Game Day

The holes in our hearts from Laurie and Brandt’s swift departure this morning were quickly filled by the bright faces of the Orkeeswa students. The day began with yet another disappointing lack of fundi and supplies, but in true Groton-Orkeeswa fashion we were soon out on the basketball court and makeshift cricket field. Yes, you read that correctly; we engaged in a “jolly good” game of cricket that was headed by new British physics teacher, Phil. We then split into eight teams and exhausted our sporting abilities playing a round robin tournament of Netball, Basketball, Volleyball and Football (or if we must say, “soccer”). It was a close call for a while there, but it was the orange team that came out on top. We then broke for lunch where Groton students were ecstatic to find that rice and beans was on the menu after a slew of ugali (corn flour and water) and makanda (corn mush and beans). To our dismay, Fred announced that there would be a little more dirt digging before we could continue with our activities. Luckily we were a feisty crew and got the work done in under half an hour. Then it was back to team against team and boy, were we ready. This time we took the more artistic approach and participated in a singing and dancing competition. The stakes were high as we fought for the grand prize of bottles of soda pop. In the end the teachers took the democratic approach and it ended in a three-way tie. Back at the lodge we were fortunate enough to hear from Robert, Orkeeswa’s first and current Headmaster. His story was an inspiration to us all and made us really appreciate how difficult it is for these students to receive an education. We are all busy tonight writing letters in anticipation for our woeful goodbyes tomorrow. We hope all is freaky fresh back in the US of A. Word to all da homies.  Mimi & Reed