The rains

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Each day starts with gorgeous sunshine and by the time the infants lie down on the reed mats for their afternoon nap at 12:30 the rain will have been built up to 'beat down' mode. The roof of the hall is corrugated iron and the volume of the rain pelting down is incredible - but surprisingly most of the orphans remain sound asleep through it. Thunder and lightning are never far off too. Rain, rain and muddy red earth, and children walking barefoot.

...My first task this morning was to attend to the girl with the cut toe - the wound was going septic and flies were still landing on it. Donning my handy medical gloves, I cleaned it with an antiseptic wipe and put a plaster round it to keep the flies off (I'm sure normally it's best to leave it to the air but not with flies on it, I hope!). The rest of the day the little girl followed me around wherever I went and didn't want to leave my side. (I'm trying not to say I wish I could take her home with me - but I wish I could take her home with me!).

Today the two other volunteers and I presented the new toys, books, games, art materials etc they had boxed over from the UK, with some things I added. The project manager came in to announce new rules - to make sure the children use them carefully and respectfully. For one section of the day each child was given a doll / cuddly toy / toy car to play with. Their faces were utter delight! some of the girls immediately used a garment of clothing to tie their toy to their back as if carrying a baby.

The afternoon took all my energy when about 30 primary kids arrived to run riot in the hall. The staff looked to me to organise games and we got out more new things for them - football, skipping, frisbee, skittles, hoops all went on at once as I tried to teach a small group how to play indoor cricket. They were overjoyed but I was thoroughly exhausted by it all!

A wise friend of mine reminded me of a phrase from the film 'Blood Diamond' - that whenever things are tough remember TIA - 'this is Africa'. And it's keeping me sane. It's difficult to not get frustrated with how slow and disorganised everything is here. And as it's not safe to walk around after 4.30pm each day I'm collected by a driver from the orphanage and brought to my hostel to be locked within the gates. Getting around is a little tricky - when I agree with a taxi to be collected at a given time, they will turn up 45mins - an hour later. Breakfast at the hostel is also hit and miss depending on when the chefs make it into work - so far I've only managed to get a cup of tea once in the last three days - so I'm craving caffeine.

I'll leave you with a happier image. Yesterday evening while I waited outside the supermarket for my taxi in the dark, being chatted up by a security guard, other shop staff were frantically catching flying termites surrounding the shop lights and putting them live into small plastic bags. ...These snacks must be good - I'm eager to finally get to try them!

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