African Liberation Day

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO HAYLEY THIS MONTH!

On Thursday at school we celebrated African Liberation Day. The children dressed up in their national costumes and tribal songs were sung and dances performed.

Sierra Leone National Dress

Mandinka Song & Dance

Fula Song & Dance

French Song

Auntie Nancy, Alaphi & Fatamatta

Isha, Aminetta, Alberta, Auntie Ken, Fatamatta & Auntie Adama

Sheriff, Lisa, Binta, Binta, Fatcilla & Fatamatta

Fatamatta, Nina, Kumba, Binta & Fatou

Oumie

Isatou & Khadija

Lydie With Sweets In Her Hair Usually Done At Circumcision Ceremony's

Easter

On Easter Sunday we spent the morning painting eggs and also making Max an Easter card as he had invited a few of us over for lunch at 1 o’clock. The food as usual was very tasty and was a traditional Philipino Easter fare which included pork. After eating Max handed me some eggs to paint with the children, there was to be a cash prize incentive for the best painted egg. Once painted the children lined up and had to name their egg and go around the group showing them to us. Everyone except parents had to judge them, in the end they all ended up winning a 100 dalasi each as it was too hard to have an outright winner. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking not julbrew but orange juice for me and Paul as we were not in the mood having drank enough this week. Some of Max’s friends who were Cuban’s entertained us by salsa dancing and Lynn was dragged up by Max to have a go which was very funny. We decided to leave just before 5 o’clock however Abigail and Bradley wanted to stay and play so Jenny agreed to drop them off later, this turned out to be very late with them not arriving home until gone 9 o’clock.

On Monday we were off to Lamin yet again unfortunately Paul is working all through the Easter Holidays on a training manuel and doing workshops so he was unable to accompany us. A friend of Jenny’s was holding a day for the children which involved an egg hunt and meal. We were the first to arrive just after 10 o’clock followed by some others thirty minutes later. The children did their first activity which was moulding dough into shapes, Bradley wanted a chicken, Abigail and Teo decided on a plait and Mia wanted a snake complete with a carrot tongue. These were then baked in a solar oven which took about two hours in total. As more children arrived they quickly ran out of dough. The next hour was spent being driven down the lane by horse and cart and I was quite concerned as it was a very hot day so applied more sun cream. When the easter egg hunt was announced the children ran off in all directions looking for them, fifty in total. Once all collected in they were hidden again for another hunt, Abigail didn’t find any of these so was a bit upset. They then grouped around a table were they set about colouring them with felt tip pens the broken ones were given out to eat. By now we were very hungry, Mick had gone off to collect the food which was being cooked by girls from the village. The buffet consisted of rice, cous, salad, roast potatoes, vegetables, fish, chicken, and domada sauce. At 6 o’clock I was given a lift by a couple to the junction where we managed to pick up a gelleh straight away for home.

Royal Wedding

On Thursday evening we were invited to the leaving party of Phil the British High Commissioner which was to be held at his residence at Cape Point. We arrived at 6.30pm and showed our invitation card to the security at the gate. We made our way through the house to the garden area at the rear overlooking the sea and spoke to the commissioner. He told us he was now being sent to Sierra Leone for a couple of months before retiring to Brighton. As usual there was a constant supply of drinks which were handed out by the waiters however the food just kept passing us by eventually we sent Abigail and Bradley off to bring some of the meatballs and beef on sticks back to us. At 9.30 we left for home as Bradley was very tired some of the other volunteers left to go to the Scottish Embassy which is a local pub, restaurant run by Mark and is a meeting place for NGO’s.

On Friday morning we made our way up to Francisco’s to watch the Royal Wedding of William and Kate. We had arranged with David the owner to watch the wedding whilst having an English Breakfast at a discounted price. We arrived just in time having already missed Prince William’s arrival at the church. Tessa, Merrille, Gaynor and Jane were already there so we joined them ordering coffee and juice. Kate one of the Peace Corp volunteers arrived with some other girls and then they produced a variety of hats from their bags to wear for the occasion, very funny. Although not the same atmosphere as back home it was still good to be able to watch it over here. We left just after the kisses on the balcony as we had all made a decision to spend the rest of the afternoon at Safari Garden pool.

BeeCause Festival

On Saturday Mick and Jenny were holding a weekend charity festival at their compound in Lamin. An area had been set aside for tents for anyone who wanted to stay over. Luckily our tent was already there, Paul would come along later as he is working delivering a workshop. At 2 o’clock we left for Lamin loaded up with a rucksack of a change of clothes and a couple of blankets and pillows. Once in Lamin we then had the walk to their compound unfortunately I had ran out of credit so couldn’t call Mick to pick us up. When we arrived Abigail and Bradley went off to play with Teo and Mia and a couple of other children who were already there. Mark from the Scottish Embassy, Dean and Pete had stayed over last night to help with preparations. Jenny was trying to have a little sleep as she had been up late last night and then early this morning cooking some of the meals which were to be provided with your entrance ticket. Eventually other VSO and Peace Corp volunteers arrived and started to put up their tents or a makeshift tent made out of Mosquito netting. Jenny gave up on her sleep and came down to join us as others arrived. It was a good turn out much more than they expected. During the day events were being held to beat the Pete the first one was a sack race, all the children joined in including Jenny and Dean. The game started and you could see the determination to win on Pete’s face however after viewing the replay it was decided that Dean just crossed the line first. They then had a bobbing for apples game for the children, Abigail and Bradley didn’t want to join in because it meant getting their hair wet. The apples used were cashew apples which are now in season and are quite sour in taste some people can have a reaction to them, Paul for one ending up with burnt lips. They are so weird to look at as a single cashew nut grows underneath the apple this is used for tanning and tattooing. To release the cashew kernel from the nut they have to be roasted and then usually the cashew kernel is roasted yet again to give them their flavour, no wonder they are so expensive to buy. I was then asked if I would help Chris with face painting the children’s faces. The paints were very oily and I bet will take some getting off. Abigail wanted a star and baubles as she was wearing her Christmas Tree dress for the fancy dress. Bradley wanted a tiger, Mia a butterfly and Teo wanted bee stripes as his fancy dress was a bee costume.

Paul arrived just before 6 o’clock so we went off to find a spot to put up the tent. We then mingled chatting with the other volunteers. Then the food was set out so we ate a selection of rice, tapala, Lebanese flat bread, beans, dhal, bolognaise, roast pork and salad, all of which were very tasty. As it started to get dark a group of drummers turned up to perform for us. The lady’s in the group sang and then started to dance gosh these lady’s can move, some of the volunteers got up to dance with them. We then had a couple of songs from Jane. As the night wore on Bradley was the first to go off to bed just around 10 o’clock. On the other hand Abigail enjoyed having a game of tug of war against her dad and a bit of limbo dancing with some of the other children. By now a fire had been lit so we sat around drinking and enjoying the atmosphere of living in such a pleasant area surrounded by forest. Abigail gave in just after midnight and went off to bed Paul and I left with some others just after 2 o’clock. The tent was only a small one so we just fitted however it was to be a sleepless night for me having to get up once to go to the toilet and move the lamp which someone had left near to our tent so it was shinning right into it. At around 5 o’clock I managed to fall a sleep but was then woken by the children an hour later as they got up with Paul to have a walk around the forest. The forest sounds were amazing as things came to life I laid watching a couple of hornbills in a tree and a squirrel jumping from one to another before giving up on sleep and getting up. We ate a late breakfast of egg tapalapa and then as people left we sat around talking and helping to clear up before leaving ourselves just after 1 o’clock

Just Born Two Baby Goats

On Monday at Diana Mariam we set about making Easter Cards with the children. Most of the teachers were at a workshop all week so Mr Touray would be helping me in year 2. I had picked chickens, rabbits and eggs for our cards which were either painted or coloured using felt tip pens. We split into two tables I was overseeing those who were going to paint so I mixed the colours in yogurt pots. The children really enjoyed themselves and were patient whilst we left things to dry before continuing with the next stage. For the eggs we added a little glitter so as to give the effect of foil paper. I then cut around each figure and pasted them onto some bright Floraessant paper before cutting these out again with wavy scissors. We were pleased with the finished result as we had also stuck some thick card from boxes to the back so they stood proud of the Easter card like a 3D effect.

The next day I had asked the children to bring in some hard boiled eggs to paint. We were also joined by year 3 and 4 children which Madame Senghore would work with. Year 3 and 4 used felt tip pens whilst year 2 started to paint their eggs. These didn’t turn out as good as I had expected as some children broke their eggs straight away others kept on changing their minds and washing the paint back off. Also the paint wouldn’t stay on the eggs I think it was maybe too thin. With patience wearing thin the children gave up and decided to shell and eat their eggs, I think there was only about three eggs which made it home at the end of the day.

Prayers For Aja

Wednesday was the last day of school for Diana Mariam children this would normally have meant a party with music however due to the death of Aja they had decided to invite the Iman in and hold prayers. When I arrived there were tented areas with chairs for parents as they were also invited. There was also an area of mats for the Iman to sit on. The children were wearing traditional African dress most of the girls had also brought scarfs which were used to cover their hair during prayers. I found a seat with some of the year 2 girls and we then waited for something to happen. Eventually at 10.30am the Iman and a group of men arrived and seated themselves on the mats. He distributed books amongst the men which I think were verses from the Keran. They then started to read aloud from the back to the front of the book at their own speed. This meant they all finished at different times so the chanting got quieter and quieter it took about forty minutes for everyone to finish. Durring this time some younger children required the toilet or drinks, also mints and bottles of water were handed around to the parents so it was very informal. Prayers were then given for Aja and a couple of teachers spoke on behalf of the school. Two hours later it was all over, the children ate their food whilst waiting to be picked up to go home.

Maimuna, Tida, Fenda, Ishatou, Khadija T, Khadija C

Oumie

John Paul In President Jammeh Pants

L Lydie, Fatou, Binta Jainaba

Daylam, Binta

Fatou Mboge - My Favourite Pupil at the School