Tuesday 8th Feb

Today has been very busy. I got a lovely warm welcome at school. The teachers had brought in photographs of their families which was lovely. One teacher had even brought in photographs of his father’s funeral to show me which I found very strange.

Shortly after arriving at my school, I took about 100 children outside for a P.E lesson. We used markers with actions on i.e. hop, skip, star jump, balance which I brought over from Rimrose Hope. This was a really tough task as the children and teachers didn’t know these actions. After about 15 minutes the sun was excruciatingly hot and I just wanted to lie underneath the mango tree instead! However, I carried on teaching and the staff and children had a lot of fun learning new skills. The children then frog jumped back to their classes.

Following P.E. the children got into the BIGGEST circle (very quickly!) that I have ever seen in my life. They sang songs and took turns to dance in the centre. The dancing here is absolutely incredible. I really wish that I could dance like the children. They would definitely win Rimrose Hope has talent if they could enter!

I then went into class 4 for a lesson about what a pet is. The teacher writes sentences on the board, and the class repeat them. Children here have dogs, cats, parrots, goats, chickens and monkeys for pets. The children then practiced acts for a show they are performing in on Saturday. We then played with toys I had taken over. The children loved blowing bubbles and popping them. The staff then gave me a bunch of bananas they had bought for me.

The children are so excited to have their photographs taken and to touch me. It can become quite scary as very fast a huge crowd can build up and there can be a lot of pushing and shoving. Although on some of the photographs people can look quite serious and sad, everyone here loves to be 'snapped'. The children absolutely love seeing their photograph on my camera. They always have huge beaming smiles on their faces when they see themselves.

After school, we visited two projects that the Waterloo Partnership is working on, a bakery and a seed project. In the fields, the women work growing crops. The women will take their small babies to work and carry them on their backs whilst planting. In a pond, people were fishing and washing their clothes. One boy even caught some frogs for his dinner.

We then went to see a bakery which is in the process of being built. Next door to the bakery, is a building containing books which were sent over from the Waterloo Partnership in England. These books will be delivered to local schools.

In the night, I am really enjoying our group meals were we have a chance to exchange our stories from the day. At night time I need to sleep under a Mosquito net so that I don't get bitten.