too, he has started making the funniest little facial expressions and seems interested by his surroundings- at last!