Home Visits in Kilema

January 23 — After our exercises and packing up we were gathered at the entrance to our hotel ready for the hike to Kilema when Lynn accidentally knocked over a 9 foot wooden giraffe carving which was standing next to the doorway! It broke into several pieces as the wood was so dry and we were very embarassed as we carried the pieces over to the lawn. Next plan….wood glue and screws from Moshi!

It was another hot, hot hike to Kilema and we took many small trails around the Chapel Hill to find several of our children’s homes. These included: Nobati, Airini, Christina, Yasinta, Monica, Josphat and the 5 children in the Mbuya family: Anna, Abeli, Emanueli, Richardi and little Veronica who is starting Grade 1. Everywhere we were greeted with warm handshakes, many “karibuni sanas’ (you are very welcome). Everybody was very happy to receive their gifts.

We stopped at the Kilema Hospital Canteen again for lunch and met Sister Clarissa who is the Head of the Hospital. She implored us to help a young girl named Mary who has finished primary school with very good results but has no parents and no means to go on to secondary school. She has been working in the canteen for her livelihood. So we took the details and photographs and
agreed to fund her secondary school education. Our next stop was a long hike on the way back to our hotel on tiny tracks through the forest to find the home of Yudatade. He hadn’t attended school at Kisuluni SS yet and we found out he and him mom have been ill. He promised to return to school and work hard. While there we met his sister, Fabiola, who is in Primary School. This family is very poor and no father is on the scene. They live in a borrowed home. So we decided to take Fabiola into the program.

On the way back to the hotel Robyn and I visited Father Richard’s football pitch near his church in Kitowo. We had been invited to watch his 50 wayward youths play football. This is the group of youths that the father is helping, and asking us to help with soccer uniforms and shoes. We enjoyed the energy of the game and the father gracefully gave us a lift back down the hill to our hotel. It was a very full, exhausting day and we were ready for bed!