Blog off..

And so the time will always come
When you have to say goodbye,
And the longer it takes, the more people you know
The harder it is not to cry.

The children sang songs to wish us well
The ladies brought gifts they had made,
There wasn't a dry eye left to be seen
I think they were all glad we'd stayed!

Gerard, our cook, worked incredibly hard to provide us with 3 delicious meals a day, all prepared over an open fire. He was very shy at first and would just nod his head and say, "Mmm, yes, Ssanku madam, sir," to anything, avoiding eye contact and any further conversation. But poram pora (slowly slowly) he started to call us by our names, and once he had taught me to make chapattis we became firm friends.
Once, on our way into town I asked him if there was anything he needed. He cast his eyes down and thought hard. Then he said quietly, "a rain jacket madam. But I have no money."
Well, at 72 he ought to have his own jacket. It cost less than a fiver, and now you rarely see him without it!

The dedicated team of teachers, who work for no pay unless donations have been given, have now moved into the teachers accommodation. The 4th teacher, Charity, was absent due to an eye infection.
We struck up a close relationship with Orishaba, who was confident, funny and interested in everything.
Having never painted before, all the teachers tried their hand at painting the school, and we left the paint, brushes and instruction on mixing colours with Orishaba, a talented artist-to-be!
They are, from left to right; Patience, Irena and Orishaba.

A huge thank you goes to Edison, who works tirelessly to make everything possible. He is rarely without a smile or a large helping of enthusiasm, and is striving to make a better future for the community, especially the children. He aims to attract enough donations to be able to afford to send them to secondary school.

And of course - all the children - 152 pictured here! They have all entertained us, accompanied us, taught us words in their language and been eager to learn from us. They never seem to tire of smiling and greeting us, no matter what life throws at them. We hope we can help provide them all with a better future. They deserve it!

It doesn't stop here for us, we will keep on trying to raise money for the community project and promote it as a place for people to come and visit and make their own contributions.
So, if anyone out there fancies a trip, don't hesitate to get in touch - they will love to have you, and you will LOVE IT!

But for now, this is Pedal On Dreckly.............. Pedalling off.......!