Last day at Ba Futuru

Today I brought in donuts from the nun’s bakery, to express my thanks for the kindness and humour shown me over the past five weeks.  The ones with the cream coloured sprinkles had cheese on them, and were by far the favourite.


I got down to business right away because yesterday I fell asleep at my computer and decided to go home early for a nap. I slept for two hours, then followed that nap up with nine hours of sleep. My throat has been sore and my sinuses clogged. I needed the rest.


Just before it was time to read to the five year olds, I was told they were having a party for me. I thought the five year olds were having the party for me, so when I saw them in their normal activity of choosing books for story time, I thought about nothing more.


Two children came up to me individually to tell me secrets-- they had made cards for me and they were having a party. I thanked them for sharing their secrets and proceeded to read.


Meanwhile, most of the staff were sitting outside, waiting for us to appear. If the party was a secret, you're going to have to give me hints on protocol.

Fifteen minutes later, we show up, and the kids are ready to eat. There are apples, tiny mandarin oranges, watermelon and juice. Speeches were quick. I started off the food. When everyone was sated, the kids sang a couple of songs and the five year olds gave me their cards.

The cards are really cute. Many have pictures of me wearing a v neck shirt and shorts (my only clothes), and some have me wearing glasses. In most, I look deranged.

Fortunately, I remember looking similar in pictures that Anita had drawn of me at that age, so I took each work of art to be complimentary.  The one I don't understand has windows with bars on them. Maybe it's the view of a house from the inside out. I'm not sure.

Anyway, the party got raucous when one of the three years olds got a lot of attention for dancing around the tables. Soon, he was just running and other boys joined in, some happily, one hesitantly (I'm shy. Would you like me to join you? Yes. Okay, do you want to go in front or behind? Behind. But he went in front with joy written all over his face, and I never did go).

The party lasted about 20 minutes, and the work day continued. I left around four, having finished the annual report and sending out a couple of news articles that had been in the hopper.

What a wonderful day, and great experience. It was an honour to volunteer with Ba Futuru.