What We Do
Bukumbi Diary - September 2009
4th September 2009
After a month away from Bukumbi it was great to go back this week and see the community! I took a couple of wedding pictures with me and the older ladies were very happy- trilling loudly!
Ngete has been doing a great job keeping the buildings clean and even though there had been no water for a couple of days he had been working hard and as soon as the water returned he had the nets down and was soaking them!
Tony our locum came out for a visit, and some of the smaller children had fun climbing all over him; also, the income generation group were eager to sell him some of their items!
At the school it was great to check the attendance register and see that the children’s attendance was good through August. They are now busy preparing for the Standard 7 examinations next week. There are 5 children from Bukumbi going through the final year of primary and we are encouraging them to continue working hard right up to the exam! (FM)
10th September
Once again Kibibi and I went in search of local skilled craftsmen who could assist in improving the quality of the crafts produced by the community at Bukumbi. Today Fabian took us to meet with Rebekah, a lady living not far from Bukumbi who makes woven mats and baskets. Rebekah was surprised to meet us, and many local children came to see her white visitors. She was happy to help, and will make her first visit to Bukumbi Care Centre next week to assess what is already being made, from then she will visit twice a week to supervise the different income generation groups. This is an exciting step forward and we hope that Rebekah’s input will make the community crafts easy to sell. (AW)
16th September
We’ve had some fun at Bukumbi this week! On Tuesday, Charles, John, Kibibi and I went out to deliver the food but also with lots of jobs to do! Kibibi was speaking with the ladies about a new kitchen and about what they would like in the community block when it gets renovated. John was sorting out the committee members of the community for the small meetings that we have and Charles and I were assessing what work would need to be done to the community block. I don’t think I have ever seen so many cob webs – there is a lot of work to be done! Also we are looking at renovating the children’s play area. We visited the local Montessori school to look at their play equipment and Charles couldn’t resist having a go on the slide!
Wednesday and Thursday we took Rebecca out to the centre to work with members of the income generation group. She is teaching the ladies new techniques and helping improve the quality of their products. And for the first time in months it poured with rain... the rains are almost here, which is good news for the people who are farming! (FD)