Day 4

I think it's day 4?  It feels like we have been here for a while and it is hard to believe that we are already one-third of the way through our time in Mwanza.

Today we did our first Care Point.  As I have explained before, it is an after school program (optional) where people or teachers come in and teach lessons or have homework help.

After roll call and making sure they had no infections, illnesses, cuts, or bruises (nothing evasive, just a check of the face and arms I believe), I washed their hands.  The act of washing hands here is pouring water over them.  Once all hands were "washed" we served them a huge plate of rice with beans and something that looked like coleslaw.  Apparently this is the only meal some kids get in a day.  It was so quiet while they ate! We learned that after African children eat, it is better for them to learn rather than be active.  Food helps them concentrate and when they are tired exercise will wake them up.

The school building is like nothing you would see in the U.S. For one, the school has open air windows.  Also the floor is all cement with holes, revealing dirt underneath.  Some dirt areas have ants all over them.  The desks were old, rickety, and some falling apart.  They looked similar to desks from the early 1900s, where the seat is on the desk behind.

Today we did the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness.  Sometimes it took the kids a while to figure out how they wanted to design their armor and what to do, but they ended up with some really great designs.  They did a great job!  They loved the work they did.  Even though we ran late, they did not want to leave.  That is always a good sign!  We have two more sessions with them and there is talk of taking them to Lake Victoria on another day!

Our interpreter was wonderful!  He was so energetic and did the crafts right along side the kids -- he even did his own. The hardest part was that many children only know a few English words.  They were about age 7 or so, and English will not be taught for a few more years for them.  So, though he was wonderful at interpreting the lessons, we had to get a little creative to interact with kids while they did the crafts.