Bukumbi Diary - January 2008
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15 January 2008After nearly a month away for the Christmas/New Year break we were pleased to return to Bukumbi and hear that generally the community were in good health. Margaret Carleton is a volunteer from the UK and has just arrived in Mwanza to join the Bridge2Aid team for a year, she will cover Andie’s maternity leave and take on other project work some of which will be based at Bukumbi. She sat with us during the planning meeting, her first introduction to Tanzanian style meetings. |
23 January 2008Having completed the renovation of two of the dormitory blocks and being recently encouraged by the recent improvements on general maintenance, it would be easy to forget that for the majority of the community their homes remain pretty grim. Today Margaret and I spent some time looking around Lwango dormitory, taking stock of the work that lies ahead of us when the renovations are due to begin around June later this year. It was the first time Margaret had seen one of the buildings prior to renovation and it proved quite a shock. The bathrooms were strewn with ancient cobwebs, proof that the plumbing remains a problem, there were massive holes in the bedroom ceiling boards big enough for a man to climb through let alone the resident rats. The huge wet patches on the ceiling boards bore testament to the leaking corrugated iron roof, with bare electric wires hanging through the broken boards. Beds ‘sprung’ with chain link but no mattresses and a distinct lingering smell that left you wondering where the fresh air was. Although the present state of the building is daunting both from a work and a financial aspect, it is exciting to think that by the end of September 2008 the residents of Lwango will also be able to relax and enjoy in the clean and habitable surroundings, just like those in Sijaona and Wafadhili dormitories (AW). |
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