Work week

Team activities:
After our first work week we came together for a community assessment meeting. Each counterpart pair gave a presentation which taught the rest of us about their work placement and issues observed in their field. For four hours we discussed, conversed, debated, brainstormed and shared ideas. More time in the field is needed to validate assumptions, confirm suspicions and generally get more acquainted with the social environment.
Ollie and Regis hosted our team’s first Bible study at their host family’s house. Their message from 1 Cor. 13 encouraged us all to love each other, remain unified, and to minister to the community.
Our team had a weekend adventure to the famous Amboni caves. The Amboni caves are famous for their natural limestone formations, and also for containing 250 square km of winding archaic caverns. We also biked through jungle, and canoed across a crocodile-inhabited river to visit “Maji Moto” (Hot Water) natural sulphur springs. The day in the natural wild was refreshing and stimulating.

Counterpart activities:
Ollie and Regis are daily traveling to various public and private schools and youth centers in the community teaching Geography and Christianity. They are also counceling various youth in issues of religion, drug abuse, life-style choices, economic generation etc.
Stelna and Asnat have the large task of preparing daily meals and washing clothes for 22 orphans. They also bathe the 3 babies, and attend to children’s general needs. When not working Stelna and Asnat play with and teach the children. All but the 3 youngest children are suffering from HIV/Aids.
Arend and Antony are serving in separate departments of Tumaini (Hope) Health Center. Antony is currently working in reception, admitting new patients and writing up their files. Arend has been shadowing a doctor for the past week, and will begin assisting surgeries, taking blood slides etc this week.
Sara and Helen have been looking over Echenford Middle School curriculums for Chemistry and English. They prepared their lesson plans, and their first classes have gone smoothly.