The sound of singing drew us to the admin block where a group of Watoto mothers were rehearsing for worship on Sunday. They all gave us great big hugs and we certainly received a very warm welcome even though our visit was a surprise to them. Fred proved he had even more skills than we previously knew about when he played the drums whilst they sang. We joined added our voices in the chorus.
Suubi was the next village on the tour, where we were able to peer in the windows of classrooms and the library and we also got to see the medical facility which is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As we were led around the village, I noticed all sorts of signs stuck in the grass. Things like “Respect your friends” etc. All wise words and good to be reminded of daily.
The whole team went with Chas to see his sponsored child Nicholas and his home. It was my first time seeing an occupied house and it was great to see how ours might look when it’s finished. All the children in Nicholas’ house are boys and mostly in their teens. They were very friendly and talked easily, most polite and respectful as well. We stood in the house with the sound of pouring rain pelting down on the tin roof and I pondered what it must be like to live there. It’s a lot simpler than anything I’ve ever lived in of course, but considering where these children have come from, they are now living in luxury.
Each child has a chore for the day which might be cleaning the internal/external floors, cleaning the bathroom or helping with the cooking. The children even help keeping the compound clean which is just amazing to me. I’ve never met so many polite, well behaved children before. I even observed one girl cleaning outside in the rain, such is their commitment to village life.
We left couldn’t stay too long in Suubi as it was nearing lunch time, so we left for Garden City and the chaos of the food mall.
Unlike other food courts where you wander about the stalls checking them out before deciding where you want to eat, here you sit down and eight or so waiters from different shops rush to your table with menus and start telling you what you should have, underlining choices with their fingers - sometimes two at a time which makes it very difficult to think!
Ope, Gretl and I decided to treat ourselves after our week at work and went to the Beauty Salon after lunch for some pampering whilst the others went back to the Guesthouse. The treatments were brilliant and my one hour facial for 30,000 shillings was definitely a bargain - one of the best facials I've ever had too!
When we had finished, Ope & I met Fred and his friend Charlotte whom we decided to stay in town with for part of the evening. We had considered seeing a movie but decided to go bowling instead - 7,500 shillings each for one game. There were no bowling shoes so we bowled barefoot which was incredibly liberating! I do appreciate the Health & Safety issue of how much hurt/damage might be caused by a dropped bowling ball on ones feet, but to feel the cool ground beneath my feet and to be comfortable was wonderful. After the game, Ope & I headed back to the guesthouse for another Tilapia dinner and a new instalment of the dubbed soap opera that Rachel & Rita (the guesthouse staff) love.
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