Africa Freedom Day and Other Updates!

Hello and Greetings from Nyumba Yanga!

It has been a busy week since Amanda and Micaela departed. Here, the girls have returned to their school routine. Right now, the majority are going in the morning, which means near silence until around 2:30: a big change!

It was Africa Freedom Day on May 24th, a statutory holiday. The day was spent working on sponsorship profiles with the littlest ones, while some of the middle and older girls helped translate for me. They identify in three groups: the “littles” being baby class, reception, grade one, two and three (and select children in grade four who are younger than average), the “middles” being the girls in grade four, five, six and seven, and the “Big girls” in grade eight, nine, and those who have moved to the compounds but come to visit. All of the “Big girls” have one of the “littles” who is their assigned Little Sister. The big girl is responsible for making sure the little one has washed, has her uniform ready for school, is dressed and ready to go when the bus arrives, etc. It's a great way to make sure that each of the littlest girls gets some quality attention from an older mentor.

In the evening of African Freedom Day we all headed over to the convent for a “brai” (BBQ). The older girls prepared chicken on the brai but also joined in on the singing and dancing. So did the house mothers and the Sisters! The house mothers told stories about what it was like before African Freedom, and explained to the little girls that Independence meant that black people and white people got to use the “same window to buy bread from.”One of the Mothers talked about how when she was a little girl in the compound before independence, instead of desks and books, she had to sit on the ground and do her school work in the dirt. Then the teacher would come around and grade it on the dirt with a big stick. She also told a story about how before people had televisions, a van with a projector and speakers in the back would drive from compound to compound and play films on the sides of buildings. While the stories were quite funny, it was obvious that they held a much deeper meaning for the children: to be thankful for all that they have now, in freedom.

In the evenings, the middle and big girls have been coming to the guest house to make friendship bracelets with some of the hemp and beads we brought from Canada. Once they have mastered hemp bracelets we're going to move on to embroidery thread. It's a great way to get to know the normally shy older girls better. They have promised to teach me how to make cards and rosaries in return for me teaching them how to make bracelets and anklets.

I hope that all is well in whatever part of the world you are reading this from!

Until next time, take care,

Angi