An environmental week
29.09.2011
Hi help2kids followers, this is Tara, the American volunteer currently in Mbezi Beach! It has been a busy week at help2kids orphanage! In fact, we dedicated our week to learning about the environment and the importance of protecting it.
On last Friday Sea Sense, a local environmental organization dedicated to protecting Tanzania’s sea turtle population, spent the day with the children playing games, telling stories, and explaining important information about environmental conservation and protecting seat turtles. The most important lesson that the children learned was that their actions affect the environment, so when they litter they are hurting the environment. In the case of the sea turtles, the children learned that litter, such as plastic bags, tossed in the ocean hurt sea turtles.
The “no littering” theme carried on into Saturday (the Moving Planet Day, a global environmental event), where the children spent the day at Coco Beach collecting litter along the shoreline. The children enjoyed the litter treasure hunt and collected an impressive amount of litter even though the day was hot! A lot of people joined us on the event, and also some local media and other organization involved in environment and waste management, like Eco Protection which showed the kids how the trash-collecting truck works. The children received prizes for their efforts and got to enjoy an afternoon in the water, which was enjoyed by them all!
The motto of the day was: “Linda mazingira yetu leo, kwa ajili ya watoto wetu kesho”, which means “Protect the environment today for the children of tomorrow”. We really wish that Saturday was just the beginning and that soon all the people around will learn to respect the nature and be aware: we are convinced that teaching the children is the best way to educate the adults!
Last week we also received a new child named Pius. Pius comes to us from a very sad situation and actually has been living just down the road from the help2kids orphanage in a small shack with his grandmother. His mother, who was HIV positive, passed away and his father disappeared. He was left in the care of his elderly grandmother, who is unable to provide for him or herself due to her age and physical condition. Although Pius has been attending school, he has grown up a street child and is accustomed to begging for meals and money. Pius is a wonderful, sweet, and intelligent boy who has already won the hearts of the help2kids staff and has made fast friends with our other children. On Monday we received the fantastic news that Pius is HIV negative! Karibu Pius!
Let’s have now a quick update about the health situation: the nightmare of the gibbos (the painful swellings common among kids here) is back. In fact in the past days we had two kids suffering of it. After a sore visit to the hospital, now they are receiving treatments and hopefully will recover soon.
In general, life is smooth. The kids are doing well in school and following the normal routine at the orphanage. Everyone is willing to help the Mamas in the everyday duties and normally our soundtrack down here is a bunch of happy laughs!
Finally the kids have left their handprints in the Friendly Gecko Guest House. So now all our guests will see the kids’ names and remember our motto: “Stay one night, support our orphanage”. Have a look to our website! http://www.friendlygecko.com/guesthouse.html
Dear help2kids rafiki (friends, in Kiswahili), that’s all for this week. Don’t miss the next blog for new exciting news and pictures. Thanks for your reading and for your support.
Tara
help2kids Volunteer
