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Summer 2005 report by Elaine Earnshaw
Graham and I arrived at Mwanza airport on Friday morning after an overnight stay in Dar-es-Salem to be greeted by Paul, Matiku and Mwanaidi. We unpacked, relaxed, chatted and caught up with the news. The new girl’s dormitory was looking very impressive and almost complete . DVD’s such as Herbie goes to Monte Carlo, Tarzan, Mrs Doubtfire and Shrek 2 were enjoyed using the big screen projector at the weekends.
The Big Books sent by Cathy and the Bible story books from Children’s Church at the Hope Centre, Oswaldtwistle were a great success. Everyone enthusiastically spent time reading as the books were added to the library collection.
Graham was busy helping to upgrade the medication used for malaria as the current drugs are losing their effectiveness. He spent time with Dr Lazarus explaining and providing him with up to date information. Nyangeta’s amputation had now successfully healed and Graham took her to Bugando Hospital in Mwanza to see the prosthetics technician who was very encouraged by her progress. He measured her leg, took plaster casts of her stump and arranged to fit her artificial leg on 10th September. Nyangeta was very excited about the prospect of being able to run, dance and play very soon.
The Brathay student group were picked up on our return from the hospital with Nyangeta and there was an exciting buzz at Bethany the whole time of their visit. They set about helping the children with their reading, making masks for the drama and organised a brilliant sports day. A great time was had by all, they were sad to leave and we were sad to see them go. Everyone soon settled back into the routine after the weekend and returned to school. We spent happy hours face painting and trying on wigs in the afternoons. The children were busy writing letters to the children at the Hope Centre and each had their photograph taken to send with their letter. The library was tidied, but the resources are now beginning to outgrow the space. We assessed the potential rooms which could be used to accommodate the beginnings of our new school once the dormitories are completed.
We visited a primary school in the next village, their examination results are far better than the school we currently use and the possibility of changing schools is being considered. However, going to the new school would require a much longer walk but in the end this could well be worth it. On our way to the airport we called in at VETA (a vocational training schools offering a variety of courses e.g. computer, catering, joinery etc.) the idea of the visit was to see if any of these would be suitable for the older children in Bethany as a way of preparing them for an independent life. We also made a visit to a children’s home called Starehe on the other side of Mwanza as it is always useful to see how other organisations operate so that we can use any good ideas to make Bethany even better. In effect our time in Tanzania was over, the two busy weeks seemed to have flown by and we were left reflecting on how the trip had gone as we started to plan our next trip in Easter 2006.
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