Woke up to the sound of boisterous toddlers about 6am. The oldest children are situated in the unit right below us. I went down about 7.30 and was immediately swarmed by toddlers who were out of their minds with boredom and also very hungry for some love and affection. Bath time finished and breakfast followed close behind. After that the children were ushered into the centre area to play. The nannies did very well during this session, offering music and dance. Hannah and Julie cracked out the bubbles, which were met with great excitement. The nannies are very patient and attend to the children's physical cares well. The difficulties seem to be routine care times and then group play where there are not enough resources. This tends to bring out less appropriate behaviours in the children - hitting and biting and tantrums.
After snack time the older toddlers went to the swimming pool and the younger toddlers went back to their unit for stories on the lawn. At that point we chambered up the hill again, to go and help Morris assemble his rope course...Once I had found my jandals, that is. Mental note to keep them well out of them path of oncoming toddlers. We set up a slack line in the pine trees for the older children to practice balancing on. They stuck at it quite well and were getting the gist of it by the time the high bridge walk was up and running. I was first to kit up in the harness, scale the tree and start walking the wire, however, we discovered that the ropes needed adjusting some and the sound of thunder could be heard ominously above. After all the hard work, it was decided to decamp for lunch, abandon the ropes and wait until the thunder had passed. Apparently, not long ago, one of the house mothers was killed by lightening which came straight through the wall of her house. Thankfully none of the children sitting around her were harmed, although traumatized none the less, no doubt.
We descended the hill for lunch and a quick breather before heading down to the markets on the main road. I was noticeably pink by this stage...sun touched, despite copious amounts of sunscreen. Baked beans straight out of the can for lunch, with crackers, another layer of sunscreen and repellent, then off we went. The road to the market winds down through the local community. We were met enthusiastically by many children along the way, all shouting Mzungu! Running to hold our hands, have a cuddle and practice their English...Hello, Good afternoon, How are you, I am fine. A thousand repetitions of that and we were down at the main road, having also passed cows, goats, cats, chickens and ducks with babies, squirrels, dilapidated mud and brick houses and the odd tame rabbit. More cries of Mzungu! as we hit the main road and started scoping out fruit and vegetables from the market. 500 Ugandan shillings for 4 tomatoes and the same for a nice avocado....which are the size of footballs over here.
After dodging trucks, taxis and bodas, it was time to head up the hill again. Thunder was our constant companion in both directions, but we managed to dodge the rain. A very physical day, all told and a tad too much sun. I'll be fit and half the size in no time! But for now, its back to the tranquility of the balcony (apart from the screaming toddler sounds below). Thankfully they are not my problem for now. We have also greeted another volunteer from Holland (Anemeike) who will be assisting in the medical clinic for the next few months.
For those of you who donated money, so far I have made the following donations on your behalf...significant contributions to: curriculum materials for all 3 babies homes, rice and millet for the orphaned children whose orphanage was shut down in Kampala and curriculum materials for a small remedial class run by Jean, who is from the UK. She helps children with their reading and English and does a lot of good with very little help or resourcing.
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