Orientation

Nov 2nd

My first day off! Diana and Emma, and Diana's friend Kathryn called out to Bombolulu for a look around. We met Ali, one of the tour guides and he kindly offered to take us on a tour. We ended up the shop were the girls bought a few items and we bumped into Paul, a tour guide also. Paul suffered from polio in his youth and is wheelchair bound. It was the first time we had met so Paul promised to call over later for a chat, as we are neighbors.

We headed out of Bombolulu and got a Matatu to Mombasa's central, Digo street. From there Emma took us to a small restaurant. I had the special with beef...rice, beef stew and a bread yoke (naan bread type thing). Then we headed for the Likoni ferry to the southside of Mombasa, to Shelley beach to see were two new volunteers were working.

Hannah would be working with TWAAYF – Total World Against Aids Youth fund, an organization setup by street kids for street kids. 16 children and 4 men in their twenties lived in cramped conditions but provided education and youth activities as well as a secure environment for them to grow. They were very welcoming and a joy be around. You could see that Hannah was already getting attached to the kids, and them to her. Abi's house wasn't ready (no water or electricity - the employer was messing about) so she had to live with a local family. First evening she was asked for money for the dinner they gave her. Abi was moving in with Hannah for the next few days but her place was very basic and not satisfactorily secure. I appreciated how lucky I was having Bombolulu as an employer. Hopefully they will get sorted soon.

At 4:30pm we headed for home as we didn't want to be out after dark. The girls got off at there stop and I was on a Matatu for the first time on my own, standing out like a sore thumb. On the short walk back up to the Bombolulu workshop I bumped into Paul and his wife. I walked with them as they shopped in the market and was invited to visit with their extended family. The youngest, only 18 months, took a while to warm to me but in the end shook hands. I invited them for coffee and tea at my place and we sat and talked for 2 hours about Bombolulu, work and family. I learned some Swahili...and Paul is convinced I will be fluent in 3 months. He is a kind and funny man, and a good teacher to boot.

I had a shower to wash the dust and grim of Mombasa away, and at 9:30 I was ready for bed. Tomorrow is the start of my first full week in Bombolulu. Or at least I thought it would be a full week.

M.

Cultural learning
The Swahili clock: 7am CET, is 1 o'clock Swahili time (saa moja)

p.s. I will load more pictures soon. I know some of you only look at the pictures ;-)