A long day has ended

Well we just came back from the Ciwara school. What a day we had. We got picked up in the morning with all the things in tow we collected from the great people who donated. So with FOUR bags, THREE wheelchairs and SEVEN people we squeezed into ONE Pick-up truck. AWESOME! At the school we got greeted very warmly by even more children then yesterday. We spent an hour in their classroom and had so much fun. The kids really liked to have their picture taken, posing is their hobby, so it seemed.

But we are not here to just enjoy ourselves, so we got started with what we are here for. There were some mothers waiting for us to answer a questionnaire that we have created last night. What we are interested to know is everything about the overall situation of the family, the child and the education. All the mother were fantastic and answered all -sometimes very intimate- questions as good as they could.

At around three o'clock we were finished with that and we were already then absolutely shattered. The weather was really hot and sticky, I even got a sunburn... without even being in the direct sun more then 5 mins in total!!!

After the interviews we were waiting for all the pupil's parents to come to the school. They are really interested in why we are in Mali and they were eager to meet us. So, after the introductions were made by Derek, (partly in Bambara, well done Derek !!!) Maria told the parents what we are planning to do in the time we are here and what we want to achieve in the future. I have to mention one amazing thing: I never have seen so well-behaved children, EVER. there was no crying or misbehaving, just lovely smiles and fascinated faces! The mothers all were very eager to work with us, so we have a lot of work in front of us in the next couple of days!!!

At long last we came to the best part of the day: We were able to give the donated wheelchairs and also the CLEVY computer keyboard to the children that they were meant for. It was absolutely amazing. One off the older boys, who got a wheelchair, got seated in it, looked at us and ... wheeled away as fast as he could, not to be seen again!

Alasani, the boy who has problems using his hands properly, used the special keyboard to write on the computer and we could see he really enjoyed it.

The clothes and toys that got donated will be given to the children by Maria, because she knows best who need them most. All the pens, notebook, chalk and rulers where given to the teachers at the school. As for the cash donations, we have already a few very important things that are needed, we will need to access how we can spend it in the best possible way...

After the parents had gone, we quickly planned the next couple of days, before we went back to our accommidation. Well not all of us; Derk and Derek went to the airport to see what became of Derk's lost suitcase... . But it is not that Derk has not got anything to wear anymore, oh no, he got his first tailormade suit ever - traditional African style !!! Well, they are not back yet but we will keep you posted!

This is it for now, keep on reading.

Cheers, Jill