Wednesday

An early rise as Thomas is due at 8.00 for our trip to Karagwe. We are priviledged to have the bishop’s land cruiser with his driver, Edwin, who also happens to be Absalom’s brother. We load up and are away by about 8.20. We pass Absalom’s wood just after the T junction with the T3 road. It is his pension and judging by the size of it he should live well in his retirement!

We stop at Nyakasanza which is a typical road junction town, all lorries, snack bars and rather dubious shacks which sell a variety of things. We stock up with sodas and then turn onto the laterite road which is ours for the next 3 hours, after which well….you will see. We enter the Nurigi and Kimisi game reserves, one either side of the road. The game do indeed seem to be very reserved as apart from a fleeting glimpse of some antelopes on the road in the distance and the disappearing bottoms of some baboons in the bush we see nothing, not even some Scrabble! Traffic is similarly sparse, although bizarrely the first vehicle we meet has the word ‘bakery emblazoned across its front. Do Zebra and Giraffe have a penchant for bloomers and custard tarts I wonder? Perhaps rhinos enjoy a cream horn? Occasionally we encounter a bus packed tight with sweating bodies and emblazoned with religious and other slogans. We are basically on a ridgeway with occasional saddles we drop down in to. The views are stunning, but hard to photograph, partly because it is very cloudy and misty, even raining at times. Nevertheless I ask poor Edwin to stop on a number of occasions, causing Thomas some alarm as he says that lions have been introduced recently. I speculate on how you introduce lions, “Good morning this is Mr Simba and his good lady Mrs Simba” perhaps. Anyway I see nothing more terrifying than black ants, which are quite frightening actually if you get in their way.

Out the other side we pass some fairly desperate houses belonging to local shambas and cattle herders, but steadily the housing improves as do the shambas and you begin to realise that Karagwe is actually quite prosperous along the road. We plunged down into lush valley bottoms passing large banana shambas and some quite smart houses. At last we reach the town of Omurushaka and a metalled road – hoorah!, our internal organs relax having had the pummelling of their lives. However we travel about 200 yards and then turn off to our left onto a laterite road which struggles to live up to that term. After a while there is a general consensus in the vehicle that we need to contribute to the bounty of the wet season and we all move to different pieces of undergrowth to make our contributions. Shortly after we come across the local rural dean standing by his motorbike, apparently waiting for us. Thomas had arranged a liaison at this apparently not godforsaken spot and duly hands over some letters from the bishop for distribution. We then turn down a track which could vaguely be made out with enough imagination.

We are now mainly on the edge of a valley floor with marshland to our right. There is quite a bit of forestry as well as tree planting has been happening here thanks to CCMP. At last we arrive in the village of Kabalekela which is on the side of the valley with magnificent view across to the hills beyond. We meet with Bosco who has seized CCMP with both hands and run with it. He is a real entrepreneur and is clearly doing well. He is also an evangelist and a CCMP co-ordinator for the parish.

We entered his very smart house and sat in his lounge to talk. He told me that he was born locally and only had a primary education (although he is clearly very bright). He heard about CCMP and became enthused. He set himself some priorities, in other words what he wanted from life and then worked out how to achieve them. He decided that he first wanted a decent house for his family(a wife and 4 children). He has built it himself, making the bricks and buying in floor tiles and metal sheeting for the roof. Secondly he wanted food security which he has now achieved. He produces more than enough to feed his family and to sell. Furthermore he has become a businessman, buying bean from others and the storing them until the price goes up and then selling them at quite a profit. He has 200 sacks of beans in his stores. He uses his mobile to keep track of prices. All the produce is transported to the road by bike or motorbike by 4 people who he now employs to do that. He also employs workers on his shamba. His third priority was to build a house for his mother and this is now well underway. In the future he wants to buy a car and to send his children to secondary school when they are old enough. Recently he has bought 8 acres of land for trees for timber a for fruit and this complements 6 acres of timber woodland that he has already.

Now you may be thinking that this all sounds a bit like exploitative capitalism, but actually his neighbours are proud of him and want to learn from him. Before CCMP came into the village there were only 3 iron sheet roofed houses, now there are very few grass thatched houses at all. CCMP has really changed the mindset of local people and they now know and understand what resources they have and how to exploit them.

Bosco took us down to a neighbour called Nevard who is in the middle of building his house, indeed plasterers were working in the lounge. Nevard has joined a pamoja group in the village. (‘pamoja’ means ‘together’ in Swahili). Pamoja groups are saving and loan groups which have been seed funded by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s fund. Basically people pay in each week and then take loans agreed by the whole group for specific needs or projects. These loan then have to be paid back with 5% interest. Each group has between 15 and 25 members and they set priorities for community improvements and help each other to achieve them. Nevard has bought himself a motorbike with a loan and then paid it back. He will use the bike to transport his coffee to the road. He grows robusta under his bananas. I noted some signs of the coffee rust fungus, but hopefully his bananas will provide enough shade to prevent its spread. He is also growing avocados and mangoes. Being part of a pamoja group has certainly raised his aspirations as well as his standard of living. He now needs some help to improve his shamba through CCMP.

From there we drove down to the local church which has just been officially opened by Bishop Darlington. The building was begun by the church community collecting stones and bringing them to the site. ‘Tumaini’ (‘Hope’ in Swahili), a Guernesy based charity offered help and now they have a fine new building. Tumaini have also helped to build a new school which was much needed. As with so many schools it has stunning views. However there are 401 pupils and 6 staff, which the mathematically adept amongst you will work out as an average class size of 66.8. Anybody fancy doing the marking for that?! The school is government run and so there is not enough money apparently to pay for more staff.

Finally we drove to Nyihanga village which is in the same parish. We met some of the congregation in the church who are at the start of the mobilisation process. The new church has been built by the community and has about 70 regular attendees, although there are about 200 registered Christians in the village. Bosco introduced us and Thomas gave a motivational speech and then passed the baton to yours truly. I talked about the importance of Christian being ‘salt’ and ‘light’ in their communities and that they were very much doing what Jesus commanded in that respect. It seemed to go down well. Christine followed on with some inspirational words. We invited questions and comments. The Pamoja treasurer spoke about the problem of climate change and how it was now so difficult to predict when to plant and how it was affecting farmers’ incomes. Hearing this in a remote village really brings home the reality of climate change and the problems it is causing. How I wish Trump could have been there to hear that farmer! Then Bosco got going and went on at some length giving the CCMP message. He is clearly a very good speaker and people listened attentively. The village co-ordinator, a wonderful woman called Anatolia slipped out to check on something and as I wanted her picture I followed her out. Thomas also went out to answer his phone so poor Christine was left to hear Bosco’s speech in Swahili!

Outside I took pictures of the local wildlife and also of the severe erosion that is taking place in the hillside next to the church. Some serious tree planting is needed there and soon!

As we were about to leave, we discovered that they had prepared food for us, so the altar cloth was stripped away and a new cloth was placed on the table. Rice, beans and mashed banana were offered along with the ubiquitous soda. We were quite hungry so managed a full plate each, only to be shamed when the locals were invited to pitch in and we remembered that a plate is only full in Tanzania when it is built up to a teetering mound of what ever is going. We are lightweights by comparison!

We drove away with their thanks ringing in our ears. Our presence had fulfilled Thomas’ promise that one day he would bring international visitors to them to see what they were doing with CCMP. We felt very honoured and humbled by our reception. We then threaded our way back to the main road and on to Kayanga where we were due to spend the night. Kayanga is a rather attractive town built on the top of the ridge and spilling down the sides. There are some nice houses and open spaces and it feels rather at ease with itself. We drove through it past two coffee processing factories to a modern complex of buildings which is the diocesan guest house and rehabilitation centre. The idea is that the guest house is a source of income for the main work which is with disabled children.

We were shown to our en suite room and decided that before we ventured into town for dinner we should have a shower. What was more a hot shower was on offer in a sort of wet room. It was certainly that since the toilet was pretty much directly under the shower, but hey it was a hot shower – our first in over three weeks! Except it wasn’t. Try as we might we couldn’t get it hot. We tried different variations of knob turning and switch flicking, but the electric water heater was having none of it. I went out to track down another pillow and mentioned our difficulty to the man who seemed to be in charge. Immediately a technician was dispatched and by dint of manipulating the knobs and switches with his magic hands we had hot water! Bliss!

O.K. the shower had the force of a mist, but it was better than nothing and we both managed a shower without turning the apparatus off. Then, feeling a lot better, we headed into town to a Lutheran hotel which offered a buffet dinner. Christine said we would probably be offered a diet of worms, but actually it was a little better. Rice, brown and white, beans, matoke, and some spinach and cabbage mix was what we were offered, while the lads could add beef ribs, chicken bits and what seemed to be fish heads judging by the baleful eyes that greeted us when the lid was lifeted from the dish. It was filling and that was all we could ask.

Back at the guest house we settled down on a surprisingly comfortable mattress and under a mosquito net. The latter was welcome when a particularly large flying beetle tried to gain entry to our bed. We slept.

Thursday

We had to be up and ready by 8.00 a.m., but the shower remained an enigma. The technician’s legerdemain had been so good, we had no idea how he’d performed the trick. Christine sent me out to find help, but it wasn’t easy. I surprised a young lad who was polishing desks in the office, but clearly showers were above his pay grade so he got on his mobile. However he seemed to lose interest so I wandered away disconsolately towards the prospect of a cold shower. One last try got the hot water going and so Christine dived into the shower and I followed. It just about lasted until I had finished!

So we then had a meeting with Pastor Aggrey Mashanda, the Executive Director of the Karagwe Community Based Rehabilitation Programmes. Children are brought here for physiotherapy and other support services. There is even a prosthesis workshop on site. The government supports with experts but not with finance. The centre has only been open since 2015 but we were impressed with what we saw. Breakfast had been prepared for us in a large conference hall and we enjoyed some cocoa, but unfortunately the samosas were meat based so we went hungry!

Thomas then took us to the Tumaini operation in Kayanga and we met the staff and saw the sewing school and the carpentry workshop.

Then we set off homewards. It is a long journey over some seriously interesting roads. The internal massage that such a journey gives one, had an undesirable on myself, that caused me to abandon the vehicle in the middle of the national park and, lions or no lions, contemplate the wonders of nature at close quarters. Following which, St Immodium of Diarrhoea was invoked, the patron saint of all who travel in distant lands.

We arrived in Nyakasanza absolutely ravenous and found a couple of chapatis and a couple of Mandazi were all that was on offer. We took them and wolfed them down. Frankly if I had been confronted by a lion I suspect that it might have had to look to its laurels if it wasn’t to be eaten by me!

Back home and we have had a steady stream of visitors all keen to welcome us back. Amongst them were John and Rose bearing Tim’s jacket and shirts which he had ordered. They look wonderful, let us hope they fit him! They gave us some surprising news, namely that 2 days ago they learnt that on Monday they have to move to Nyamiaga parish the other side of Ngara. About 30 pastors have been told to move on that day and some may only just have been told! The Ruzabilias were in a bit of a state as Rose works for the diocese as Sunday School cop-ordinator here in Murgwanza and the house they are moving to only has two rooms and they are a big family! If you pray please pray for that situation.

Absalom was our last visitor, just making sure we were back safely. He is still not well, with high blood pressure and what he thought might be malaria. Again prayers please if you do.

We are shattered so I think an early night is in order.

Monday

Last night it rained. Those four words are not adequate to describe the frightening deluge released from the sky – ‘a rain of terror’ perhaps? For those coming out after us I recommend wellington boots, raincoat and over trousers, a small ark and a white dove. It finally stopped about 8.00 a.m. but it is cold and damp.

We spoke to Thomas last night on the phone. The car was apparently repaired within the hour. He seemed surprised that we were concerned! Today he intends to take us to the tree nursery in the valley bottom and then to his shamba.

We managed to get up fairly early and had breakfast before Naomi arrived. She works incredibly hard and we feel guilty as she bustles around us, mopping floors on her hands and knees, ironing, washing etc. Thomas came at ten on the dot just as we were going next door with a thank you card that Christine had fashioned for Fareth and Naomi. We delivered it to Tabitha who was at her back door and then climbed into Thomas’ car and headed down into the valley to the Diocesan tree nursery.

The site has been carefully chosen:

1. It is close to the river, a much needed source of water in the wet season. At that time the seedlings need to be watered morning and evening.
2. It is close to people’s houses, which means it is more secure as the workers live near by.

The seedlings are grown in plastic tubes which are the main cost and are imported from near Mwanza. The seeds take up to a year to produce seedlings of a suitable size for planting, although some are suitable within a month. We were a little concerned about the use of plastic and asked about organic pots. An elderly man called Thomson was summoned and he disappeared off into a nearby shamba, returning with some yellow banana leaves and a wooden post.

He drove the post into the ground having dug a hole with his machete. He then proceeded to create a pot out of the leaves. It was fascinating to watch, but obviously very labour intensive and probably not practical for 120,000 seedlings they are planting here. There are a mixture of eucalyptus, pine and another species which grows very quickly. The eucalyptus is for planting in remote rural areas away from farms as they take a lot of moisture out of the ground. However they grow quickly and provide protection against soil erosion. All the trees offer this protection plus wood for burning, construction and furniture. They also improve the short term water cycle.

Many seeds are planted in each pot, then as they germinate they are thinned out and the thinning are potted on. It takes about 6 days for the seeds to germinate and they can be potted on after about two weeks.

The workforce are employed for around Tsh 40,000 – 50,000 a month (about £13 – £17), but the main object is not employment but to train them so they can go away at the end of the year and set up their own nurseries. Some have already done this. They are 10 local people, 2 of them living in sight of the nursery so they can keep an eye on it. They work from 7.30 to 12.30 as the nursery is established and from 7.30 – 10.00 at a later stage.

The soil is mixed using 20 parts local soil, which is rich in humus from the valley bottom and 3 parts manure which is brought in.

This could well become a business in the future but currently they are supporting churches, schools and poor families by giving them for free. Funding has come from the money raised on the Kilimanjaro climb and from the AFC. The aim is to make the nursery self-sustaining in the future. It has been running for a year and a half.

It was all very interesting and the workers were clearly delighted to see us posing for a group photo at the end.

We drove home and Thomas came in for a coffee and a chat before lunch. Naomi had excelled herself again with a very tasty rice, egg and vegetable mix with her signature aubergine stew. She divulged the recipe for the juice she makes – avocado, passion fruit, ginger and sugar. We are unlikely to return any thinner!

We sat out on the porch but it was decidedly chilly. About half three we went for a walk out to the ridge. The view was very clear and we could make out the Kagera river very clearly. We walked eastwards along the ridge just below the primary school. It was breath- taking. I don’t think I could ever tire of it.

Thomas arrived at 4.30 and we went off to his shamba which is a model of good practice. His banana trees and widely spaced and produce massive bunches of large bananas. What his family don’t eat he will sell at about Tsh8,000 a bunch. The price is down this year because it is a good year for everyone but it will rise to Tsh15,000 in a dry year. He has planted grafted avocados through the shamba and these will produce plentiful large fruit which will also provide a good income. He also has some trees, already very tall after only five years. He sees all his products in terms of school fees. They are investments for his family. What distinguishes Thomas’ shamba is that it is fenced to keep out animals so that young avocados and other saplings are not eaten by deer. It is all very impressive.

Back home, we settled down for an evening of writing up the day, dinner and scrabble. However I got a bit waylaid and managed to complete the monologue I have been working on on and off over the last three weeks. It still needs some work, including some research which I can’t do here, but I think it will work.

Tuesday

We woke early as we had promised Absalom that we would attend communion. It was a lovely service with Fareth sitting between us and translating for us. The student choir sang beautifully accompanied only by a drum. Wilson preached based on Joel 2. There is a heavy emphasis it seems to us on the Old Testament and the Day of Judgement. We have yet to hear a sermon (apart from Tim’s) based on the New Testament. I keep thinking that while we need to repent, of course, Jesus Christ died for our sins and we should rejoice not wallow in the misery God is predicted to inflict at the Day of Judgement! There was a moment when, just after Wilson had told us about the trumpet calls that would herald Doomsday, Fareth’s phone suddenly went off and I nearly jumped out of my skin! In spite of the apocalyptic forecasts of their preachers the students seem to be very joyous and upbeat in their faith. We were brought to the front to say a few words as this would be the last communion we would share with the students. We both spoke and were roundly applauded. Fareth in his inimitable style was wearing a shirt that it was hard to look at without dark glasses and at 50 paces.

Although it had been cool to start with, by the end of the service it had warmed up and we filed outside to have a group photograph taken. Chairs were hurriedly assembled and we were sat down. The Bishop’s secretary took the photos and Christine noticed that he was using my old ipad, so at least it is being used! Lots of pictures were taken and then as the group broke up for breakfast, individual students wanted pictures of us on their phones. Eventually we managed to get away and headed to the Bishop’s Office. Thomas had said that he would like to see us at 9.00, but we explained we would be at KCTC and could we stick to the original plan of 10.00? As we had had no reply we thought we’d get there as soon as possible. However he was in a meeting so we went with Thomas to his office.

Thomas showed us the kit that Community Health Visitors can use to teach people about reproductive health. It is provided by MMA (Medical Mission for Africa), an Australian charity. It is excellent with all sorts of useful visual aids including a very realistic looking pelvis, two dolls, a magnetic board with pictures showing the uterus and male penetration, a magnetic menstrual cycle, and a couple of knitted uteri of different sizes! We were fascinated and were still trying to get over what we had seen when we were summoned to Bishop Darlington’s office.

Darlington greeted us warmly. It was lovely to see him again and we had a very useful and constructive meeting with him. The good news is that he will becoming to the U.K. in February for a conference in Canterbury and plans to spend some time in Suffolk afterwards.

We left and Thomas suggested that we set off to Nyamiaga at 12.00. We just had time to pop home, collect the presents we had for Darlington, which we had forgotten, walk down to the dress maker who had let it be known that he needed another measurement from Christine and have a quick cup of coffee. It was positively hot by now and very welcome it was too!

Nyamiaga isn’t far and we remembered that we had been there before five years ago as we drove into the church forecourt. We walked across the grassy area in front of the church towards a line of eucalyptus trees which had been planted about the time we last visited and were now very tall. They provided some welcome shade from the hot sun, but as we came through to the other side, there was the most magnificent view across the valley. At our feet and stretching away down the rocky hillside were eucalyptus saplings, 2,500 in all.

They have been planted by the church community for a number of reasons:

1. They prevent soil erosion

2. They will provide firewood, as well as timber for building in the future. This will be a source of income for the church as well

3. They act as a windbreak for the church at the top of the hillside

4. They provide a shady area where students from the school and church members can sit quietly

5. They will provide a haven for wildlife.

The trees planted 5 years ago will be ready for cutting in another five years. Coppicing will mean that they will go on producing wood for many years to come. Eucalyptus is the only suitable tree for this location. There is no farming here as the soil is thin and the slopes steep, so there is no rpoblem of the trees taking too much water from the soil.

The saplings were planted last Autumn in the wet season. Obviously it is hard to protect them from grazing animals and other problems, but only 200 have been lost which is less than 10% and compares favourably with other tree planting projects. The evangelist, Josias, joined us we stared out over the soon to be forested slope. He is in charge of the project and is clearly doing a good job. Pastor Selestine also arrived wearing a very bright jacket which made him visible from the top of the slope if not from outer space! Crickets averted their eyes as he made his way towards us. There is a long term plan to introduce beehives in the shade of the trees and produce honey which will again provide extra funds for the church.

On our way back to the car Pastor Selestine told us about another project. He had brought back from Bokoba some vanilla plants and these were now growing in pots in Evangelist Josias’ garden. There is a ready market for vanilla pods, particularly in Uganda, so here again was some enterprise that would benefit the church and the local community. As we passed the primary school we noticed a very attractive use for plastic bottles. They were using them as edging for the borders in the school courtyard. One student had fashioned a windmill from a plastic bottle, but was rather reluctant to let me photograph it. Luckily a ‘friend’ grabbed it and held it while I took a picture.

We drove back to Ngara and went in search of honey and sesame seeds, both of which we found. The sesame seeds or ufuta were £1.00 for half a kilo, so if anyone wants some……

Back home we managed a quick lunch (Naomi’s version of pizza – not sure it would be considered as such by an y self-respecting Neapoloitan, but hey!) and a brief sit down, before Thomas arrived to take us to the Murgwanza School of Nursing to meet the Community Health Worker students and see the MMA kit in action. We first met Innocence the Principal of the school, who made us very welcome. He is quite a character and there was a lot of banter between him and Thomas. He explained that there was a real problem amongst young people as regards sexual health in particular and that he wanted his students to go back into their communities and teach others about it. Poverty and ignorance are the basic issues and he was training students to break those cycles and end unwanted pregnancies and the spread of sexual diseases. The successful students will be employed by the government in their local communities having been trained at this diocesan school. In Tanzania Aids has increased nationally but in Kagera, where it first appeared in the country, it seems to be fairly stable if not declining. However there are 5 NGOs working in the region trying to reduce HIV infection.

Innocent took us into the classroom to meet the students, one of which was Nyamlinda. The room was full of late teenage men and women who all stood up as we entered and bade us welcome. Thomas spoke and then we were invited to speak as always. Then we sat and watched Innocent deliver a lesson using the MMA kit on fistulas. It was both informative and entertaining and clearly he is a natural teacher. He was funny but never failed to deliver the importance and seriousness of the subject. Watching him trying to push an oversized baby into a pelvis held by a young woman is possibly one of the more surreal moments in our trip so far.

We were asked for some final thoughts and I gave a brief case study of the danger of ignorance in these matters from my own teaching experience. Christine mad the point that being entertaining like their tutor would enable them to get the message across in their villages.

We walked home agreeing with Thomas on the way that we would be ready at 8.00 a.m. to leave for Karagwe tomorrow. Once in we took our books out on the porch, but already the wind was getting up, the clouds were gathering and thunder was rolling in the distance. About half an hour later the heavens opened and it poured down. Thunder, lightening, wind and rain. It might not be the apocalypse, but it certainly gave us a taste!

We are planning an early night after dinner, some packing and, of course, a game of scrabble.

Saturday

Not a good night’s sleep. Woke needing to leave the bed for the usual reason. Got back into bed and was just dozing off when I heard something like scrabbling somewhere nearby – possibly in the roof. Could it be a rodent? Just how big could it be? Could it get into our bedroom?  Of course it might not have been, but what else scrabbles in the middle of the night? (I’m not talking board games here!) Of course, now I am wide awake! However I hear nothing and eventually fall into an uneasy sleep. I come to about 7.00 p.m. to hear the sound of the cistern filling. We have water! I’m out of bed and opening the taps to fill the barrels while the going is good. We have a bit of a lie in as it is Saturday, but Naomi arrives about 8.30. Breakfast, then Thomas arrives to take us to the wedding in Murukurazo about 20 minutes away. Christela wasn’t ready when he left so we go back to the house to pick her up and see the children. Noela sees me and bursts into tears. I am the big, white, scary bogey man! Eventually she calms down and I get a smile. Thomas shows me where the guest room and store room he has built next to the outdoor kitchen. He explains that sewage goes down 40 feet into the ground where it dissipates. Rubbish is put in a hole in the garden and burned. Noela waves us off.

We set off at break neck speed. Thomas drives like he talks and walks – at full speed. Even so we arrive after the bride, but that seems quite O.K. Many of the bridesmaids did not arrive until half way through the service. The bride looks very beautiful and the groom is immaculately turned out. As we enter the church we are greeted by Bishop Aaron who is taking the service. Asifiwe arrives a little later. There is much singing and dancing,  the music occasionally disturbed by ear-splitting feedback. At about 12.00 Bishop Aaron begins his homily. It is rather different from a wedding talk in the U.K. For a start it is wide ranging, taking in the subjects of divorce, HIV/Aids, infidelity, prostitution, alcoholism, infidelity again, and how to say sorry to your spouse. It seems to go down well, all 50 minutes of it!

Then the couple actually got married, although I was surprised that the groom had not run screaming from the church after the Bishop’s review of sins in marriage. Thomas and Christela were witnesses and had to go up to sign the wedding certificates. Asifiwe stood up to speak and we heard our diocese mentioned and then we were brought forward to say a few words. We should have expected it, but we didn’t. Still, I think we got away with it! The rest of the service was bizarrely punctuated by the sort of bing-bong sound that you get before an announcement of a departure at a major airport. Thomas and I started to get the giggles! About 1.30 we settled down to communion and the whole shebang was done and dusted by about 2.15, a mere 3 and a bit hours.

We left the church and Thomas decided to run us home. The expression ‘bat out of hell’ came to mind as we drove away. I was belted in, thankfully as there were moments when I think we were airborne! Finally Thomas hit a large stone in the centre of the road (a bit like Suffolk, they don’t drive on the left, but in the centre) and there was a nasty thud sound from underneath the vehicle. Christela told him to slow down, we think, because we dropped from terrifying, to only buttock clenching over the next few metres. We passed sedately through Ngara and down into the valley. Coming up the other side the car seemed to lose interest in the journey and finally sputtered to a stop as smoke came from the bonnet. We got out and surveyed the scene. Oil was coming out from the sump. It did not look good. Thomas was phlegmatic and already on the phone to a mechanic. He promised to let us know how things went. So far we have heard nothing.

We walked up the hill, thankful that the car had managed to struggle up the steepest part. We were halooed from the students’ accommodation so went over and explained where we had been. Christine took the opportunity to ask Flora to accompany her to a dressmaker in Murgwanza to explain the sort of dress she wanted. We agreed to meet at 4.30. They were impressed by our matching Tanzanian outfits – I think. At home Naomi had left us a delicious spinach tart for lunch. We were ravenous!

After a much needed resting of the eyes the students arrive in force, Flora, Philpio, Reuben and a young man on the diploma course called Nyawenda who speaks good English and seemed to take control. We walked along past the hospital chatting away and then find a dressmaker in the collection of huts on the lower road. It isn’t the one Christine went to before, but they assure us he would be able to do it. The dressmakers are both men who sit bent over two sewing machines in a room where any cat, having the misfortune, to be swung would be knocked unconscious the moment it left the ground. Nyawenda actually made it into the hut, the rest of us had to stand outside and offer helpful comments through the barred window and open door. It seems to go well. I had a picture on my ipad of the sort of dress Christine wants and the tailor deftly took her measurements. The only tricky moment was when he said the price would be Tsh80,000 which is over £25. Not unreasonable in the U.K., but rather pricey for Tanzania. We hesitated and looked a bit doubtful, however we felt obliged to accept on the basis that it was a good price in our own country. We said to our students that it seemed a bit expensive but Philipio said, “Oh, no TSH8,000 is good, a shirt costs at least Tsh5,000.” Of course, we forgot the Tanzanian tendency to add ‘tee’ to words when it is least expected and to completely ignore ‘ee’ as in ‘coffee’ or ‘lady’. The dress would cost Christine about £2.75 – outrageously cheap!

We strolled back, deep in conversation and Christine suggested that we invite them in for tea. They were delighted and we had a lovely afternoon with them. We were joined by Joctan who can sense biscuits and drink a mile away and later Deus who had come to pick up his homework. They left us about 5.45 already late for choir practice. We set about doing emails etc. and then preparing to go to Fareth’s for dinner. At 6.45 we heard a ‘hodi’ from outside (‘hodi’ means ’knock’ but you say it rather than do it apparently) and Jonathan Ruzabila appeared. He had turned up to say goodbye as he was off to school tomorrow. It was very thoughtful of him, so we wished him all the best and hoped that when we saw him again in two years time he would have achieved the grades he wants.

As we left the house to go next door there was a beautiful full moon hanging in the north-west sky. We were greeted enthusiastically by Fareth and Tabitha and spent a delightful evening talking and eating. The food was delicious, omlettes, matoke, cabbage, carrot and green pepper with peanut source, followed by pineapple and bananas. We ate our full and then sat back down to meet the rest of the family namely two girls who were the children of Fareth’s deceased brother and an older girl from his deceased sister. We sat and talked and eventually excused ourselves as we are hoping to go to the eight o’clock service at the cathedral and Fareth also has an early start preaching in a village some distance away.

All in all it has been a full day. No scrabble tonight and I hope no scrabbling either!

Sunday

A scrabble-free night but we don’t make it to the 8.00 a.m. service as the alarm fails to go off. We instead have a leisurely rise and go to the 10.30ish service. The Dean very thoughtfully provides a young man, ‘Justin’ as a translator, but, as often happens, the volume of the amplification is so high we cannot hear what he is saying. He does manage to point us to the correct Bible readings however. The sermon is interminable and is clearly a rant. It is at such volume, that I start to get a headache and so go outside. I walk across the football pitch, but the preacher, now in a state of near hysteria is clearly audible. Only when I hear the quieter tones of Rose, who is leading the service, do I return. My absence has been missed by Cosmas who is at the top table! Eventually we get to communion and after more business involving a collection for the evangelist preacher to get some priestly training we are allowed out into the fresh air. I would have gladly made a contribution if I had thought that part of the training was how to give shorter sermons without amplification! In fairness, Absalom is not a fan of the overlong harangue either!

We walk home and have lunch and a quiet read as storm clouds gather and thunder rumbles around. Although it is ‘looking black over Will’s mother’s’ we decide top risk a walk and stroll down to the tarmac road and through to the market and the view over Murgwanza Secondary and the hills of Burundi beyond. It is very grey and clearly raining hard in the distance. We hear the sound of marching below us and as we descend to the edge of the ridge we are aware of some sort of para-military training going on in the trees to our right. We move hesitantly around it, only to be hailed with ‘Karibu’ – they are not a secret terrorist cell planning to overthrow the Kagera Provincial Council, but a group of scouts and guides learning how to drill. One of them even has a scarf and woggle (possibly).

We climb back up to the hospital path to be greeted by Azmir who tried to escort us around the market a week or so back. He speaks quite good English, but is clearly a few seeds short of a passion fruit. His eyes seem to operate independently and have little connection to his brain which is very disconcerting. We engage in a brief conversation in which he insists we can see Zaire from where we are. (I’m sure we can on a clear day, if it wasn’t for the ‘ouses in between). We make a bid for the cathedral, but he follows. We decide we don’t want him coming to the house and are relieved to see that Samuel has opened the shop. We go in and try to find something to buy. Azmir follows us. We settle on some knapkins and pay Samuel, but end up paying over the odds as Samuel doesn’t have any change. We leave him with the extra Tsh500 (about 16p) and flee, heading towards Absalom’s house in the hope that he has returned. Fortunately Joctan intercepts us and then we meet Philipio and Nyawenda who have just returned by bike from Murukurazo. We walk back up to the house with them and are relieved to see that Azmir is no where in sight. We walk quickly indoors.

A short while later Cosmas and Timothy arrive, the latter to pick up his work from Christine. They stay for a chat – well Cosmas chats. He is a delightful man and asked us about the service, so I was honest and said that for us a 50 minute sermon was very long. He then told us that he has four children, three boys and a girl. The oldest is six and the most recent addition is only 2 weeks old. He hadn’t expected the latter as he had prayed for no more after the third, but it seems God had other plans. This time he is giving God some help by sending his wife to the family planning clinic, so I suppose if she falls pregnant again it will be her fault!

No word from Thomas, so not sure what is happening tomorrow. Tuesday morning we meet with Bishop Darlington. We are still unsure if we are expected at NAPS for the graduation on Friday. We’ll just have to see what comes our way.

Thursday

Rain in the night and we awoke to a very cool, some would say cold, dull day. No electricity and no water in the taps. The latter is not so much of a problem as we have large barrels of the stuff in the toilet, the bathroom and the kitchen and luckily we had filled them up. Still, if there isn’t any water in the next couple of days it could be an issue. We are following the ‘if its yellow let it mellow’ policy until the cistern fills. The lack of electricity is more of an issue. Christine without an early morning cup that cheers really does not the face the world with equilibrium. The first lesson was somewhat of a struggle. Breakfast brought no return of power so toast was off the menu and water had to suffice.

At about 11.15 a.m. the hamster must have recovered from his night on the tiles and power was restored. We dashed home and made some coffee to warm us However it has flirted with us throughout the day, raising our hopes only to dash them again. My computer lesson was a fiasco as students logged on to the desk top machines only for the power to fail. The power would then come back on and then fail again. Those on laptops had at least got batteries to keep them going.

Naomi had managed to cook an excellent hot lunch – a pasta bake that was delicious and we wolfed it down. We decided to take our tea out on the porch, but it was so cold we ended up swathed in a blanket each.

No postprandial today. Then it started to rain. Absalom arrived with some much needed supplies of loo roll and drinking water. We came in and got on with marking as our students were moving wood from the wet of Fareth’s garden into the dry of the container next to the College kitchen. I slipped up to the photocopying machine while the power was on and managed to get the sheets done that I will need for tomorrow’s lesson. I walked back in the dry and then Dvotha arrived for a chat. It started raining again and Thomas arrived full of bounce and eager to tell us about his experiences at the Tearfund conference he had just returned from. Devotha left and we settled in the lounge as the heavens opened outside. It also became very foggy and we had to have all the lights on in the house. We talked about the conference and his visit and he managed to put some more mbs on the internet modem for me.

We are still cold, but at least we have power so the dinner should be hot! The rain is much needed, but really, this is meant to be the dry season for goodness sake!

In an unexpected turn of events Christine was the Victrix Ludorum in the Scrabble this evening. Shattered I have taken to my bed as the rain continues to pour down, matched only by my tears.

Friday

Our last day of teaching at KCTC. How quickly it has come around! Weather is not improved. It rained during the night and it is still damp this morning. We have power but still no water – ironic really considering how much of it is falling from the sky. It is still decidedly cool.

We teach as planned. My lot want to know how to set out an email and a letter and when I get into the computer group I find they want to know the same, along with a C.V.. I duly oblige.

Lunch is an interesting combination of spaghetti and hard-boiled egg plus Naomi’s renowned aubergine stew. We sit indoors to read our books as it is too cold to sit outside and anyway it is still raining.

Thunder rolls around us as well. It seems that the wet season may be underway. We mark and then we move onto other admin tasks. Christine decides to iron any thing and everything in the hope that it will warm her up!

Thomas arrives full of energy, to tell us that Bishop Darlington has almost lost his voice, so he would like to meet us Tuesday morning, to give it time to recover. Let us hope that he has no preaching engagements this week-end. Tomorrow Thomas is taking us to a wedding some 15 – 20 minutes away at which he and Christela are to be witnesses. We hope they have warned the happy couple that a couple of Muzungu are turning up!

Following Thomas comes Nymulinda, so I spend some time going through the life history / begging letter he has written to correct his English. He seems very pleased for he is an eager student. Christine is heating up the second half of a delicious baked pasta dish that Naomi made when the power goes out. This is a mixed blessing as it also puts an end to the thump thump of the speaker system from the school. The lights come back briefly, enough to make dinner a possibility, but the speakers are also reactivated. Just as we are about to eat, the lights go off and this time it is for quite some while. We eat in the gloaming of the solar lights and a torch, while listening to last nights’ episode of the Archers. Incongruous, well, perhaps.

Just as we are about to wash up, Fareth appears carrying a beautifully hand written note inviting us to dinner tomorrow evening. Of course we invite him in for chai and biscuits and we have a good chat. He had been in his home village all day organising the planting of his shamba as it seems the wet season has arrive early. Looks like we are in for some very wet days ahead which would be fine if it wasn’t so blooming cold and there was some more water in the tank. According to Fareth the electricity supply isn’t strong enough (?!) to work the pumps that bring the water up from the river to the hilltop tank opposite our house. No one seems to know when the electricity will be up to snuff. This afternoon I pout a basin under the token three foot of guttering and managed to collect a flush full which has now been consigned to the cistern. We are maintaining the mellow/yellow policy until normal service is resumed.

Scrabble time is rapidly approaching. Christine clearly feels she is in with a chance after last night so I must be on my mettle. Let battle commence!

Tuesday

Not a lot to report. Communion in the College Chapel (school room) was a good start to the day with some glorious singing and an interesting and powerful sermon by Fareth. He preached from Joel. It was mostly about God punishing Israel with locusts and drought and Fareth making the point that unless we repented the same sort of thing would happen here. He also pointed out that unless we repented we might be caught unawares by the arrival of doomsday. I spoke to Absalom about it afterwards and we had a good discussion on the issue of a God who punishes his creation. I don’t think we resolved anything, but it was good to debate with a theologian whose knowledge is immense. I am still not convinced, but he did scare me by saying that my views were similar to that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. That was a low blow, even if not intended as such!

I took my pupils for a stroll around the area to talk about jobs and places of work. I think they are rather puzzled and amused by my methods. I don’t blame them. They join a long line of young people who felt much the same! This afternoon we were visited by Absalom and then Devotha. We wandered down to my tailor to see if my shirt was ready, but she wasn’t there. We’ll try again tomorrow. It is a public holiday because of Eid. A secular state has to acknowledge the holidays of both its major religions. So we are footloose and fancy free. We plan another walk into Ngara as we seem to be getting rather low on provisions.

We were invited to a fellowship meeting this evening by Flora, but something got lost in translation. The room she said it would be in was in darkness, so we went to the main classroom. It was very noisy as we approached. Looking through the windows the students seemed all to be praying at the top of their voices and rocking backwards and forwards, some of them with hands in the air. It looked a bit charismatic to us, if not quite mass hysteria it was certainly close to it. We beat a hasty retreat, after all we are British and don’t like that sort of thing – well except at football matches perhaps.

Scrabble and then to bed.

Wednesday

Scrabble last night proved rather exciting as Christine took the lead and looked like winning for some time and only hard work by yours truly restored the status quo. As a result we were exhausted and had a lie in this morning, rising only to make tea at 7.10 and flopping back into bed to read until Naomi surprised us by turning up early at about 8.30. Luckily she didn’t stop, but picked up her shopping bag and headed for the Murgwanza market.

We arose, breakfasted and, having welcomed Naomi back laden with fruit and veg. , we then set off for Ngara. On the way down the hill we called in at my tailor who was even then finishing off a sleeve. We said we would call back later. The walk down into the valley really is lovely and we stopped at the bottom to look at the diocesan tree nursery and were assailed by a man in a woolly hat. At first I thought he didn’t like us taking photos but it turned out he wanted us to come over and inspect the work. Several people were potting up seedlings and watering and we were made very welcome. Then we began the climb up to Ngara.

It is a hard slog, but seems to get easier each time. The motorbike taxis look at us askance, puzzled by the crazy wazungu who want to walk rather than ride on the back of their gleaming chrome machines. We took a left before the main road and chanced a dirt road into the back of the town, an area we had not visited before. The hunt was on!

Some misguided, foolish people come to Africa in pursuit of game. Those of us who are more sensible are hunting for those things that enable a degree of comfort and decorum to be maintained in the home. This time we were in pursuit of the elusive ‘washing up liquid’. Tim had bagged a particularly fine specimen when he was here, but as I had discovered it is excellent whiteboard cleaner we had all but run out. We had tried on Saturday to no avail. Today we intended to return with said liquid or die in the attempt – a distinct possibility if you don’t keep your wits about you walking along Ngara’s streets. Christine was also keen to track down some ufuta (sesame seeds) but was offered mafuta (cooking oil) instead. Considering Tanzania is one of the leading producers of sesame seeds you’d think there would be more of them about. Alas there seems to be a national shortage. However we cornered a bottle of washing up liquid, albeit a rather tawdry specimen which looked as though some of its content was missing. Still beggars can’t be choosers and we exited the shop with a distinct sense of triumph. To celebrate we headed for the petrol station cum supermarket for a cold drink and some vaguely English chocolate. ‘Vaguely’ because somehow my Kit-kat tasted almost but not quite unlike the version sold in the UK. Christine had more luck with a Mars bar.

Fortified we set off for home. As we climbed up the Murgwanza ridge we met Obadiah on his motorbike hurrying home as his wife is not well. We wished her well and then plodded on to my tailor’s. She waved at us and we entered her delightfully quaint establishment.

My shirt was complete and looked very nice. A casual placing against my body suggested a fit so we parted with Tsh20,000 (about £7). It actually cost a little less, but frankly……..well. Of course when I tried it on at home it is more of a seizure than a fit, being rather short and narrow in the sleeves and a little tight around the stomach. Clearly she was trying to flatter me! Still there is plenty of material in the seams and I think I’d prefer the shirt to be short sleeved as it is hardly likely to complement any of my suits. Adjustments can and will be made, no doubt at considerably more cost than the whole article.

A delicious lunch awaited us – samosas stuffed with cabbage and spinach with Naomi’s trademark aubergine stew. We took our postprandial on the porch, resting our eyes after the exertions of the morning. Christine then decided she needed some eggs, so off we went to market. We passed Fareth who was interestingly attired in T shirt, shorts and wellies and wielding a machete. He explained that he was repairing his kitchen and when I looked rather confused he added that it was his outdoor kitchen of course. All was clear. Murgwanza was deserted and unnervingly quiet. Was there no choir needing a rehearsal for goodness sake? We got the market meeting Beatrice on the way in. Like Fareth she doubted we would find any eggs at this late in the day. However we found a mat holder (stalls are outnumbered by mats in Murgwanza market) who had three in a bag. There was some confusion over price but we sorted it out and felt pleased that we had something for supper. We walked around a bit more and then a loud ‘Mr Richard’ brought us to a halt. We turned to be greeted by one of the second year students Yassem (I think!). He was delighted to see us and wanted to help. He spotted that the mat holder had actually got more eggs for sale behind her and so once again we patronised her mat and came away with four more eggs. We left the market via the path at the back of the hospital, trying to work out what each egg had cost us in pence. Our final decision was about 12p.

Home now and the sky has darkened, the air is oppressive and rain has fallen. Nothing much but a little. We have the lights on and it is still dark. Christine is happily sorting out the larder and so all is well with the world!

Absalom dropped by and stayed for tea and biscuits and a chat. He is a very interesting man to talk to, particularly about the church, KCTC and life in Kagera. We learnt a lot! Now it is time for dinner and the Scrabble tournament!

Sunday

A lazy day today, although any hopes of a lie in were dashed as at something like 6.00 a.m., before sunrise, the students assembled with their bikes about 10 feet from our bedroom window in preparation for cycling off to the parishes they had been allocated for the day. The metal door of the shed banged, bells rang, loud voices called out etc., so any further sleep was impossible until they bicycled off. Resigned, I got up to make tea at about 7.20 and we managed some book reading time in bed until we eventually got up for breakfast and a stroll to Sunday service.

We left at 10.10 but the 8.00 a.m. service was still in full swing. Others in their Sunday best were hovering outside. We ascertained that communion had still not been taken so we went back to the house for another 20 minutes and were still a bit too soon. We met Devota outside and she offered to sit with us which was a help with finding the right Bible passages. At first we sat near the front, but the volume from the speakers plus the terrible feedback at the start of the service forced us towards the back. Devota tried to explain what was happening, but the noise was often too loud for us to hear her. The choirs were excellent with one of them, including Devota’s twin brothers, producing a very lively dance routine. The sermon was of course unintelligible for us but clearly delivered with great passion. The speaker indulged in much finger wagging, scowling admonition and the occasional bizarre and slightly unsettling chuckling. Whenever he made a point that his congregation particularly liked they burst into applause, something I think we should be doing when Sharon or William hot the spot. There were also a lot of ‘Amenas’ and some hand raising. During this a young boy wandered in to speak to someone a few rows in front when he turned around I saw that he was wearing a T shirt emblazoned with a muffin and the word STUD printed across the top of it. It was hard to equate the word with the child or the picture. The sermon was only thirty minutes long and then there were announcements and finally communion. Only two hours the whole service, which in Tanzanian terms is not bad going.

Outside we spoke with Rose and a young pastor called Emmanuel. Rose’s mother is till far from well and to add to the problem Rose has back pain. She was most apologetic that she hadn’t invited us over, but we said we understood. She is going to invite us sometime this week or next for a meal and to receive the rest of Tim’s clothes. We followed a herd of goats home, one poor little kid limping and very thin and, I suspect, not long for this world. Various of the students waved as they returned home and then Joctan bounced over, clearly much better. He had been helping out at the hospital service. As we ate lunch a youth appeared and knocked timidly at the door. He introduced himself as a nurse at the hospital, but I couldn’t understand what he wanted, so I said we were still eating lunch and he went his way. No doubt he will be back.

After a brief postprandial, we were preparing for tomorrow when a hello came from outside the door. True to her word she had brought a brief (thankfully) summary of the sermon in reasonably good English. As she sat down, the young man who had appeared earlier arrived and we realised this was her brother Nyamulinda. His English is pretty good but it isn’t always easy to understand either of them because of their pronunciation – not least the ‘r’ ‘l’ confusion. Mind you we had to compete with a sound system from the school that was shaking the house and the trees around it. This is a type of ‘loud’ that would be considered a health hazard at 200 paces.

I wonder if deafness is going to be a problem in the younger generation as they age as a result? We talked about the differences between church in Tanzania and the U.K. and then we got onto more general aspects of society. One of the interesting things they told us was that their twin brothers whom we had seen dancing in church were called Doto and Kurua and were both 17. “But surely they don’t drive taxis”, we exclaimed. There was some confusion until we explained that there are twin taxi drivers by that name who had taken Tim and Esther into Ngara (well one of them had, they didn’t travel in separate taxis obviously!). They then explained that Kurua meant ‘the fast one’ in Swahili and was the name given to the first twin out of the womb while Doto is the name given to the second out (presumably ‘the slow one’ but I don’t think we established that!). Nyamulinda is just finishing nurse training and is writing a dissertation of sorts and wondered if we had a flash drive spare on which he could save his work. Unfortunately we don’t. As they left we took their photos and we gave them some paper to write a little bit about themselves so we can use them in the fund-raising brochure at Lent.

I should just mention insects at this point as a very large one appeared in the porch today. We are told it is harmless, but that’s not the impression it gives. In fact it looks fairly lethal, although it was happy to pose. Thank goodness for a telephoto!

Later we went for a walk which I had done with Thomas two years ago. It leads out the back of the primary school and through a number of shambas with excellent views over the Kagera river until a sharp turn at a drinking place brings you onto the road past Thomas’s house. It was a lovely walk and eventually we passed the speaker stack that was shaking the very foundations of our house. We went up to Womencraft and watched the sun set which was stunning as it went in and out of cloud before it lit the sky with orange and pink tinges.

The speakers were still blasting out but eventually fell silent at about 7.30 when presumably the utter darkness meant that their owner was scared he wouldn’t be able too find them! A blessed relief! Dinner, scrabble, bed.

Monday

A very overcast day today, much like the U.K., but warmer. A good teaching day. My group was learning about daily activities and we got into some difficulties over an English breakfast. ‘Cereal’ is incredibly difficult to explain as is marmalade. Toast also proved a difficult concept – why would you want to make bread crisp with the risk of burning it? After break I came back to class with a toaster and some marg. and jam and made toast. Flora did not want to try it, but the boys did and quite liked it. Later we read ‘The Lord’s Supper’ from St Luke’s gospel and talked about communion and different types of services. They tried to teach me how to say ‘Holy Communion’ in Swahili, but I have to say I think I failed that test! I had to leave at 12.50 to teach computing, so Beatrice sat in while they had a test.

Naomi cooked us a delicious lunch of mixed egg rice with vegetables and aubergine and tomato stew. We had just settled down for our postprandial when Absalom arrived for a chat. Our discussion ranged widely and was very interesting about his views on leadership in the church and other institutions and we agreed on most things. He has had very high blood pressure over the last few days, so please pray for him if you can. He also told us about a horrific accident at Rusumo (the Rwanda / Tanzania border post. A petrol tanker’s brakes failed and ploughed into seven other tankers, all of which caught fire. The driver died and I think others were injured. Again prayers please if you do.

Just after four o’clock the headteacher of Ndomba Secondary School arrived with a class teacher and Obediah to look at the possibility of a link with a secondary school in the U.K. We offered tea and it was at this point that we discovered our kettle isn’t working. Back to boiling water on the hob, although there is a small travel kettle we can use as well. We talked about the differences and similarities of schools in our two countries. Class sizes are anywhere between 45 and 60 in their school which is fairly typical. The school day starts at 7.00 a.m. and the first 20 minute break is at 11.00! At 1.00 p.m. extra-curricular activities start including debating, sports etc. These didn’t seem to be an option; everyone had to do something. Children go home at 3.00 p.m. which means they have an eight hour day! The school has boarding facilities which are not government owned but run by the school. However they do not bring in extra revenue, they just pay for themselves. Pupils study 9 subjects at O level which they take at 18. This is the top preforming government school in the region.

As we took pictures of each other outside the very tall and serious teacher asked what subject I taught. He was delighted when I said Geography as he is a Geography teacher as well. He asked me some probing questions about discipline and how easy was it to deal with disruptive pupils. Corporal punishment is still an option in Tanzanian schools, but is used less than it was. It was good to talk to them about the pressures that schools are under in our two countries which were surprisingly the same – inspections, shortage of resources, time to get everything done etc.

After they had left Nymulinda arrived with a short essay on his life! We asked for a few key points to include with his photo, but have got a lot more. Inevitably it ended on a fiscal note. He would like to continue his studies at A level but doesn’t have the money. It seems a universal tale here at some level or another. We went for a short walk and passed one of the choirs practising outside, fortunately the speakers turned away from our house! The sun is going down, bathing everything in gold.

Wilbard made a late visit just as we were about to eat. We invited him in of course, but after some discussion of the week-end and the school day, we had to ask him to leave and let us have our dinner. The problem is people just turn up!

Wednesday

Last night Tim and Esther went for a meal at the Ruzabila’s and returned with their tailored items. Things had clearly got lost in translation and it may well be that Maths is not Rose’s strongpoint. They showed us a lovely tablecloth, but instead of 8 napkins Rose had made 25 – as Esther pointed out, one for each person in their village practically! Tim had wanted a laptop bag and Rose had made one to exactly the size of Tim’s laptop which meant that the laptop wouldn’t actually fit in the bag! Esther’s dress was so small if she could have got it on she would have been arrested for public indecency – it might just fit her sister! Her dressing gown was O.K. but it had been cut and stitched with no regard to the pattern and the sticky labels on the material were still attached and sewn through. A shoulder bag for Tim’s wife showed two half elephants – mainly their lower halves. Rose still hadn’t completed the rest of Tim’s enormous order so we will bring the rest home when we return.

This morning was much like any other. After a cold and windy night we rose early and stripped washed in the bath before breakfast. However as it was Tim and Esther’s departure day, Tim treated us to an omlette each before we set off to teach at 8.30. At breakfast we said our goodbyes, but as it turned out they were still there for our small break at 11.15. They finally left about 12.00. We will miss them as we have had a lot of laughs and entertaining discussions. I went off to teach computers and had a chance to assess the state of the room. There are two computers which are completely dead according to the students and are so old they would undoubtedly be in a museum in the U.K.. Another laptop doesn’t work because the lead has been broken. I’m sure a lead could be bought for less than a tenner in the U.K. The problem is that there is only 1 socket for the 5 working machines so cables lie all over the floor so they are easily broken. One or two more sockets would solve the problem! 5 or 6 more laptops would improve things a great deal. It would also help if they all had the same version of word, or failing that freeware like Libre Office which I am very impressed with!

We enjoyed a lunch of potato omlette, and cabbage and aubergine stir fry which was very tasty, but we eschewed the plantains. With this amount of egg we good well have problems, but so far so good! After marking we went up to the Murgwanza market and wandered around, but unfortunately were picked up by Azmir who seemed a little the worse for drink and wanted to explain the blinking obvious to us at every step. We tried ignoring him but he was very persistent. Christine spotted another Kitenge she liked and bought it for Tsh10,000 and we topped up on onions and tomatoes. We left the market via the path at the back of the hospital and our over-solicitous friend waved us a cheerful farewell and went back into the market. Perhaps he was just trying to be helpful?

Only one power cut so far this evening. At least they don’t last long and there is limited solar back up. For some reason there is always a black out between 9.50 and 10.05p.m. which lasts about 5 minutes. I assume they are changing the hamster at the power station? I think tonight’s dinner might include tomatoes and onions as we discovered that Naomi had also been to the market today and had topped up on those veg. as well. A game of scrabble rounded off the evening. I’m not allowed to say who won!

Thursday

Another windy night but not quite as cool. Rose at seven as usual, strip wash and a slice of toast and cup of tea before the start of lessons at 8.35. Some interesting problems trying to explain the concept of theatre (like a film but the people acting are actually there in front of you!). Break at 9.15 for breakfast but it coincided with a power cut so no tea or coffee. Second break at 11.15 and the power was back on, so coffee then. At 12.05 I went off to teach computer basics to find that an electrician was hard at it in the computer room putting in 3 more double sockets. I couldn’t believe it. I had only suggested to Fareth and Absalom yesterday that that would be useful as fewer cables would need to trail across the floor and therefore fewer would get damaged. The rapid response was amazing. The next thing is more laptops. If you are reading this and have an old laptop stashed away please consider it for KCTC. It would make a lot of difference to the students. Unable to teach I headed back to my English class.

By 1.00 p.m. we all get a little tired so I got my three out onto the path and practising meeting people in the street, asking where they were going and offering a lift. They loved it and we had a lot of laughs!

Lunch was spinach tart which is very tasty but rich. Later I wandered over to the computer room how the work was progressing and it was all complete and working. I changed the position of the plugs and cables, making use of the new sockets. Clearly there is no expectation of workmen clearing up after they have worked as I crawled through dust, bits of plaster and spare cable trunking. Still, already there has been an improvement. After marking we headed out to the football pitch to watch the students playing a friendly match in their new strip which Tim had brought over. They certainly looked the business. It was glorious wandering along the touchline in the sunshine and looking back at the cathedral and the view across to Ngara from Murgwanza. One choir was practising in the cathedral and another outside of a house opposite the pitch, so quiet it was not!

We returned to give my students back their homework, then as the sun was setting we went out to the ridge and watched it go down. It was stunning. I shall never get tired of that view. As the sun gets lower the light changes in the valley below and different parts of it seem to glow. The sun slowly turns to a red ball then very quickly disappears from view. You can literally see it sinking below the horizon. We walked back up to the house and Christine made some very good tomato soup which along with the remains of the tart and some tomatoes formed our dinner. Now for another game of scrabble before the 10.00 p.m. power cut and turning in – can we stand the pace I hear you ask!

Friday

Very much a Friday feeling in the classroom today. We were tired, the students were tired, but their enthusiasm saw us through. Joctan, was ill and so much less bouncy which was somewhat of a relief! Christine tackled ‘time’ with her students and came away feeling battered and bruised! She is busy making a new worksheet with lots of clocks on it as I write. Rice and beans for lunch. Absalom visited this morning, but he was less than ebullient having spent yesterday feeling unwell due to high blood pressure. I did mention the shower again, but I’m not holding out much hope!

This afternoon we visited Asifiwe, the General Secretary and had a very useful chat about matters diocesan. Otherwise we have marked, prepared and read our books.

I doubt if I shall return much slimmer. Naomi makes the most delicious white bread as well as first rate biscuits. Christine has also decided to take on the challenge of the kitchen and its limited resources and is turning out lemon biscuits by the cartload. The first batch were very nice if somewhat charcoaled – let’s be honest, burnt. However the latest batch are excellent and now she is talking about making peanut butter balls – an African recipe which she sometimes makes at home – we call them ‘wee balls’. So there is little hope of weight loss!

We have a new nightwatch man who I certainly wouldn’t like to tangle with! He turned up just after sunset which suggests he’s keen at least! I rustled up a pretty fair dinner of egg-fried rice with onion and tomato and the remains of an aubergine stew that Naomi left us. Our nightly scrabble game brought the evening to a close. And so to bed.

Saturday

Ah, the Saturday morning lie in – there’s nothing like it – well there’s nothing like it here anyway! At 7.30, half an hour after we normally get up, our students were repairing their bicycles just outside our bedroom window. Since nothing is done quietly in Tanzania, the repair process involved a great degree of shouting and banging. I got up to make tea. We did spend a little longer in bed reading our books, but there was no chance of further sleep.

Still, today has been a lazy day. We had a leisurely breakfast and waited for our students to arrive to collect their marked work. None of them did, so we wandered over to the bicycle repair area and bumpedinto Absalom in a yellow T shirt and bright green wellies. He explained that bikes needed to be in tip-top condition as the students would be cycling to far flung parishes for services tomorrow. We wandered down to the shamba where other students were breaking up the earth with hoes between the pine trees that they had planted. The students study CCMP methods, including re-afforestation so that they can spread the word in their parishes. We were encouraged to have a go and I think they were impressed once they had stopped laughing! Flora asked if she could take some pictures using my camera. So here you are! A few minutes was quite enough for us. As Absalom commented, “Imagine doing this for most of a day. That is why we eat so much carbohydrate.” It makes absolute sense.

We got ourselves ready and then headed into town. On the way down into the valley we passed a tailor shop (one of so many in the area). Our eyes were caught by the kitenge hanging up there and we chose one for a shirt. We speak no relevant Swahili and she spoke no English, but somehow we made her understand that I wanted a shirt and she took my measurements, in much the same way as my tailor in Saville Row does (!) and we agreed on a price Tsh7,000, although I can’t quite believe that includes the material as well. I have to return in three days. I think it may catch the eye back home!

We had barely left her ‘shop’ when we heard a ‘good morning’ and there was Job, Pastor Samson’s son approaching us. He had spent the night in Murgwanza and was now heading into Ngara to catch the bus back to Mabawe. He is a very serious young man, but very pleasant and as I panted up the road to the Ngara ridge he asked if he could share his ambitions with me. I assumed that this might end in a request for sponsorship, but no. He simply wanted to tell me what he thought God was calling him to do. In a couple of words give ‘careers’ advice’ to young people. He said that many parents were just focused on getting their children into University and through their degree. However many graduates, like him, found there were no jobs and had pursued degree courses they were not particularly interested in. He wanted to be able to advise students and parents to take the right degree courses i.e. the ones that really interested them. I suggested that this did not seem to be a way for him to make money unless he could convince a school that this was worth doing, or the government that there should be a careers’ advice programme. He said that he hoped his idea would be taken up by the church and would start there. He seemed very determined, but perhaps a little naive. However he told me that he regularly writes for magazines and broadcasts on religious radio stations, so he clearly has something to offer. As we parted outside the shops I wished him well and promised to pray for him. Christine had been rather left out of these man to man confidences, so we now focused on the shopping.

We found the central market by slipping through an alleyway. It was fairly empty as the big market on the hill competes with it on a Saturday. We wandered around attracting much attention and many ‘karibous’ if we showed the slightest interest in any item. Christine wanted one of the hand held besoms (ufagio) that are everywhere and bought one for a Tsh1,000. We then bought a pineapple and some passion fruit (I can do fruit in Swahili than goodness!). We wandered on, enjoyingthe fact that there was no time pressure. We went into a fabric shop that had a wide range of kitenge and khangas. A large man hovered around us reaching up to pull out any cloth in which we showed interest and thus releasing a pungent aroma of stale sweat that would have stopped a skunk at 60 paces. Eventually he lost interest and when we did find a ketengi we liked a callow youth told us it cost Tsh16,000. Now we may be mzungu, but we are not stupid. Over £5 for 4 metres of cloth! What do they take us for? Double the price anywhere else. We walked out. We found the ‘supermarket’ – a small but relatively modern shop mainly populated by assistants so that there is little room for shoppers, which is probably why they don’t seem to sell very much. Still we managed to weave our way through the assistants for the four paces into the shop, the two paces between the two aisles and the three paces to the till. On the way we picked up packets of fresh local coffee, scrumptious peanut butter, margarine and other essentials. The only stumbling block was washing up liquid which is extremely useful for cleaning the whiteboard in class. Tim had found some somewhere in Ngara, but we couldn’t find it anywhere, ‘not even for ready money’.

I was now laden down with fruit and groceries and we headed back to Murgwanza. Some young boys enjoyed posing for their photograph with a simple toy they had made.

At some point in the trip we acquired two or three boys who followed us in uncomfortable silence all the way back to Murgwanza. They seemed overawed. When we stopped, they stopped; when we started they started; when we crossed the road so did they. It began to get unnerving. At the T junction in Murgwanza I suggested that we gave them a dilemma by splitting up. I went one way and Christine went the other. They followed Christine. Sensibly she sought refuge with the students, who thought it was very funny. We managed to make it home without the boys following the last few yards.

Lunch was a delicious vegetable tart and fresh pineapple. We read our books and our students collected their work – we still need to work on how to tell the time in English it seems! At about 4.00 p.m. the peace was shattered by one of the choirs who decided to test their sound equipment outside the cathedral. The speakers are facing away from the house but the throb is all persuasive and birds quit their roosts and small animals ran for cover as the amplifier was turned up to 11+. Still it is good to hear the choir singing and no doubt we shall enjoy the performance tomorrow at the 10.00 or possibly 10.30 service (it starts when it starts!), as long as we sit at the back – or possibly in Ngara!

It doesn’t seem possible that we have been here two weeks now and next week is our last week of teaching.

Monday

Absalom arrived early and stayed for tea and toast before accompanying me to the office to do some photocopying. Fareth is back from his brother’s whose son died last week. He was very concerned as his brother was very depressed. He said that things were a little better.  Slight worry that there was no more water in the tank outside, but luckily it came on  after breakfast so we should be alright!

We had a good morning teaching, including some reinforcement of last week’s work and a test. When we got back Absalom was fitting our new shower which we paid him for. We spent the afternoon marking while Tim and Esther went into town to do a little shopping. I tried to photograph some birds in the garden, but without a great deal of success.

Joctan and Philipo arrived about 5.00 p.m. to collect their work books. As they were meant to collect them at 4.00 p.m. I joked that they were finding telling the time difficult. They replied very seriously that they had had some work to do – possibly on the College’s shamba. Some other visitors had also arrived, Joan, Asante and their friend Jackie were brought to visit us by Devota who teaches at the local kindergarten – Patmos Day Care Centre. She is a qualified English teacher and has also a trained as a nurse if I understood her correctly. She would like to have an opportunity to practise her English as she is worried that she might forget what she has learnt. I suggested that if she would like to come around in the afternoons or at week-ends and we were in and had the time we would practise with her. Christine talked to the girls who already have a good grasp of English vocabulary.

They left, and we headed off to Absalom’s house. It is a very smart house with a large lounge and seats for about 14 people. We met Ethel, his wife, whom we had briefly met before, and sat and chatted. Then peanuts were put out, grown on Absalom’s shamba, and very good they were too! Then Absalom said he wanted us to try something. He went away and came back with a plastic bottle of fairly clear liquid. He poured it into glasses and we sipped our first taste of banana juice. It was delicious! It is made simply by mashing very ripe bananas and straining the liquid out through a sieve and adding water. The result is sweet and refreshing with a hint of banana but it is not overpowering. Ethel then made us tea – black with a strong flavour of fresh ginger – again delicious. We left after about an hour and on the way the way out we visited Absalom’s milk cows – two fine beasts and a calf. One of the cows is pregnant having been put to the bull some weeks ago. If it is a bull calf, Absalom will rear it for a while then kill it for beef.

We wandered home and then Christine and I went to view the sunset over Burundi. It was magnificent!

On our return, Tim offered to concoct a jackfruit, shallot and garlic curry. It was delicious and we all enjoyed it with some vegetable rice. While Tim was cooking it some of my students arrived to collect their marked work. When we told them Tim was cooking they fell about and thought we were making a joke. Christine told them that I cook at home and they thought that was unbelievable. It is still quite a sexist society!

Tuesday

It was positively cold again last night with a strong wind. Huddled under our blankets and a counterpane we managed to stay warm but only just. I wish I had taken Anji’s advice and brought long pyjamas! A fleece would not go amiss in the evenings and early mornings. We shall no longer laugh when Thomas talks about needing a strong jumper!

We got up at seven and I enjoyed the first warm shower under the new shower fitting. Everyone else refused to try it, Tim citing Thomas Merton an eminent theologian who was electrocuted under a shower. Luckily I have very little theology so I felt quite safe. Towards the end of my brief shower it turned cold and it seems to have packed up all together! £15 down the drain I suspect.

Christine was convinced that communion in the chapel was at 8.00 a.m., but the College timetable said 8.30. At about 8.10 Absalom arrived asking if we wanted to come along as the service had just started. This caught Tim by surprise as he was still in bed, but somehow we managed to get there by 8.15 and we were glad we did as the choir sang and danced beautifully. It was cold in the chapel but they lit the fire within us. There is something very wonderful about hearing such beautiful singing in the clear light of early morning. We took communion and then came outside for the final prayer, before hurrying back to breakfast and some hot coffee.

Today we tackled food, drink and going to the pub. This proved somewhat difficult as drinking is a strict no-no amongst Christians here so our glass or two of wine at the week-end was definitely frowned upon. Going to a pub was right out of order. We agreed that this was a cultural difference we would both have to accept!

This afternoon we marked and prepared after lunch and then Christine and I went for a walk onto the old airstrip and above the Murgwanza Secondary School perched on the ridge with stunning views. Once home we had a visit from Obediah and Job, Rev. Samson’s son, who is off to Dar in a fortnight’s time. They stayed for tea and a chat, Obediah hoping that we might form a school link with a secondary school at which he is a governor. Christine was very interested and Obediah will pass on the Head’s details at some point over the next two weeks. Tim and Esther have gone to Rose and John’s house for a meal – apparently we will be invited at a later date. Tomorrow Tim and Esther leave us and we will miss them. So, tonight it is dinner a deux, the first of many no doubt!

Kagera 5

Saturday

A leisurely start to the morning was very welcome. We had decided that we would go to the big Saturday market on the hillside on the edge of Ngara, so set off just after 11.00. It is a lovely walk down into the valley bottom and then up the other side. The river is full of beautiful purple water lilies and several children wanted s to take their pictures. We climbed up the hill and followed the new road to the main Ngara road, turning right to go to the bank as Tim and Esther wanted some money. At the bank we met Christela and her sister. We also asked about the lost keys, but none had been handed in. Then we were approached by a young man on a bike – Wilbert (Wilbard – not too sure to be honest!) from NAPS who insisted on accompanying us to the market.

We were glad of his company as he could make sure that we weren’t paying ‘muzungu’ prices. We entered at the top of the market and wandered down to where the kangas and kitenge are sold. We looked around but nothing grabbed Christine’s attention, so we went down into the fruit and veg. Area, Wilbert explaining what various vegetables were. We ended up buying some lemons and some unusual looking avocados.

Christine eventually settled on a couple of kitenge at a suitable price and after an hour or so, the heat and exertion started to get to us so we beat a retreat to the petrol station for some cold drinks and a Mars bar. A poor woman, who clearly had mental health issues, followed us from the market and turned up in the petrol station shop. She wanted money and proceeded to make a nuisance of herself as we bought our treats. Wilbert tried to deal with her, but as we headed back to the road she decided that she was on a hiding to nothing and went back to the market.

We took the earth road down the hillside and Wilbert eventually left us as we rejoined the tarmac road. Apparently he lives nearby in rented accommodation. I have feeling we haven’t seen the last of him as he was dropping hints about his need for sponsorship for his M.A.! We walked down into the valley bottom and then up the other side, sweating profusely in the heat, but grateful for the extra energy the Mars bar had given us. Half way up we met the headmaster of the ‘Good Shepherd’ coming down on his motorbike. He was keen for a chat and has promised to have another look for the lost keys. Then we bumped into Naomi on her way downhill and several of our students. It seemed that everyone was heading for Ngara! As we reached the bottom road there was a great deal of honking and a cavalcade of cars approached all decked out in ribbons. It was the wedding party from the cathedral with the bride and groom standing up through the sunroof of the third or fourth car waving at all and sundry and the choir packed into a cattle truck bringing up the rear. It was quite a sight. As we approached home we realised that the Mothers’ Union building was where the reception was being held. The noise was deafening as several speakers inside were clearly turned up to 11 or beyond. We had not been invited to the wedding (why should we be?) but the wedding had definitely come to us.

At about 6.00 p.m. Tim joked that they would almost certainly stop celebrating about 8.00 so that the children could go home to bed. Weirdly at 8.00 p.m. everything went quiet save for a few cars heading off and the sound of voices as people headed (with their children presumably) homewards. The rest was silence!

We went to bed early as we have to be up at 5.45 a.m. to get ready for our departure to Mahabwe at 6.55. No lie in tomorrow!

Sunday

The exercise meant that I had a really good night’s sleep and woke refreshed if rather surprised as the alarm went off at 5.45. Bleary eyed we got ourselves together. Absalom arrived at 6.55 and we headed off to Ngara and then westwards to Marabwe. The journey was along a ridge with spectacular views either side. The road was relatively quiet although here and here family groups in their Sunday best were heading for church. We arrived more or less at 7.30 and were greeted by a relieved Pastor Samson who we had last met at KTCT in 2013. Tim robed up and we were taken to our seats behind the altar. The clergy processed in and the service got underway. A female choir sung beautifully with just a drum accompaniment; indeed there was no electronic music in the church which was a blessed relief. Tim preached an excellent sermon on faith and religion based around Matthew6 1-16 which Absalom translated.

Then, after the announcements, I was invited to say something, which I duly did. Thankfully it seemed to go down well and we were then ushered out to enjoy breakfast at Pastor Samson’s house – tea (or chai) and bread. We went for a short walk around the church and school before witnessing the end of the service as everyone came out into the open area at the west end of the church.

A quick turn around and we were back inside for the second service, billed as a ten o’clock but now running a little late. We found it hard to keep awake, it has to be said, even though Tim once again preached his excellent sermon. This time we stayed on for communion and the auction of gifts at the end of the service. Tim had the idea that we would try to out-bid each other for 3 eggs and hopefully amuse the locals. We checked with Absalom that this would not be seen as us showing off our wealth and with his blessing we did just that with me pantomiming outrage at every new ridiculous bid from Tim until I got three eggs for Tsh10,000 (just over £3). Some people found that amusing, but I have to say that I’ve played to easier audiences. We filed out and shook everyone’s hands before we broke up to head for the pastor’s house again for lunch.

It was quite a spread with a massive bowl of rice, an equally large bowl of mtoke (which was very tasty), beans and some beef for the meat eaters. However we Brits. are a disappointment to the locals when it comes to eating as we can never match their prodigious appetites. We did our best but looked on in admiration at their bowls piled high not once but often twice! As Absalom pointed out you need all those carbs. if you are spending the afternoon on your shamba.

We headed back to Murgwanza, the air blowing into the car redolent with the scent of coffee in flower. This is a major coffee growing area as Ngara coffee is making a name for itself. A large sack of dried coffee cherries sat in the vestry at Mahabwe church. They did not seem of the highest quality, but who knows. This is a fairly new and expanding enterprise and in time ………

As we turned down the road from Ngara to Murgwanza there was a very ominous hissing sound and the rear nearside tyre of Absalom’s car was flat. We pulled over and began the process of changing the wheel. This proved more difficult than anticipated. The jack was very stiff and the suspension very slack, so that every turn of the jack meant the suspension sagged a little more and the tyre remained firmly on the ground. Absalom, Tim and I took it in turns to work the jack which was hard work in the heat. Eventually we worked at the ground under the tyre trying to excavate a hole under it to be able to slip it off and put the new one on. After about 30 minutes we had succeeded and we were on our way.

The afternoon was spent drinking tea, reading and sleeping. A short walk gave us stunning views of the setting sun and then it was time for dinner. Teaching again tomorrow, so not a late night. I wonder how much the students will have forgotten in two days?!

Thursday

Thursday morning, Thomas arrived early and quickly sorted out the buying of more wi-fi time using m-pesa. I hope we don’t run out again before he returns, although he assured me that any one can do it – well anyone who speaks Swahili and is under 40 I suspect! Thomas invited us around for a meal tonight at 6.00 p.m. to see his new house.

No more new students, and a good morning’s teaching although it is obvious that Joctan, Philipo and Flora are more advanced than the rest. Elias is really struggling. Beatrice supported our request for another room in which to teach the advanced trio and so tomorrow I will go next door with them.

After lunch, Absalom took us to ‘The Good Shepherd’ Secondary School which seems much improved since we last went there 6 years ago. The head, Mr Kibiriti, was very pleasant and clearly on the ball. They have 150 students, 14 teachers and 9 support staff, but could take up to 320 students. They need to rebuild the school’s reputation after the last few years. The last head had to be forceably removed from the school! It costs parents Tsh1.1 million (about £370) a year to send a child to the school, so only the richest can afford it, unless they make real sacrifices. The school is supported by the Diocese of Wellington in New Zealand. There are both Christian and Muslim pupils at the school so Bible Knowledge is offered as an optional subject. We looked in at a Standard 4 class and were impressed by the work in their books, although the cynic in us wondered if it wasn’t largely copied.

We moved on to NAPS where the school day had just ended. We went up to the new dormitory and were impressed to see that it is almost finished. It needs a thorough clean, some paint and the fittings. Outside workmen were busy finishing off the cesspool. The school mini-bus was ferrying pupils home in batches. There are now 234 pupils and it is hoped that the dormitory for 40 pupils will be opened for the next academic year.

On our way home we stopped at the bank and were able to withdraw cash without a problem. Tim had tried before without success. We got home to discover that the house keys had vanished from Tim’s pocket. We searched the car but without success. Tim was mortified, but of course it could have happened to any one of us. Absalom went and got the only spare key from Naomi. Now we have a new mortis lock on the door, as well as the old Yale. Apparently you cannot get a key cut unless you go to Mwanza. I think there is money to be made if someone set up a key cutting business in Ngara!

Thomas duly arrived at 6.00 p.m. and took us around to his very smart new house. It really is very impressive, with a very comfortable lounge and a small, but pleasant, dining room. We were greeted by Joan and Asante, who were playing outside. When we came in Christela appeared with Noela who is even more beautiful if that is possible – doting god-father speaking here of course! However Noela, still got rather upset and wouldn’t look at us, but at least she didn’t cry! We were invited into the dining room and a banquet! The table groaned under Thomas’s home-grown bananas and beans, more beans (also home-grown), peas, a spinach dish, rice, avocados, pineapples, water melon, passion fruit, and oranges. It was a wonderful meal and conversation flowed with the relative merits of socialism and capitalism being amongst the topics. There wasn’t room for the children, nor for Christela, her sister who was soon to be going to University and another young girl.

We managed to make it back into the lounge and collapsed. We gave the girls their presents for which they all said thank you, but they weren’t opened but taken away into another room to be opened later. Thomas took us on a tour of his house which has 3 bedrooms, toilet and bathroom, an indoor kitchen and then an outdoor kitchen with the charcoal stove. Tim was so impressed with the stove he is going to buy one from Thomas and take it home! We returned to the lounge and Esther’s pencil case became the object of interest for Joan and Asante while Christine and I tried to get Noela to smile. She had stopped hiding at least and was looking at us wit those big eyes. Eventually Thomas suggested that perhaps we would like to go home so we piled back into the car and drove along the pitch dark road back to home.

Friday

Absalom opened up the classroom next door for my three advanced students to work in. They moved their desks and chairs in and a desk and chair was found for me along with a whiteboard on a stand. A new light bulb was also needed and there was a brief health and safety moment as Joctan balanced on a desk and tried to remove the old bulb from a very dodgy socket. Eventually Absalom managed to put the new bulb in and there was light. The teaching went well, although it took a while for me to realise that the reason the whiteboard kept falling over was that no-one had put the latch on at the back. We have discovered that jungle formula insect spray is very good at cleaning the board after use. We managed to get up to ‘telling the time’, but I think that will need some reinforcement on Monday. Beatrice took over while I went to teach computing – no power cut this time so only 2 students to each machine. I wish I had had time to prepare for this and fully understood what they need. Still they seem happy!

The afternoon was spent marking. I had asked my pupils to come at 4.00 p.m. to collect their work, but all the other students turned up as well! There was one of those awkward moments as they stood half in and half out of our room, neither of us quite sure what was going on. Once I had explained that my group was getting their work back and Christine had said her group could have their work back at 5.00 p.m. it was all sorted out. Tim and Esther had spent the day with Fareth up on the Burundi border which at time sounded a bit hairy! When they returned Fareth, Tabitha, his wife and a cousin had brought them home and stayed for tea and biscuits.

Later we went for a walk and when we came home we found an English/Swahili teacher from NAPS called Wilbert visiting Tim and Esther. He had been telling them his life history (becoming an orphan at ten, drifting around for a time, fending for himself and then persistently asking a rich family to take him in which they eventually did – they now regard him as a son.) He is now looking for sponsorship for a Master’s degree and based on his track record I would be surprised if he didn’t get it! Absalom was also here having bought us some provisions from Ngara.

Christine baked a cake for Tim’s birthday (belatedly) which turned out rather well. We had a meal and then read and talked until bed time. We slept well and thankfully there was no reason for an early rise on Saturday