Jamesey and I wrestling a crocodile. Why are we laughing? It hurts like hell!
We had been anticipating our visit to the “beach” for quite some time, especially coming from Hawaii which has the most beautiful beaches in the world. We were pleasantly surprised. It is a quaint park with fake animals on the walking jungle safari. We were treated to several animal hunts and picture taking opportunities as you can tell by the pictures! Our group was eight people, including some of Frederick’s staff. We played on the playground and became little kids again. There were lots of smiles today.
Kayla has approached the dangerous hippo for a photo op!
Frederick is actually trying to eat the food right from this gazelles mouth. He is always very hungry!
We next went on a boat ride around the little pond in a wooded canoe. It couldn’t hold everyone, so we went in shifts. It was a lot of fun. As the sun went down, we enjoyed a dinner of pork and fries together as a group. After dinner, we moved ourselves to a couple of different clubs for the evening to enjoy some company, dancing, and great music. It was a fun night for us all.
They failed to catch any fish for our dinner!
I took some more great photos with the staff at the orphanage. I wanted to remember the two mothers that I spent the most time with. Christina is the “mother” of Baby Kayla, and Matilda is the “mother” of Sunday. I spent a lot of time holding these two little ones. I will miss them dearly and the staff that has become family to me. It is a wonderful, loving environment. I have enjoyed my time there.
I am relaxing and playing with the babies under the mango tree.
I am with Christina, the "mother" of Baby Kayla and a good friend.
This week I was busy paying school fees. I received a couple of bigger donations, and I have been busy withdrawing, organizing, and paying the school fees of many girls. It is time consuming to stand at the bank lines and do this, but the payoff is so worth it! These girls are so happy to be back in school and on the road to a better life! With so many of you, we have raised $4,500 and have sponsored about 20 kids now! Wow, this became much bigger than I originally intended it to be. Now I am working on a way to make my little project sustainable year after year. I have some good thoughts, and I just need to put them together when I return to the US. It would be great to continue to pay the school fees for each girl that does well and works hard.
Kayla is reading to the children at the orphanage.
I received some great news this week! I have been in contact with a fellow Rotarian from WA that I met last October on the Uganda trip. He has been trying to secure funding for the orphanage. When I started work at the orphange, I did a sort of assessment to see their greatest need: food, clothes, education, health, etc... I came away with a strong opinion that the education fund desperately needed funding. In fact, because St Jude's fund was empty for new students, I started helping the orphans as much as possible with my fund raising. Anyway, the Rotary Club of Sammamish agreed to donate $1,000 this year and every year thereafter to the educational fund of St Judes Orphanage! I was very pleased and very happy! Way to go Rotary!
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