Our weekend somehow became full of unexpected, nice things. We had the Plaster House "Come & Play" fundraiser/open day which was fantastic. We were helping on the "Pin the tail on the elephant & lion" games but I also ended up helping the poor overrun face painter & must have decorated more than 30 excited little black faces....& 2 little white ones! It was so nice to see these kids who have suffered so much have such a great time. Discovered the next "Tanzania's got talent" potential winning candidate. One little 10 year old girl, grabbed the microphone at singing time & put on an amazing performance. Her burn scars certainly not hampering her confidence.... Such a natural!
We gave a lift home to 2 other volunteers (a Kiwi & Irish couple). They are living in a mud-brick banda in a banana plantation & it was such a lovely spot with views of Mt Kili. We ended up staying for tea & having a really fun night. Zoe & zac were besotted with their little cat so were just as happy.
Today we promised to visit Meshak , Grace & baby Zakaria (our gate guard and family from last time). We arrived & were told we'd all been invited to a Maasai baptism party...what a bizarre mix of tribal & religious culture! We were ushered into the party which was in full swing & like royalty, given seats at the front, despite not even knowing the people being baptised. Felt a little scruffy but very honoured. We'd missed the lunch ...& the sacrificing of the cow (!) but got baked plantains & bottles of fanta. We saw little Maasai bibis (elders) in magnificent beads congratulate the 2 baptised people and all the guests dance up one by one to give gifts. Then everyone was dancing...all the same steps... like an African version of the Madison & Nut Bush City Limits! Saw a very different side to our reserved Meshak who was one of the main singers & showing a lot of groovy moves in his red leather jacket! Africans certainly have rhythm. Z&Z a bit overwhelmed by all the attention and stuck to us like glue. Finally worked out how such poor people can afford such huge celebrations for weddings, baptisms etc. It always puzzled us in the refugee camp in Ghana... Invites are sent out & people send contributions of whatever they can afford (separate to a gift) towards the cost of the celebration. The people then budget their function according to the contributions. Good system! All tired but happy. Time here is flying! Getting very excited about coming home.