Goodbye Mwanza

Sadly, after a month at the orphanage, most of the other volunteers and I were concerned about the accounting and felt that the director was not being entirely straight with us. Although it must be emphasized we have no proof of any wrong doing, the prices Fred quoted us for things seemed to be extremely high. Whether the reason for this was because he assumed we had loads of money and wasn't bargaining or something more sinister, I didn't feel comfortable handing over cash to Hisani. I decided it was best to give things, not money, to Hisani. The children loved the toys and colouring supplies I brought with me. Unfortunately, the dresses I had made for the girls weren`t ready on my last day, so Rachel has promised to pick up the dresses next week and take photos so I can post them on here. Over the past few weeks I have talked to Joseph at length and seen how transparent his accounting and fundraising is and that his participation in the community is truly making a difference to so many lives. I decided that the leftover money I had fundraised would go much farther at Fonelisco and gave him US$100 for his orphans.

Although there were times I felt I was loosing an uphill battle, I learned so much at Hisani and I will always treasure my time there. The memories of the children's love, hope and resilience in the face of such overwhelming hardship will continue to inspire me. I loved teaching and playing with them, and saying goodbye on Wednesday night was one of the hardest things I`ve ever done. To be completely honest, I only lasted an hour at the goodbye dinner because I was too upset to stay any longer.