2017 Trip – 27 July

Jack Beckley

On Tuesday we went to Irkisongo Secondary school with 9 sponsored girls in there and we helped them read and write their letter, it was much easier because there was 3 of us to one girl so we could easily help her to understand and write a reply, then we went to the disabled peoples’ home and it was really emotional because of the state that the residents were in. We handed out blazers to those who fit them. Then we had the rest of the day to relax.

On Wednesday we walked to lessira primary to hand out pens, play games and give prizes to the top 3 of each class. After that we had the afternoon to ourselves until they came to kil the goat which I didn’t feel like watching but apparently it was really interesting. The goat was very nice, we had the neck and it was very fatty. Then we set off to the most uncomfortable night sleep yet, the Boma I successfully killed 10 cockroaches and got about 40 minutes sleep and am definitely feeling it today.

We organized and carried out sports day today and I made a friend called Justin and gave him a gift for being so kind in helping me with my job. We gave a bag of maize to the winners of each race.

Tomorrow we’re going to Tarangire for another safari and have been told we have a better chance of seeing a lion which is exciting. Talk to you all soon, love Jack

 

Erin Williams

Yesterday night was when the goat was killed and I went up there but couldn’t watch it – though I didn’t expect to be able to. Obviously I didn’t eat it but my soup was very nice and significantly less chewy than the goat so I think I did well in that regard. Then the Maasai guys did their dance which is so interesting to be able to watch and we mde our way to the Boma to sleep. Ours smelled really bad all night but I think I did manage to get a little bit of sleep despite having nothing but my Maasai blanket to sleep in. I was in Lisa’s group which was nice as she was easy to talk to and so we didn’t get too stressed about the million flies in our faces. Strangely, I think I felt most awake the morning after that then any other morning. Today it was sports day which is held in th cow field right next to the snake park and all four primary schools came to take part in it. My job was to right their certificates which was fun as we got to talk to those that had won and even learning what all of their names were was really interesting as a lot of them have beautiful names. I actually found sports day really fun to do and it was nice being able to give out a bag of Maize as a prize as it obviously meant a lot to the kids that won them. The only downside is that even sitting in the sun I’m still so pale that I look like a ghost.

I’m in a really good mood today but still missing everyone at home, Lots of love to everyone, Erin x

 

Sam Matthewman

Last night was a unique experience. I watched the goat get killed and was quite amazed by how skillful the Maasai were when they skinned and gutted the goat. It’s throat was slit and they used knives to separate the skin from the meat. After taking out the organs and cutting off the meat, it was barbequed and they tried not to waste anything. The tribe served the cooked goat to us by cutting it off and handing us pieces from the wooden sticks it had been cooked on. The meat was quite chewy and tasted good and after the maasai gave us a traditional dance. It was definitely an interesting and unique experience which I will remember. After eating we walked from camp to the boma’s and slept in one for the night. I was nervous at first for what it may be like, but in the end our group had one of the best. There weren’t any bugs we could see and we had a bit of room so it was just a rough nights sleep on the floor.

We woke up and had breakfast back at camp then prepared for sports day. I helped judge and it was a great way to get all the four schools the Meserani Project helps to get together. The students were very competitive and loved taking part. The winners from each race won a bag of maize, which means a lot to each family as it can help to feed them. Tonight it is early to bed as we are up early tomorrow morning to go to Tarangire. It is a safari day so I am quite excited. I hope you are all okay and are missing me; we only have a week left.

Lots of love, Sam x

 

James Proud

Last night was beyond description… the goat killing for one didn’t affect me as I expected it to. I expected to be really upset when it was killed but I ended up questioning everything I believed: religion, afterlife even politics. To say it was a distinctive experience is an understatement. I stayed and watched it get flayed and gutted which was as I expected but still interesting.

The bomas were another thing all together. Our banda was actually quite nice as mud huts go; no creep crawlies and no one snored. I didn’t sleep much but the experience will definitely stay with me. Apparently, however, other people had cockroaches the size of your hand in their banda which I must admit would have sent me running. But the company was great and the experience was unforgettable so I can’t complain.

Sports day today was great and to see the children so competitive and excited was really nice! It was such an amazing thing to be a part of. Although it seems like a small thing to us, it’s huge for them, which makes me happy to think that I’ve helped.

I’ve been really tired lately but I’ve had some dioralyte and it has worked wonders. I’m really enjoying my time and I want to thank my Dad for giving me the opportunity to experience it!

 

Josef Ramsay

On Tuesday we went to Irkisongo secondary to see the 9 sponsored students in the girls secondary school. There has recently been a lot of change in staff in schools due to government so the school had a new head teacher and we had to get a letter off the councillor and Peter signed before we could go to the school. When we arrived there it was 10AM (the time we were given to arrive) and we met the girls and went to the teachers lounge to help them read letters off there sponsors and write one in return, I was paired with a really clever girl who’s sponsor is a mum of my friend. She was that good that she didn’t even require our help with the English. I still find it amazing how these children are able to write and speak a second language almost perfectly. We were not allowed a long time at this school so we said our goodbyes and headed off to the disabled persons home.

When we were on route to the disabled persons home we took a young disabled girl and her mother who due to move into the centre. This place was amazing as it had people of all ages and it was very accommodating for them all. The lady who runs the charitably run disabled home showed us around. She first took us to the building which has a nurses section, a physiotherapy room and also a filing room/ break room. She talked us through the amount of staff that they have and what they do at the centre which is amazing. She then continued to take us round and showed us the nursery that they have there to educate the disabled children who are staying with them so they are still able to read and write. I loved seeing all of these little kids still getting educated despite the disabilities they have, but it is still a bit heart breaking seeing some many young people here. We then went to look in the rooms the patients are staying in and she explained why each patient was there and what for, some for arthritis, some with birth defects etc. it is amazing to see what they do here though and im so glad to hear that there is a place like this here. For the rest of Tuesday I was in my tent as I wasn’t feeling my best.

On Wednesday we were out walking to our next primary school, we were going to lesserra. At this school you could see was so much better behaved and disciplined than the previous school we had been too. We went round and did the usual giving off the pens and interviews of the final year students for  possible sponsorship however when we arrived it was break time so we started off by playing games and singing songs with them. I really enjoyed this school because it was the first school the project was involved in and its great to see all the work the Meserani Project or previously known as the Lesserra Project has done for them. We also got to hear the school song and national anthem which was beautiful to hear hundreds of kids sing.

In the afternoon we stayed around the camp and awaited the long awaited goat BBQ and killing. Our new goat Stew was set to be killed at 5, I watched it again this time and it was so much brighter so you could see everything. It was amazing to see the process that the Maassai lads go through in preparing the goat. After they slit its throat they gathered all of the blood in a tin and stirred it to prevent the clotting as they drink it, next they skinned the goat by cutting through then skin but not into the meat. The knife skills that was on show was amazing, not even Boro’s best butcher had precession like these lads did. The whole gutting took about two hours and they made sure that they made use of every single part of that goat, then they went on to BBQ the goat which took a further hour or more. The maassai lads came out and cut the meat off for us right in front of us which was amazing, I was forgetting how amazing goat tastes till I had it again  last night.

After we had eaten the boys performed a maassai dance which was amazing to watch and join in. once that was over though we had a 10 minute walk to the boma were we would be staying. I was in a boma made up of me, the two teachers who have joined us and 4 people who had basically been kicked out of there group. It took a long time for us to go to sleep but when I did I only woke up a couple times but had a very pleasant sleep, I don’t know about the people around me though. I thought this experience of the night in the boma was much better than the previous trip and we even had a laugh and a giggle as well.

This morning we walked back to the camp so we could have breakfast and get prepared for the sports day in the afternoon. We all sat round the big tables at the bars outside seating area and talked about what sections we would be doing in the sports day, I was in charge of starting the race and making sure no one false started. Me and Joe carter went with a local lad called Amos who works at snakepark to get potatoes and oranges for the sports day from the local village market. Sports day was manic and crazy just like it was last year, only thing this time I actually had to do something instead of sitting at a desk writing certificates. It was a very eventful day which I loved and was full of drama but im glad its over now. Tonight we are just chilling out ahead of the Safari in Tarangire tomorrow which will be an early start.

I love this place and I don’t want to leave, ive got plenty of photos and stories to tell you. Ill speak to you soon.

Love Joe xx

 

Daniel Jones

After the great one hour sleep at the Bomas we went back to camp I had a shower as I smelt of dung and we started setting up things for the sports day my job as guardian of the maize was very uneventful as no went any where near it so during the time I just watched the races happen after giving out the prizes we went back to camp to relax. Tomorrow we will have to be up early for the safari in Tarangire which I’m very excited for, cant wait to get back so I can tell you more.

 

Abigail Pentney

Hi!

Last night was interesting… the goat BBQ was amazing. Maasai elders came and cut the meat off sticks directly in front of us and handed it to us. Afterwards they showed us some maasai dancing and we all joined in, it was really special.

The banda we stayed in was quite small and we had seven people in it (including Peter.) We were all packed in like sardines and someone next to me snored so we all didn’t get the best nights sleep!

Today we had Meserani sports day which was excellent. We did 7 races for each gender and had to be really tough on disqualifications because the kids tried to cheat on every race. Each winner got a bag of maize which is one of their staple foods so it was a helpful prize.

I am really tired after last night but had a lovely day in lovely weather and I can’t wait for another safari tomorrow. Hope you’re all okay. Love you lots,

Abi xxx

 

Isobel Mason-Nixon

Yesterday morning we started the day by going to Lesira primary school and we took them all pens and pencils. We then sung and danced with the pupils and they loved it. They are such amazing people and are grateful for everything especially their education. We then came back and our goat had been chosen!! We named it Stewy as the meat would be chewy so it rhymed. I chose to actually watch the ritual but I was very scared for it. We had to move it a few times as the others at the camp weren’t happy to see it. The whole ritual was awful to be honest they slit the goats throat and the blood ran for ages. They then skinned it and took all the insides out. They then cooked it and the maasais kept turning up. They cut the meat for us and then danced for us it was amazing!!! We then left for the boma which made the tents seem like luxury. It was the most uncomfortable night sleep I have ever had. It was a good laugh though!! Today included getting a well deserved shower as I felt disgusting. We chilled all morning and then organised a sports day for al the primary schools and they were actually so fast I was amazed. They all loved it and were so enthusiastic towards it except some tried to cheat. They won a bag of maize and they were so grateful as it is a base product for food and everything within their lives. It was amazing to see and experience. I love you all so much (including the Carters). I hope you aren’t all missing us to much and we will see you soon. Hope your having a good time without me.

Lots of love,

Izzy xxx

 

Joe Carter

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. Think I’ve got a busy diary ahead of me here as I need to explain the last two days. So yesterday morning started with us waking up and getting sorted to walk to Lesira primary school. We got there and gave out pens and pencils to each student and a prize to the top three students within each class. We spent time with the students singing and dancing with them all when they went back to class and that was amazing as they got involved with everyone. We walked home after saying our goodbyes and it wasn’t a bad walk. We then got all our roles and jobs for sports day. after a few hours of down time we had the goat killing. I decided to watch the full ritual, the killing and the skinning of the goat which wasn’t the most pleasant thing I have ever done but it was well worth watching. All the elder maasai men came and performned the ritual, soon after the goat was cooked on a fire it was put on fresh sticks and put in the ground in front of us and they sliced it and gave us chunks and I actually really enjoyed the meat. I ate the meat from the spine, side, leg and I ried the liver and kidney and im so pleased I did. After we ate the maasai people danced a traditional dance and it was amazing.. we then left and spent the night in a banda which was interesting . moving on to today, we woke up and walked back to the campsite and had breakfast and chilled. After our lunch we had sports day and that was such a laugh as they all took it so seriously. I had the role of collecting first place which was fairly easy. Right im off now so ill talk tomorrow. I love and miss you all even the Nixons.

Joe xx