When we arrived at the community preschool, we were not prepared for what we saw. It was just a bare building with cement floor and walls, no windows just holes in the blocks. There were no toys, up to 70 children could arrive in any day and the teacher was a volunteer from the village who did his best, for no pay. It was very distressing when we thought of all the facilities children have at preschool at home. Some of the children were afraid of us at first, as they had never seen a mzungu (white person). We bought lots of paint and spent the next day painting the room, putting murals on the walls, making it brighter and more interesting for the kids. They all loved it. We also brought books, colours, toys, balls, etc, and the bubbles went down a treat as did the nail varnish, even the boys wanted their nails painted. 

We also went to another preschool in the village church. The teacher was called Esta and she was also a volunteer from the village. This school had no toys either so they loved to see us coming every day with our suitcase. We were also able to give the children some clothes and it was a delight to see their faces when the got a new dress or tee-shirt. Our camera got mixed reactions at first, we took photos, and showed them back, we were wondering why there was no reaction then we realised that the children had never seen themselves before.  Imagine, they didn’t know what they looked like! 

Even though the people have nothing and where they live is beyond anything you could imagine, they are still happy and positive, the children are so welcoming and their smiles lit up their faces. It was an amazing experience, one that I found both humbling and emotional.