Week 3

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Just at the start of week three now & I have been really busy. Firstly, the work at Hill Wheeler School is coming along great. The plastering is completely finished & looks really good. I went to buy the wood at the end of last week so the builders are currently working on the tables & benches for the dining room as well as some framing for the doors & windows. The floors will be done last & then time for some painting!..which I'm really looking forward to as I want to help. I noticed one of the students at the school to be a really good artist - he draws all the time, even sneakily in lessons. So I asked to look at his work & then suggested that he could design some artwork to be painted on the outside of the building, just to make it look more like a dining room & kitchen as opposed to a classroom block! So he's excited about doing that once the work is complete.


Meanwhile, I've been on a city tour of Mombasa with Moses which was really interesting & a great experience. The city is crazy! There's traffic everywhere - the roads are really dangerous. The public transport everyone uses are these van-type vehicles that are called matatues (matatu being one) & they are just out of this world. They blast music, the insides are plastered with RnB stars (mainly female) - like rihanna & beyonce, the drivers I think have a death wish overtaking at every opportunity, the man you give the money to (equivalent to UK bus fares from the 1950s I imagine or less even) hangs on to the outsides of the van as we speed down the one tarmac coastal road shouting out to people so as to get as many people into the vehicle as physically possible. I tell you it is mad! Not all my journeys have been like that, only the fun ones. So anyway, Mombasa has an old part to the city which is by far the best part. It is located near the first port the city built, right on the coast & has a really traditional feel to it. The city council ensure the buildings are preserved in their original state to maintain the architecture & structure to the initial developing site of Mombasa. There is also a fort that dates back to 1593 called Fort Jesus, built by the Portuguese in the shape of a crucifix - hence the name. Here, I also looked round the local craft shops that were filled with handmade wood carvings - all beautiful!


OK, I've also been to visit a place called Bomboloulou - I know what you're thinking, what a great name for a place! It is also a great place. The village runs a cultural centre for tourists/visitors to go to which is administered by a scheme that incorporates the disabled and handicapped people within the region. It is an amazing establishment, supported by the ADPK (Association for Disabled Persons of Kenya) which offers a place for disabled people to work as well as providing living quarters for them & their families - it is almost like a village within itself. The residents work in workshops such as textiles, wood carvings, jewellery design etc. and this traditional merchandise is sold in a large showroom. The stuff is so unique & really different. I loved it all. Meanwhile, the cultural side of the centre is just as interesting - you go round learning about the main tribes of Kenya and then unfortunately for me forced into partaking in some traditional Kenyan tribal dancing!


Finally, I've also been doing some teaching!! It has been so much fun & the kids are so amazing. They're just so eager to learn & have bags of potential. I taught some English classes & also a couple of Social Studies classes, where I threw in a bit of Geography! It was great & it has made me think I want to teach.


Well, that's all for now. My cooking lessons have also begun - I can now make ugali & kachumbari & chapati is next in line I think!


Love to everyone & hope all is well in the UK! x

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Photos

Gardens in Mombasa
These were landscaped shortly after Kenya's independence to signify peace for the country's future.

Mombasa High Court
Here, we luckily witnessed a public burning of some illegal drugs that were found trying to be smuggled out of the country. The national news covered the story the following day!

Tribal Dancing
Highly embarrassing as they were all much better dancers than I will ever be...

Comments

[Keith]

Bomboloulou
Hi Victoria Bomboloulou! thats the place for me! Glad you are having a great time Love Keith and Judy xx