The Littlest Angel

It was a warm and sunny day in Tarime Tanzania. All of the kids at Angel House were enjoying some time off from school; playing ball,  fetching water, just taking time to relax, when all of a sudden, a police truck pulled in the gates. Some where excited, thinking they would get to meet a role model, and some were nervous, thinking "What did I do wrong?" Turns out, nothing. The truck was carrying two women, an officer and a toddler. The women went back to speak to Teddy and Salma, chatted for a few minutes and left the toddler there.

Turns out, the little girl was found on the streets of Tarime, along with her mother who suffers from mental illness. Like so many of the kids, she has learned early on that life is not fair.  Angel House staff were told her name is Esther, and she is two years old. However, the kids couldn't figure out why she wouldn't answer to her name, until she told them, in one of the only words she knows, that her name is Melisa. Right now, she answers to either, especially if someone wants to hold her or feed her.

After a week of TLC, Esther/Melisa is a happy, smiling girl, who follows her new brothers and sisters around all day long and wants to be included. She doesn't say much, but her sharp eyes don't miss anything. She likes attention and cuddles, knows how to play chase, and loves mandazi. Like anyone could blame her for that one. She just wants to be one of the kids, and so far, is getting included very well.

Karibu Roy and Valerie!

Valarie, Benson, Roy and Joseph take a moment to celebrate new friends

Roy and Valarie, welcome to Tanzania

Monday night, Angel House and Angel Secondary School were able to welcome two new volunteers to the family, when Roy Hanson and Valarie Brown crossed the gate, and headed out into Nairobi, Kenya. Invididual Volunteers from upstate New York, they are excited to be working with the project for the next six months. The beautiful country side of Kenya and Tanzania helped to cement this affirmation.

Their first two days in Tarime have been eventful, but nothing is better than hitting the ground running in this situation  They have already met msot of the school staff, and were able to take part in new teacher interviews. They also met some of the important people in town, and are well on the way to making connections.

Today, they explored the town and met some of the vendors and businesses. They are happy to be on the ground in Tarime, and as Valarie says, once the jet-lag wears off, they are ready for all sorts of adventures, something easy to find in Africa.

A Reason to Celebrate

Tanzanians hardly need a reason to party. They love to have a good time and show their legendary hospitality. A person coming to visit is cause for a celebration, with the soda being brought out and something special for dinner. And when there is something monumental, they go all out.

Saturday, November 30th, there was cause to celebrate indeed. Chacha Yusf and Kikwete Marwa Chacha graduated from nursery school and will be moving up to primary school in January. Their teachers made remarks that these two boys are both well behaved and at the top of their class at St. Michael's.

The ceremony started right on time, with songs from the church choir and  performances from the kids. Every child danced and sang in at least one performance. They did skits in English, songs in Swahili and traditional Kurian and Luo dances. They were so proud of themselves.

Halfway through the ceremony, parents and guests were invited to tour the school and see work done by the students. The school was very nice, with toys and games, boxes of crayons and coloring pages and lots of cut outs on the wall. The students could all point to their country on a map and knew their basic colors.

All students wore school uniforms and their caps and gowns. The gowns were blue and pink, and the caps were green. Kikwete was sure the cap, not in the traditional shape, made him look like a rhino.

There were speeches done by teachers and people in the Catholic church, and many of the students had a chance to give speeches and to share what they are grateful for. Finally, parents were invited to put sashes on their child and the children were called up to receive their diplomas. They also receive small backpacks, that they may use when they go on to primary school.

When diplomas were all handed out and final prayer was said, the students all got a piece of cake and everyone was invited to a lunch of meat, rice, potatoes, fruit and soda. There were enough soda that everyone could have three, and for sure some of the kids took full advantage.

The children line up to perform

Children and teacher sing a song to the audience

Kids listen to the speeches

Chacha accepts his diploma

Kikwete accepts his diploma

Kikwete, Chacha and a friend smile for the camera. 

Chacha and Kikwete are more than ready to head out on the next adventure: primary school. Both have worked hard to get there and are ready for additional challenges.  Many of the students are able to move up a class in January, because of hard work and dedication on their part. They are people to be admired always.