When we arrived at More Than A Drop (MTAD) last night Millie had warned us that a neighbour had just died and so a wake would be going on all night just behind the Garden Rooms where we stay. This would mean there would be church music playing all night and today until the funeral.
As it turned out this didn’t disturb as at all. It really wasn’t very loud and actually was really rather lovely. We had a good nights sleep and a late breakfast. We hadn’t realised last night as we arrived in the dark but they have actually built 3 new Garden Rooms since last year and we are staying in one of these. It is pretty much the same as the original rooms, just slightly bigger and built to one side of the originals. Garden rooms here cost $68 per night (about £55) including breakfast and taxes which is obviously more than most other places we have stayed this trip but we are back in a tourist area and so its still not a bad price and by staying here we are supporting a good project. As well as a B&B, MTAD is a Hospitality School for young girls age 18-21 offering them a 1 year course, training them is all aspects of the Hospitality Industry. It is very successful and the vast majority go one to get jobs at the end of the year
Breakfast is good and we catch up with Millie and Neema who look very smart this morning having just been to the wake to pay their respects.
We have a quiet morning spending a lot of time sat on the terrace outside our room, catching up on the blog, emails etc, doing a video chat with family and generally relaxing. Outside our room are lots of trees many bearing fruit.
We have a light lunch which is all cooked freshly.
After lunch we can hear and see some Silvery Cheeked Hornbills high in the trees but they don't stay still long enough for us to get a photo. There are also some Ibis on the ground but they too seem camera shy!!
Our afternoon continues on from our morning in a similar fashion and we finish the day with a tasty meal and some wine. A nice relaxed day.
The next day is Sunday. We again have a late breakfast. This morning we get some good views of Kilimanjaro.
Sunday is also a rest day for the students and I have a chat with some of the girls who are just relaxing outside before getting ready for church. Some of them have a decent standard of English. They all seem very happy and are enjoying their course.
Mid morning we decide to walk down to The Keys Hotel for coffee and lunch. It’s only a 15 minute walk but we are really quite hot by the time we get there. Keys is the one place we have found in Tanzania that make a decent pizza, they actually have a proper pizza oven. While we are there the sky clouds over and the heavens open. The downpour lasts for about half an hour.
Luckily by the time we leave the sun has come out again though it’s not quite so hot. You can tell it’s a Sunday as the roads are quiet. When we get back to MTAD the students are back doing each others hair again.
Later this afternoon we meet up with Robert and a young woman called Paula who we have known for almost as long as Robert, certainly well over 10 years. Paula has a 4 year old son, Harrison and they live together with her mum is 2 rooms about a 10 minute drive from MTAD. Harrison’s dad is not around.Life has never been easy for Paula but recently it has been particularly tough. In all the time we have known Paula she has never asked for anything so when she contacted us last summer and asked for help I knew that was serious.
Harrison has never enjoyed good health but it was only in August last year that he was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease, a condition of the large intestine that causes difficulty passing stools. It involves missing nerve cells in the muscles of the colon and is present from birth. As you can imagine this causes a whole range of horrible symptoms and a failure to thrive. In Harrison’s case he was now really very sick. The only treatment for this disease is major surgery to remove the affected part of the colon. All health care in Tanzania must be paid for there is no free NHS and understandably Paula has no way of paying for an operation like this.
I won’t go into to details but it has been a long and difficult journey trying to prepare Harrison for surgery and then actually getting the surgery done. However he eventually had his operation at the beginning of December. Since then there have been ups and downs and his recovery has not been without problems. However he is now much improved and out of pain and has gained some weight. His main problem is frequent bowel movements which means he has to wear a nappy which is not ideal but the doctors have assured Paula that this will improve over time. It seems that most children should recover from the operation to lead full and normal lives so we keep our fingers crossed for Harrison.
We arrived at Paula’s place around 5.15. Paula lives in the rooms with the pink curtain. We are greeted by her mum and introduced to Harrison. There are a few other children around, intrigued by our visit.
Paula’s twin sister Angel is also visiting so it is good to catch up with her too.
About 6ish we leave Harrison with his grandma and go out for dinner with Paula and Robert. We go to Kili Home which is one of our favourite places in Moshi as they do really good BBQ chicken. It is great to spend time with Paula and discuss the future. Her hope is obviously that Harrison be well enough to start school soon so that she can get a job again but we have to encourage her to be patient which is obviously difficult in her situation. We have a lovely meal and make some plans going forward. Luckily it’s not a late evening as Paula needs to get back for Harrison.
