Back to School

On Monday we went back to school and we definitely felt like the new kids! The kids were as welcoming as ever and greeted us with the obligatory kiss and hug. In the morning there were 15 kids and the afternoon 24. Seeds of Hope can only take a maximum of 25 kids, mainly due to the space available, but also because of the amount of materials used by each child - there simply isn´t enough money to go round.

In the morning Stuart worked with a small group of 4 children on their Spanish homework, which was pretty testing and I had maths. I never thought I´d say I´d be glad to be doing maths! It was about all I could do, simply because maths is pretty much a universal language. The morning session ends with a cup of sweet porridge and a bread roll, which is devoured with glee by the kids. We then disappear off for our lunch, kindly cooked by Yuri´s aunt and to date has been fabulous. After lunch we go back for a new group of kids, and more punishment!

This has generally been the course of events for the last few days, except today we had a washing session. We´ve been using a new venue for the school and there´s been no water because the council have been doing work on the road outside all week, however today was the first day with water, so the kids had a bit of a wash. Definitely a good thing, as some of them are a bit stinky! Hands, face and some of the boys hair was washed. Unfortunately, one of the girls didn´t want to wash as the water was really cold. I think we may try again tomorrow, when we watch a film in the Seeds of Hope house and where there is an electric shower with a small dribble of hot water. Fingers crossed.