25th Oct 9:05pm

We haven’t done much this afternoon, but we did do another after school class with standard 4, 2 till 3. We made more costumes with them for the Halloween party, but it was so much easier than with the other class. Standard 4 are much more independent, so they can cut certain things on their own.

When we got back to the house we had loads to paint, cut, colour, and add glitter to, glue and staple. By the time the day was over I was ready to collapse in the corner.

25th Oct 3:35pm

I got back to the volunteer house after we had done a voluntary after school class for standard 2. Megan and Kristina started if off and I’ve joined in to help out and carry it on when they go for a week’s holiday to the coast his Saturday.

With standard 2 we made masks with some of the arts and crafts I brought over ready for the Halloween party on Friday for standards 1 and 2. The children enjoyed it and made masks for spider man, cats, dogs, bat man, princesses, kings, fairies, ballerinas, and Ben 10. Not very Halloweeny I know, but oh well!

25th Oct 11:30am

This morning I got up and went to classes, I haven’t been in standard 4’s classes yet, so I went into theirs when they were ding science. I spent the morning with them, and was shocked to see the questions the teacher set; he was asking about spiracles on insects as their respirator system and different symbols for circuits (I only learnt this stuff lately, so it’s weird that they all knew it).

They also learnt about Malaria and HIV and AIDs, the way they spread and how they are contracted. I came up to the house after Science to help Tom.

We decided to build the compost bin (this was Kristina’s idea since September, but me and Tom actually made it today.) I helped saw the wood and carried it up to the steps where we built it and helped hold things together because toms set square needed holding (no botch jobs here guys). We made the other side of it to make the one tom made before, and then started to attach planks to the ledges on each side.

Eventually it started to take shape, with me sat inside it. It’s pretty hot today, so now we have the 4 sides, were going to leave the lid till tomorrow. I went around and filed the edges s no one got splinters like Tom has, because I’m nice like that!

It looks pretty good to say the wood is sort of rotting on some of the edges. I wouldn’t call it safe, with all the nails poking out on the inside slats but it’s definitely sturdy.

Most of the waste here is incinerated; literally everything, so a compost bin could really help. Most countries now recycle or compost, or both, but here they don’t at all. Hopefully they will put their food waste and garden cuttings into the bin so when they grow crops in the orphanage garden, they have a better yield.

25th Oct 9:45am

Last night after we finished off some of the outfits or the children; like police hats and fairy wings, we played outside with some of the kids with a donated football (rugby ball to us English folk) and a tennis ball. Godson had to get on the roof again because Alex threw the tennis ball on the roof.

Little Amanda was attempting to read my glamour magazine, but I took it off her because the pictures are pretty but some of the articles weren’t suitable for little eyes.

Pamela, one of the girls from standard 3 stayed at Peace Matunda till 5pm to spend time with her friends and us volunteers. It may have got dark when she was walking home, so me Megan and tom walked back with her.

She lives up Mount Meru from Peace Matunda, past the shop, then you take a left through some fields – there was this really angry cow at the junction which was mooing like mad. The cows sound less like cows and more like dinosaurs. The fields slope down to a river which we crossed using random rocks (not like in England where you can’t cross unless there’s a bridge.) Then over the river we continued up to her house, for another 20 minutes.

Pamela lives with her grandma because both her parents passed away due to AIDS and Pamela herself has HIV.  Her and her 4 brothers and older sister live with their grandmother, so I took some clothes and a teddy for them.

Pamela is 8 and she has medication (paid for by her sponsor) to help with the HIV. She also goes for regular doctors’ visits. I sat with her and watched a film on a volunteer’s laptop before she left. She’s such a sweet kid.