ADIML (if you look carefully enough)

A fake sleep photo

Time stamp#1

I have no running water so I fill this tank up each week by hand.

It is surprisingly tricky taking a pic whilst brushing teeth

I boil some water up – most of it was added to a bucket of cold water for a rudimentary shower and the remainder was used to boil two eggs for my breakfast

I read yesterday’s paper which I hadn’t gotten around to looking at.

I had an ant infestation the previous night, so I located the entry point and made it an ant no-go area

Time check#2. This is a talking watch. I bought 20 or so out with me

I had some time to kill so picked a DVD to watch. The second review from the bottom cracks me up

I bought out a portable DVD player and I’m mighty glad I did. The film was a little rubbish though

I was interrupted by Jared. He lives in the nearby adult blind rehabilitation centre. I needed to know how many people there were in each of the 11 families there

I do my maths for later

Time check

This is the house I’m living in

Very few white people come to this part of the country and I’m something of a curiosity. As such whereever I go kids either run away or come up to me to say ‘Hello sir, how are you’ or somesuch

As I pass a classroom in the blindschool I hear some children singing so stick my head around the door

More singing

I walk into a dormitory to say hello to some children. Some are on a bed listening to a rather crackly radio

Other kids have less entertainment. There isn’t a great deal to do here without vision

Some sighted kids are playing a game of marbles with seeds. I figure out how to play, join in and get beaten

I swing by the only place to dine for a chip omelette

There is a sloping pool table in the village. The cloth is torn, balls are chipped and the sticks are cracked and missing their tips. It’s good fun though and I can hold my own against the locals

On my way back to the blind school I see Charlie and Barracka. Barracka never stops smiling

I join them for a quick photo

As I continue, I spot some kids doing their washing

Others clean their plates

I get home and invite in some children to watch Die Hard With A Vengence. Some have probably never seen a film before but I’ve learnt that films with black men in lead roles go down well, especially if guns are involved, so this seemed to be a good choice, even if they do look somewhat bored

When the film is over I head over to the rehab centre – the road is pretty decent for Tanzania

Here I am with David – he is my main contact here and is a top bloke

We arrive at the centre and check out the 1000KG of maize I’ve bought.

As per usual, the children sniff me out

We divide the maize up amongst the families, hence the earlier calculations

Time check

The families potter around outside with some of the grain

Children here don’t really do the whole cleanliness thing

They seem happy enough though

Leia is one of the adult blind

No grain is wasted as every spilt piece is collected

Eli is the son of one of the blind people

This is Kenneth – he ferried the maize from the neighbouring village over 2 days on his bike.

Time check and my daily dose of choccie

I settle down to some serious MCOG watching. Best Program Ever

I’m joined by a lizard. He lives in my roof

I’m invited to David’s house for dinner. He cooks a mean curry considering he can’t really see anything

He then kicks my butt playing Poppit. It’s the one toy the children have but most of the time it doesn’t have batteries

I return home to find I infact have two lizards

Time check – and view of my kitchen

Bed beckons and I leave you with a slightly simple pose.