The outdoor life

Caleb has spent all day outdoors today, I have hardly seen him. He has been playing with the guard, stayed with the guard whilst I went shopping, had a picnic lunch outside with the guard and made mud cakes with the guard. He has only come in now because Josh is watching Tarzan. The guard for some inexplicable reason has covered his bike with kid’s comics. Maybe he thinks it looks cool. I doubt he even knows who all the characters are. Anyway the kids think it a great bike because it is covered with all their favourite TV characters.

Short update on the street boys. They are now all eating breakfast and a main meal at Sarah’s house. I encouraged them that breakfast is an important meal and they are eating a porridge type meal with peanuts. I have devised a menu and I buy the food and Sarah’s house lady cooks it. It’s not very exciting but it is nutritious and filling and it’s exciting to see them look so much healthier.

The other problem that has come up is that the boys now want to sleep at Sarah’s house too. They say they can’t sleep at home because of all the insects crawling all over them. This is a problem in dwellings where people don’t use the toilet and do their doings wherever they please. This can be very unpleasant in confined spaces. They have no beds and just spread a sheet on the dirt floor to sleep. The last few nights they have been sleeping in Sarah’s shop which is no palace either. It is very small and also has a mud floor, but apparently less insects!!

We have already built one extra room on Sarah’s house, which currently houses 1 bunk bed and one single bed. I have decided to buy two new bunk beds, remove the single bed and put the bunk beds in instead. It will be a bit of a dormitory, but at least most people will have a bed. After that it is Sarah’s decision as to whether she wants to let the boys sleep at her house. Maybe eventually we will build an extra room.

Anyway you can be assured that your money is making a big difference to these boys. All their basic needs are being met. They go to school, are fed and have somewhere to sleep.

Another plan I have is eventually to send some of the boys to college to learn a trade. There is a local one called Don Bosco. Many of them have started learning late and don’t find it that easy. I really can’t see them going to secondary school. Once they have a basic amount of education, if they want to, I think it would be good for them to learn a trade to become a ‘fundi’ in Swahili or skilled person in something, plumbing, electrics etc... That way they may be able to earn a living.

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I discovered recently that you can buy one paracetamol at a time at the local shop.! The storekeeper has a huge pot of about 3000 paracetemol-is that even legal?

They have made some new mini roundabouts in town. Cheap and effective, they have just dumped big tyres in the middle of the crossroads. You have to drive round them and you can’t drive over them. I think Reading Borough Council could learn from this. Cheap and recycling!! The rest of the road system is still chaotic. It’s like driving through the Himalayas and the great lakes at the same time.

We are off on a bush excursion tomorrow, so will try and take some pictures.