50 kids go adventuring

Yesterday we all got up really early to head off to Saa Naane island, a small island in the middle of Lake Victoria that acts as a miny zoo and picnic point. We arrived at the orphanage around 7 am just in time to see the kids having breakfast. Most of them were tucking into a rather slimy looking gruel made from the same stuff as ugali: maize powder and water, but some of the boys had decided to collect a little protein to along with it.


When they realised how disgusted the muzungus were with them eating grasshoppers, they insisted on posing with their food and throwing grasshoppers at us to hear us squeal!



While some of the other volunteers studiously made hundreds of samosas as lunch for the children and staff in the morning, I played with Happy and the other children. A new boy, Charlie, had joined the orphanage the night before and had been really shy and sticking to himself a lot. I gave him my camera: he soon mastered the art of photography and made quite a few friends in the process.

After 5 hours or so of cooking and preparations, the dalla dalla arrived to take us all to Saa Naane. There were far too many kids and staff to fit into one dalla dalla, so we had to make two trips to the ferry point. Only ten people could (officially) fit in the tiny boat, so we had five (very packed) journeys back and forth to the island until we all arrived. After all that effort, it wasn't until about 3pm that the entire group reached Saa Naane.



The staff and volunteers were totally exhausted by all this, but the children absolutely loved seeing a lion up close and having a picnic with such amazing views. All that hard work was definitely paid off seeing their smiling faces at the end of the day :)