This is the Tropics

Oops, sorry. I wrote this a month agq and somehow it appears that it wasn't published . I only discovered this when I finally got internet to post the next edition so will send it now.
Hello. My post caption is a favourite saying of the Tanzanian business manager at the school, when things don't seem to make any sense. It has been expressed a number of times in the past couple of weeks.
Examinations are well and truly past and most of the students left yesterday for a months holiday. The remaining 70 have won a regional competition for  Akwata  ( a Christian group in Secondary Schools)) and now will represent the school at a conference/competition in the capital, Dodoma, next week.  This weekend.hey are spending most of their time practising - plenty of harmony and African drums.

                                                                                 

These two students, Johannes and Eric have just completed Form Six. Johannes, the former School captain, is the choir conductor and does a fantastic job. He comes to visit our place every day just to say hi and usually have a piece of fruit. 

The last couple of weeks have seen the building under way but not without a lot of challenges, including difficulty sourcing satisfactory materials, heavy rain especially on days when they were pouring slabs, and Kevin finishing the concrete at 10.00 pm two consecutive nights while I  held the torch so he could see. Despite all this, progress is being made and one section is ready for the block work to commence on Monday.

Preparing for the first slab

The first barrows of concrete. Wherse's the readymix?

The first slab nearly all in.

It's interesting how things differ from country to country. Kevin spent a whole day driving almost to Uganda, trying to find a gravel supplier. He arrived home at 7.00pm to my relief and still had no success. The gravel ended about up coming from the opposite direction about 6 hours drive  away. 20 ton of gravel arrived on a flat tray semi with bags around the sides to keep the loose gravel in place.The driver came in the wrong way ( wouldn't listen to an Aussie) and couldn't turn around so had to back out on to the road and all the load was shovelled off on the roadside and then had to be moved with shovels and barrows to the required place. It took half a day to get it in place. The next load arrived in the same manner but was shovelled onto the small school truck and ferried to the site. No tip trucks here. Hakuna matata, this is the Tropics

Just having a breather.

A little easier this time.

This last week we have had a couple of trips to the medical clinic in Bukoba. Kevin has been very unwell. We suspected Malaria but that was ruled out and Typhoid Fever was the next "choice" but thetests indicated NO. He is okay again and we really don't know what the matter was. Maybe something he ate. Who knows but we are grateful to God for his recovery.

The Library has been a hive of activity for the last week and a half. The students have been coming to occupy themselves while teachers to mark exams. Well that means Library staff are run off their feet keeping check that games, puzzles and books don't walk out the door. Most of my time has been spent repairing books - Library books and students own books that look as if the dog has played chasey with them or they have been studying in the shower. They expect me to work miracles, but to see the look of surprise on their faces when they collect them is worth all the effort even up to nine o'clock most nights. The table in our house is constantly half covered with glue , loose pages and all sorts of innovative materials ( mosquito net and cornflakes boxes etc) to get them back together.

Fun and Games

Our table complete with bananas for a snack.

It has taken me ten days to complete this blog as the network signal has been so weak. I have just taken two hours to load the photos, hence the delay in publishing it. Sorry if you thought Africa had dropped off the map. Hakuna  Matata, This is the Tropics.