Mombasa, Kenya

Its amazing that I've been living out of a backpack for 2 months now.... Washing my clothes in basins/buckets daily to ensure I've got clean, dry sets ready to wear. For safety I also lock everything up daily so bags have to be kept quite tidy to do this - definitely one thing I won't miss when I get back home!!

Next stop Nyali Beach, Mombasa, KENYA for a few days resting and lying in the sun before South Africa.

I've already experienced some wild life.....camels on the hotel beach....tempting to take a ride.....still may do!!!

This is my deck and the monkey is less than a metre away from me - I took the chance of gently sliding the door open to snap this shot...holding my camera very tightly!!

Prison Island & Sandbar

I've treated myself to a hotel....a proper shower with hot water and a comfy bed that's not a single bunk is to die for!!! I went on a tour to Prison Island which was used as a 'Quarantine Island' for yellow fever cases - they now breed giant Aldabra tortoises on the island - massive as you can see.
 

Snorkeling over an old shipwreck was amazing, followed by lunch on a tiny island sandbank till the tide came in - absolutely stunning!!!

Hot water is luxurious...funny thing is - all the water is salt water here - including tap water. So even if the water is boiled for a cup of coffee or tea it tastes like salt water....amazing!!!

Kianga Yusef Community School Desks

Wow - thank you for your generosity everyone. Great work in achieving this goal!!!

Desks have been completed, paid for and delivered!!!

The desks being made, then transported on the back of a truck.....

Everyone from the Headmaster, to the Principal, to the students were excited to receive these.

The classroom even looks tidier with the desks.

Community School Desk Fundraising

I haven't received sufficient funds for the desks and require a further deposit.
If you would like to provide these children with desks to sit on I would really appreciate any donations urgently into the following BNZ fundraising account:

'Lisa African Journey': 02-0108-0217965-083

My Zanzibar Accommodation

A photo of my reality.....this is the street of the volunteer house....

Zanzibar is made up of many, many little interwoven alley's - easy to get lost in which I've done a couple of times already!!

Another resident of the hostel is Nicole pictured below - very cute, but very naughty.

My donations page has now been closed down so I can access the money before I leave - please continue to donate directly into the following BNZ fundraising account:
'Lisa African Journey': 02-0108-0217965-083

Kianga Yusef Community School

My last attempt at fundraising is for the Kianga Yusef Community School!! The school was set up by an individual and is staffed by the local community. It's very basic and relies heavily on contributions from volunteers. They have limited resources and currently the kids all sit on the concrete slab floor - aged 3 years to 12 years.

I would like to buy desks with pews for one class = need to raise an additional $1,500 to buy 10 of them!!

It's only 10 days before I leave, so I need to close down the donations page this week to enable me to withdraw the money for the purchase. You can still donate via my blog on "Donate to my Project" through Uncle Percy but only for a couple more days......

The quickest method of getting the money to me is directly into the following fundraising account at BNZ:
‘Lisa African Journey’:  02-0108-0217965-083

Swiwsco Orphanage Maintenance Fundraising

I'm in Zanzibar now  - what a different feeling being in a coastal town - really positive!! I'm loving it!!

I've had to wait to download these final pictures from Moshi using an internet cafe - I hope you enjoy seeing what your money has given this orphanage for something they would of just lived with otherwise.


My last few days in Moshi were spent ensuring some maintenance was completed at the orphanage with a little fundraising that was left over. They now have a door that closes on the shower......

And a bed bunk which was on the floor is fixed and sheeted up ready to use with a new mosquito net on top ready to use!! This also means there's less kids per bed with this one being usable - fantastic result everyone!!

I'll let you know what can be done for Zanzibar once I've figured out what's needed.  In the meantime, please continue to donate to the general fundraising which can be used for both Zanzibar and Bloemfontein.

Swiwsco Orphanage Mosquito Net Fundraising

Considering my latest blog - I've also managed to purchase 10x mosquito nets for the orphanage which they needed desperately!! Here's a photo of what some looked like - not protective at all!!!

With the new mosquito nets the rooms even look a lot cleaner with the whiteness of the nets. And now the kids are totally protected!! They were all stoked with the nets - they hate the bites!!   :-)

Mosquito's

The mosquito's here are ferocious, hungry, little (or should I say rather large) suckers and many!!! OMG - nothing keeps them totally at bay - not even 'deet'!

Thank goodness for taking 'malarone' which has so far not had any side effects. And I haven't had any signs of malaria!! :-)

Photo's Steal the Soul

There are many area's here that do not allow photo's to be taken - even when travelling in a car along roads. If I get this correct - it is said that taking a photo of a person, some believe, captures the soul of that person.
Which is, understandably, very bad karma. I am now very careful where and when I take photo's out of respect of this belief.

Korongoni Special Needs Sports Uniforms Fundraising

Sports uniforms for the Special Needs class have been purchased!!

As the kids entered the class for the day I gave them the uniforms to put on over their clothes - they kept them on all day.




They played football and wanted to stay outside to show them off.....

 
 
It's the best behaviour I've seen from all of them the whole time I've been with them - even the teachers commented on how good they were. They were so proud!!

Mt Kilimanjaro Waterfalls

My torch has had a serious workout over past few days with all the power cuts. A bit difficult eating, showering and living at night without power....and no internet.

Hiked into the rainforests at the base of Mt Kilimanjaro over the weekend. It was awesome - so green and lush, and the water looks clean and pure - very deceiving of the bugs it still contains for westerners.

I also got taken to a couple of waterfalls and shown how to make coffee by hand - even got to make my own - couldn't drink it as I hate coffee but fascinating all the same!!