Highlight for many of our children this past month has been the end of their current school year – time for exams and report cards.

We are thrilled to report that the majority of our children came home with good school reports. Hamis, for example, was failing mathematics last term, but since being at his new school has excelled and received a B in his recent exam! Other excellent reports came from Elizabeth, Fatuma, Arnold, David, Riziki, and Elibariki.

Those very few that aren’t doing so well will be getting extra encouragement and tuition over the long Christmas summer holidays.

We were thrilled to welcome a team from Jerry Savelle Ministries, USA, who visited our children to present them with new school shoes.

Other highlights:

• Birthdays in November: Johnson (17)

• We have purchased 100 more day-old chicks, to increase our egg supply. These new chicks should start laying in April 2011!

• Finally the rainy season has come. The grass is green again, and the vegetables enjoying their daily drink.

• Rebecca gave an interview (in Kiswahili!) to ITV (Tanzanian TV network!). It aired, and though we never saw it ourselves, many of our Tanzanian friends (and Johnson at boarding school) saw it and apparently understood Rebecca’s Kiswahili!

• Wendy and Rebecca had an opportunity to see Linda, one of our home-support children who has been through some tough times recently (see October’s report). She is back with her foster mum after visiting her grandmother, and was smiling for us. Children are very resilient here.

• Our nursery class closed for the summer holidays. Mahija has graduated from nursery school now, and is very excited about starting Primary School in January. She was no 1 in her exams in nursery class. Zainabu was no 1 in her stream in nursery class too, and very happy to receive a book as her reward.

• We had a visit from a young Tanzanian who taught acrobatics and traditional drumming for a morning – the stretching exercises looked exactly that - stretching!

• Rebecca and Wendy visited the kids’ new church (just ten minutes walk from the house). Mwajuma and Fatuma danced and sang in the choir with such enthusiasm.

 

above two new nursery children enjoy Wendy’s doughnuts!

below Jerry Savelle Ministries hand out new school shoes to SWTz!

above Acrobatics in the garden!