What We Do
Bukumbi Diary - March 2009
6th March 2009
Sometimes when I visit Bukumbi and the school I can get disheartened that things don’t necessarily move as quickly as I want or in the right direction, however this week I had a great uplifting moment. Kaini is one of the boys we have known for a long time and he has been a bit of a handful for his family. Kaini was the young lad that we bought into town for his trip to the dentist and it was the first time he had ever been into the city. He didn’t achieve much in his final examination in primary school and I was not too sure how committed he would be to further education. So we got him a place on a carpentry course at Bukumbi Primary school. I was so happy to see him on Thursday with his classmates and to see his first finished piece of work- a little stool! Kaini has been attending well and working hard! I am very proud of him! (FM)
13th March 2009
On Wednesday this week John and I went on a search of children around the village! I wanted to visit the children whose attendance had been low, but when we started we found a few extra children who weren’t at school that day. Going to the children's houses and speaking with their family is very important as sometimes the parents are unaware that their children are not attending school.
Sometimes however, the parents keep the children away from school to help at home, often looking after younger siblings. Life can be so hard for the families and when the children are needed to help out with childcare or farming, education is not seen as so important.
However the following day we went to school and 9 out of the 12 children we visited had made it in (including Naomi Bahati -pictured left)! So I shall follow up on them next week to see if their attendance continues.
I was surprised to see Kaini out of school this week - he was hobbling though - whilst working in the field he had stood on a piece of glass and cut his foot badly. We sent him off to the clinic to get bandaged and he hobbled off with no shoes, which won't help his injury at all! So for 1200 shillings (60p) we got him a pair of flip flops that will keep his cut clean and allow him to go back to school.
Walking around the dormitories this week it is good to see that people are still looking after their buildings. Unfortunately, some cockroaches have started to move back so we are still encouraging the community to keep food shut away and we will take out some repellent next week.(FM)
25th March 2009
There are many people in the Bukumbi community who are able to make household items to generate a small income for themselves, and this is something we are keen to encourage as it promotes economic independence, dignity and may even persuade some people to remain in the safe surroundings of Bukumbi rather than chance their luck on the streets of Mwanza begging.
Kibibi has identified 10 people who want to make straw mats and bags, table bowls, hand sweeping brushes and embroidered table mats, so today we took armfuls of dried grasses, colour dyes, sewing threads and beads, cotton and lengths of rubber cut from old inner tubes to get their small businesses started.
Bridge2Aid has given small loans of between £2.60-£7.50 to buy the materials and each person will pay back the loan over the next 3 months, leaving money left over to replenish materials and still surplus for their everyday needs. Kibibi gave a short 
seminar on how to run their businesses well so that they are able to continue independently in the future. We will monitor their progress and offer weekly advice and training to ensure they get off to the best possible start! (AW)
Pictured here is Selina Diliphone 'signing' her agreement.
Pictured (left) with CD worker Kibibi is Sundi Wana, who will be making hand brushes to sell.
26th March 2009
Only a week to go until the group from Henry Schein arrives to start the renovation of Mpapua dormitory. The building is now ready to be scrubbed and painted and the community are looking forward to them arriving!
Monday and Tuesday this week were an adventure for Tara, Innocent and I as we went to visit Lamecki and William who are studying in Kahunda. Not really sure where or how far we were going, we set off! It turned out to be 3 and a half hours away on untarred roads and when we arrived the smiling faces of the boys greeted us.
The aim of the trip was to see how the boys are getting on and to speak to their teachers. The boys proudly showed us around the school and their dormitory and we had the chance to talk with the academic master about their progress. Both are doing well but admit that they are struggling with the language so we have arranged for some extra English lessons over the Easter holiday and they are going to help with the play scheme with the Henry Schein volunteers. (FM)