first day at namitembo montessori nursery

Wow what a day. it was great. we had 27 children today all so cute. lots of crying and one child ran away! we found him not so far away. Fr Frank did break his arm
the sling is working, and the doctors are happy with the sling. he is wonderful and never complains still cracking jokes, fantastic for 93yrs old. he loved going to the hospital as he had lots of attention 3 doctors all wanting to see him. bell has rung time for dinner. always delicous, and everyone has something to say about their day.

sunday night in Namitembo

we are all in the sitting room. fr frank, fr owen, pearl our translater, ann and chet from the states, and sarah from uk. jsut listening to the frogs making a terrible racket, apartently its the mating call the one that can croke the loudest gets the frogit! what's a female frog called? this can also work for humans if you like that sort of thing! tomorrow i am back in blantyre as fr frank fell he is ok, but I am taking him for an xray.
i dont mind even though its 2hrs drive and the road is muddy and full of potholes, I like fr frank so am doing it for him. I also can see my daughter as she is sick, sore throat. it is bishop's day tomorrow so the nursery will open on tuesday. everyone is so quiet reading it reminds me of what it must have been like in the olden days. no tv, music ( its off). its quite nice sometimes.
I am going to make a cuppa for everyone and then off to bed, early start in the am. good nite

l-r unknowens! jennifer,fiona, me,siobhan,diane

enrolement at N.M.N.

yesterday we had enrolement day 2-4pm it was great. we had 30 children enroled. people came with the school fees and wanted their little ones to start the nursery. the montessori nursery is th first of its kind in a rural area in malawi. the school fees are 250mk per month that is 2days salary. mimium wage is 120mk, ( 70p) per day. there is alot of hunger in the area so we were delighted to get this many children. there will be alot of people who cannot afford the school but we had to have a limit, the school also has to try to be self sufficent so this is one way to help by paying fees. the nursery is not for profit. all monies go to pay salaries, equipment, and general upkeep.
the kids are so adorable but I am glad they can go home to their parents. I have done my time raising 3 girls.
living here has been so peaceful but we have very busy days. hectic would be the term i would use. there are 11 of us all living together. so far we all get on. every night we go for a 1hr walk and the sun begins to set. it is just beauitful all the different colours in the sky, and the smells of africa. the say when you start to smell africa it gets under your skin and you then can never leave! I am not sure about that. I like the smell of ireland so their is strong competition. and i think ireland for me would win!
I am interviewing the Ubwino girls today, check on their progress, and make sure they know the nursery is for their kids. the Ubwino girls children come free to the nursery. that is why it was started in the first place. it also serves the rest of the community so has a a huge impact. check out www.ubwino.org and you will find out what is going on, oh go on!

Driving to Namitembo from BLantyre

Phew back again in Namitembo after the weekend in Blantyre. Weekend was great we went to Doogles and the new head of the Montessori nursery school got to see what the action was i Blantyre. We had dinner in Blantyre sport club I had the usual prawn curry very tasty. We stayed up late. Sarah the new head went to the lake and had a great time. Sunday we returned to Namitembo hectic! The road was awful and I went into a spin very scary. All part of the adventure.
On the 2nd week of training we are having the graduation on Friday. The school will open on Monday and enrollment tomorrow. Going on a cookery course on how to make triangle sandwiches, looking for receipes, any idea? For more laughs and brighten up your day google Fr. Ted!

hi i am living in \namitembo, life is good here. having a great time. I am living with 3 priests just calll MRS doyle! \i am having these slashes as using a new computer and am too lazy to keep changing it. as we become friends you will get use to my ways. \i like to communicate but the small things \i dont sweat. like slashes and drinking a beer out of a wine glass. \there are other people living here. there names are \ann, chet, john, mimmie, from usa and sarah from the uk is the new head teacher of \namitembo \montessori nursery school. its the first of the kind in a rural area, started by the charity www.ubwino.org check it out it. the charity educates girls in namitembo and funded the nursery school. \ubwino build the \nursery so the grils can contimue their education. \we all know the importance of education women and the empowerment that brings! \bring it on sisters! \I am training the first teachers of the new nursery school its lots of fun, and we are all learning alot. the school will open 2nd feb and everyone is working hard. will post some pics. We are on day 3 the course is 10 days. \i am off now to make triangle sandwiches!