Back in England, safe and sound

I’m back in England safe and sound. Here are the lovely flowers to welcome me home, which were such a nice surprise. I’m looking forward very much to seeing everyone again in the summer term. 

Farewell Party 1st April 2011

The staff and learners of Bukalo Primary School gave me a lovely farewell party on Friday afternoon. They began with a prayer and speeches and then we watched some drama on health issues


Some of the teachers dressed in their traditional costume for the special day.
This teacher is wearing 'musisi', which is traditional dress in the Caprivi region. It is made up of a very full skirt (with lots more skirts underneath), and a matching blouse, and a scarf wound round the head or a special headdress.

I was given some lovely gifts.

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After that, the learners danced traditional dances with singing and drumming

Then the learners and staff joined in the dancing

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Jane and John's Namibian/Ugandan Wedding

A baby guest at the wedding (although it was 27 degrees, the babies tend to be dressed in hats and warm blankets).

The chairs for the bride and groom

This creature was flying about inside the church. It was about 5cm long.
Look at the next picture to see where it ended up!

The wedding began around 9am, with friends and relatives dancing up and down the aisle. The women made a joyous noise, (called ululating). Later, when the bride groom 'and his team' arrived, followed by the bride and bridesmaids, at around 11.30, the formal part of the wedding ceremony began.   

The young girls danced too.

The pastor pronounces Jane and John married 

The happy couple leave the church to sign the register.

John, the groom, is from Uganda and is a VSO volunteer. He met Jane a couple of years ago, and they decided to get married. Luckily some members of John's family were able to travel to Namibia to join his celebrations. Jane is Namibian and has lived here all her life. The ceremony started with a very long sermon, (around 1 hour), and then the marriage ceremony, when the bride and groom said their vows and exchanged rings, took about 30 minutes. The church was 3 miles or so from where I live, so it took a long time to walk there and back. 

Break Time

Learners enjoying their mid-morning break.

Maxine and Leah come to see me every day at break. They enjoy writing their names using my laptop. They have never used a computer before. There is one computer in the secretaries' office, but it is not working at the moment. There is no internet connection, even when it is working. 

Many of the learners love playing with 'elastics'

One of the older learners is wearing a 'sitenge' around her skirt to keep it clean and to be modest. 

Building New Houses

 A new house is built by first planting strong poles into deep holes in the ground.  

After the roof has been built, then the walls are made of clay, which is found in the ground. 

The clay is placed between the poles. 

Soon this house will be ready to live in.

This house, and others like it, are being built near Bukalo School. I pass this house every day on my way home and see how it is progressing. The lady building the house was shy and, at first, did not want her photo taken. But she was very friendly, and I managed to persuade her. She is waving goodbye in this picture. 

Roadside Tomatoes and Bananas

This is where I buy tomatoes, bananas and onions. Today, the bananas were very small, so they were only 50cents each (which is about 5p). The tomatoes are N$5.00, which is about 50p. They are much more expensive in the supermarket.

Young children stay with their families and so this little boy has to wait here all day. When people move about, the younger children are carried on their mum's back. They are fastened securely with a 'sitenge' (see-teng-ay) which is are useful piece of cloth used for many purposes. For example: it is worn as a skirt wrapped over your normal clothes, for carrying children on your back, for putting over your head to shield it from the hot sun or to sit on if the ground is dusty. 

Pink Porridge and Iswe

These learners qualified for the regional athletics competition. Before they went, they were given lunch of porridge (pap) flavoured with 'Sweet Aid', which coloured it pink. They are eating it from the bowl using leaves for spoons.

This is iswe (ee-sway) which is like sugar cane. You strip away the outer layers and then chew the sweet juice from the    inside part. You spit out the bit you can't eat. It is delicious.