Settling In

This morning we visited the boma of the family who have graciously permitted us to establish camp on their land, delivering the gifts of flour, tea, sugar and oil to the mzee (male head of the household) for distribution to his wives. My tent, (now dubbed “Meruview” because Mount Meru is the prominent feature of the incredible panorama that greets me each time I pass from my tent to my porch), is situated such that I can look down the hillside to the boma...and my evenings are full of sounds of singing children, cowbells, and bleating goats.

Johana, our watchman and general helper here at the camp, arrived this morning with two puppies and as I write this, he's busy building a dog house made of bricks for the pair – Kili and Meru.

I wish I could explain how serene and beautiful our little camp is. I will try to upload lots of photos when I'm next in Arusha, but that likely won't capture the view of stars from the window beside my bed, nor the little bush beside my porch that comes alive with the songs of a gazillion wee birds every morning.

We (currently 'we' are Corey, Katrijn (a visiting student from Belgium), and me) were laughing yesterday as we hiked to LOOCIP to begin the workday...wondering if there could possibly be a more beautiful commute to work than ours!

As always the days are going by so quickly. Sunday I was fortunate that a visiting team from Rotary in Arusha was being given a tour of many of the LOOCIP projects, so I was able to join them and get myself updated on how much has being going on since last year. The Montessori classroom in Oltepesi is now housed in a marvelous traditional Maasai structure (still under the original tree), so now the school supplies are well stored and the children can attend irrespective of the weather. There have been so many positive changes to that and many other programs since I left in June 07.

Yesterday, I was treated to a surprise thank-you party. The first five girls taking part in our Girl-Mother project came to Longido, some with their parents, all with their babies, to greet me and to speak about the value of the program in their lives. How do I tell you how deeply that touched my heart? You'll be hearing more from me about this program because the time has come to seek out some financial assistance beyond what I and a few wonderfully supportive friends can provide, to see our current successes continue to expand and reach more and more girls.

Time to pack up my computer and walk down to the LOOCIP Centre and then to the village for a bit of shopping for basic provisions at the Wednesday market.

I'm again able to receive emails on my cellphone here at the camp (great reception on the mountain!). Given an uncharacteristic bout of insomnia, it's wonderful to be able to check my mail in the middle of the night and find friendly messages from home. Thank you to those who've been contributing to that antidote to the inevitable twinges of missing home. I will be staying solo at the camp for a few days starting Thursday evening (with Johana here to keep me company). Bit of a test for myself, I suppose. There truly is nothing to fear here, but the darkness and the sound of the wind pulling at my tent flaps, and the baboons chattering away higher up the mountain, will require a bit more courage than I'm usually called upon to display in Ottawa. Wish me luck!