Well, I hope you are all well!!!
I find myself back at the internet waiting for blood results as managed to get in before they closed for lunch at 1.00pm but have to wait till 2.30pm for the results, mind you that is a lot quicker than in the UK where I sat in the hospital Acute ward waiting for confirmation for two days going home in between to sleep, I thought they were joking especially when I told them I walk into a lab, they take blood and in half an hour usually they give you the results, sometimes bureaucracy goes crazy, they even phoned the London Hospital for Tropical diseases and I didn't have Malaria at the time.
Anyway to kill time I will let you know what I have been up to as I know you are all waiting with baited breath. Had a quiet weekend thinking I was getting better as you know so on Monday I was picked up at supposedly 8.30am but was Kenyan time and 9.45 to go to Kenana Knitters where I visited with Julian. I am volunteering there with the hope that they will possibly be able to get around my visa issues and employ me, it is an amazing place, supporting so many people and youth in the community through health and education issues.
So on Monday my first day to visit for volunteering I was asked to weigh all the skems (think that is right - the lengths of wool that is spun from the fleece before it is made into balls) that the ladies had spun over the weekend. There was so much it took me all morning, especially as it meant lifting huge bundles that the ladies had done, quality control it and then decide on the rate to give them for the spinning (that was difficult as I had to decide only after a quick feel and instructions. This process meant that the ladies would then have their money calculated and then paid.... apparently my next job.....um...
We broke for lunch and I must say that Paddy provides us with a lovely fair with desert too, all with napkins and silver napkin rings in her home on the estate. After lunch the ladies had come with so much wool that I ended up tied up with that for some time. Paddy ended up paying the ladies which I am pleased about as that took some doing as the ladies were from all different tribes and many of them old so English is not an option and not sure my pigeon language would manage, maybe next time under supervision I will give it a try.
I was then shown the next part after the ladies are paid...... they go to a different section of the building to buy their raw wool /fleece for them to spin. They fill bags which is then to be weighed, the cost calculated and then they pay with some of the money that they were just paid. They then disappear into their corners for the social aspect of the day when they compare stories and support each other - many of them are also knitters so they then sit and knit for the rest of the day.
I then was shown the computer system that is used to transfer all the data of the daily sales of fleece and the purchase of the skems to enter all the information, took me a while, then it was home time.
On Tuesday Emma and I headed to SCANN to do some more painting as she is heading to the UK mid September to stay for a few years so she had to finish the pictures at least before she goes. We went into town afterward for lunch as I couldn't face cooking. I then headed home.
Wednesday - back to the knitters, I am getting there by car as it is so far away from me, I get a lift so I waited at my tree for collection and this time only half an hour late and very chatty we headed off. I was thrown straight into packing soft knitted toys for a company in USA - there were hundreds of these critters that needed packing. I took great care making sure all the labels were attached, the quality was good and the toys were standard size and shape, bearing in mind they are all hand knitted this was fun, knitters will know! I ensured that when packing them into the sacks for shipment they were all snug and comfortable with penguins wings and scarfs lowered to a comfortable location, the moose's antlers were not bent and they were all happy before they left. This took me nearly all day there were so many and this was only part of the order as it is a very large on going one.
The next job I was introduced to was looking at the figures for all the children and adults that they support financially through education and health, this had been left for a while and needed a good look at as it was showing that since Feb things were not good, what the problem was was that the person had not been putting in the paid in funds..... This is a major job and will be one I started and will take me forever to get through to sort it......... hey here is the challenge.
They wanted me back today as I am getting on well with everyone and don't wait to be told what to do, but I am still not feeling great and Henry left for a day in Naivasha at 5.30 this morning to promote his VCD he wont be back till late and I didn't want to leave Kim for that long, besides woke up this morning needing to go back to bed after breakfast which didn't sit well in the stomach.
I did go to salsa last night and had rounded up 5 other girls, they had a fab time and things are moving on - the girls are actually asking to have men at the lessons so they can try partner dancing, unfortunately there is only us and the male teacher who would be danced off his feet with all of us, they are so demanding. I went home early after putting my head in the door at Guava as one of the guys is leaving Kenya today.
My Virgin friend Marouella sadly lost her father and is not sure she will be coming to Nairobi at the weekend and I was planning on going to the immigration on Monday to check on things with my still illusive visa. I will see how things go and how I am feeling as to whether I get to Nairobi, it always takes it out of me even when I am feeling good!
As far as SCANN is concerned I am still actively continuing my visits and supporting them, only this week I was contacted by someone in Nairobi who is visiting and coaching juggling from Holland, he asked me to arrange for him to visit and coach the boys this Sunday so hopefully that will go ahead and they will have a great time.
I still need to get to Mama Sweeties as the toilet block is now finished and I need to take photos and sort out chicks and feed for the chicken house. Mama Sweetie is arranging her own community fund raising weekend on 27th August to help her with a large water tank and construction of a kitchen. Expect I will be going although I tried to get out of it as I think personally if the community think she is so well supported by whites then they wont help! Anyone interested in boosting this fund raising don't forget the Visoi web page for any donations www.visoi.com
Ok well I think that this is probably all I can manage today as not sure it runs too well together. Whilst sitting here I have been chatted up by a guy from Nairobi sitting next to me on Facebook, he obviously is totally blind to the fact that my hair is a haystack, I am wearing 2 day old jeans, need a shower, no makeup, puffy eyes and and sweating rather badly.......... other than that I am old enough to be his MUM.........ah bless made me smile. Good thing was he smelt good........!
Anyway, time to walk down the street and get my results.
Bye for now.
Sickly Susannah
xxxxxx
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