How to fix your phone with a Centenary

After problems again with our phone line, we are back online, thanks to Great Granny's 100th Birthday! Really! We were having trouble getting anyone from the phone company out to fix our line; we couldn't dig anything up and fix it ourselves this time! I went to talk to them again in town on Friday and told them all about Tim's Granny who is celebrating her 100th birthday this week and said that we really wanted to call her. Age is highly honoured and revered here, and 100 is almost unheard of! The story spread around the office, people were amazed! I was taken straight to the manager who completely agreed, of course we absolutely must have a phone working again in order to make this call to England. He said he would send a worker straight out to our house... of course I have heard this before!! After picking up some vegetables in town, I drove home, and to my great astonishment, who was waiting at our gate, but the phoneman! And he knew all about Great Granny's birthday! Problem fixed! Thank you, Granny! And Happy Birthday! 

The special lady

We have just returned from three days in Magozi. This week the stoves group was focussing on business training, which went very well. It was the first time we have gone during our school time; it wasn't terribly easy, trying to get schoolwork done with lots of other things going on, in very hot temperatures and with no desks! But we managed! The girls were able to help with the business training too; we performed a sketch (skit) for the group, demonstrating all that a bad business would be! It was exaggerated and funny but with some good points for everyone to remember. And the group enjoyed the girls acting as jiko-buyers with their lines in Swahili! The previous day, Tim had the group acting out scenarios of buying and selling with play-money, all for the purpose of teaching the importance of good record-keeping and money management. All good fun for all and lots learned! We will be firing the stoves in three weeks and then they will be ready for the group to start selling.

Jiko Dramas

Jiko Inspection

It was good to be back in the village; Tim had some good chats with people; I had some chats under trees with other ladies, mostly revolving around hair and learning Kihehe (the local tribal language). I also had three ladies over who wanted to learn how to use the haybasket - one of the ladies visiting from another village and she wants to learn more! We are hoping to have a community "healthy cooking morning" at some point, which I am looking forward to! Now to go and check on Woof, Livingstone and their six brothers and sisters!

Livingstone with Louisa and Amisadai