Visitors in Mili

Eye charts I made for the health post for people trying on donated glasses.
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It was with great relief that we got off the nightmare bus at Korogwe! Jo and Becky were there waiting for us so we quickly piled in the car and John drove us to Milingano.  Luckily Mark and I had just had the safari to get us used to bumpy roads as Becky was looking a little green!

As we approached Mili we got the usual reception of children running out from their houses cheering and waving, then chasing the car.  Joyce and Melania were there to greet us with friendly smiles but it was a flying visit this time as we had decided to spend the first night in Yamba.

Our driver's son, Samweli
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The road up to Yamba seemed bumpier than ever, probably because of all the rain.  I was knackered by the time we started the climb once we'd parked the car and I think Mark was a bit surprised how steep it was.  It was about 5pm by the time we reached the village and by chance Father Baruti was visiting too, so he invited us in for biscuits and sodas before allowing us to continue on to the volunteer house.

I was so impressed by all the work that had been done to the house since I last saw it!  It had been painted inside and out, including the floor.  The furniture was all varnished and there were ceiling boards for sound and weather insulation.  The staff had made up all the beds for us and even put out guest towels! aah.

The secondary school so far! (Nov 06)
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Once again we woke up to a breath taking view the next morning.  Yamba never fails to impress me.  Mark and I decided to set off early for our walk down to Milingano as although it was still refreshingly cool up the mountain we could see from the view that the sun was heating up the lower areas very quickly.

I hadn't been feeling great for a while so I stopped at the health post to see the nurse, Mama Adi on the way down.  It later turned out I had Malaria again, plus worms and some other parasites with a long name! No wonder I had no energy on the walk.

As we arrived back in Milingano it was strangely quiet, but it wasn't long before I heard the little darlings calling 'teacher, teacher!' and asking for books to read and paper to draw on.  I took Mark on a little tour of the village and he got to meet Yohana, the blind guy I teach English to sometimes.  Then we went to visit the Head teacher and his wife, who took us to see his farm and gave us some maize for dinner.  He had great news about the standard 7 pupils. Apparently 11 out of the 12 of them passed their exams, and the new Milingano secondary school will hopefully be opening one classroom in January to allow them to attend! Fingers crossed!

We spent the next couple of days just chilling out in the house, reading books and enjoying the kids company. (Think maybe they got on Mark's nerves but I love them!)

It was weird not seeing the Chairman and hearing Margaret's happy voice and crazy laugh while we were there.  Sadly their 3 year old daughter, Veronika's malaria had got worse and they'd taken her to Tanga hospital.  It's always so worrying when children get malaria as they are often not strong enough to survive it, but I later heard that she is fine, thankfully!

Next stop, Dar Es Salam!