Jambo rafikis

Here is todays top news :

1. 140 staff and students of Victory School ascend on Haller Park

2. Mischevious monkies cause all manner of problems...just ask Alex

3. 128 Victory students and the Kenya 15 feed giraffes.

4. No small children eaten by Giraffes, Riggs big fear is averted!

5. Alfie almost eaten by mongoose, mongoose decides that Alfie is not worth the bother.

6. Rhys Tupper 0 - Maasai Warriors 1 in the bartering game!

7. Kenya student decides Puffer Fish does not make a good football when barefoot!

Well good evening people, I hope you are fine? We are all fine here

Wow! Where to begin? Malarone, check, breakfast, check, Matatu wait, check, matatu drive, check, more waiting, check, get a little hot, check, get a little hotter, check, pretty rank sweatmarks on everyone, check, get a little bored, check, decide that we could practice face painting.......

So Louie, Kyle, Riggs and Sam are awesome with a paintbrush, no joke! Riggs flutterbies - amazing, Sam's dinosaurs -wicked, Louie's ladybirds - fantastic and Kyle's unicorns - cool! The rest of us tried and din't get close, though I am sure that I will offend someone here by not mentioning how good they were, but for me these guys could paint faces on some of the furthest orks in the Lord of the Rings battles, you know the CGI ones right at the back....thats how good they were! Ok maybe I am selling them a little short. been a long while since I saw our kids so excited over a few pots of paint, but it was like Christmas morning stood outside Haller park wheith everyone laughing and running round painting each other. I recieved a spider with a web (and a bite) adn also a snake. the snake was a red and green mamba....very poisonous...yes.....very poisonous.....15 minutes!

After 30 minutes 2 matatus came rolling over the hill each one packed with 21 or 22 Victory students, lets just say that this would never happen in England! Out they all popped and we had KG1,2 and 3 as well as Standard 2. All lined up and had parts of their arms tattoed with various deisgns...and they loved it. It was so exciting, they were so excited that it was completely infectious and the Kenya 15 were almost tripping over themselves to be involved. The kids got their paint and then went and sat with their staff and waited. Afetyr about 30 minutes the next 3 matatus arrived with standards 1, 3 and 4 and as a group we were complete. they also went to have their tattoos done whilst everyone sat around. Then it happen.....they caem striding from the distance and my goodness did their kids hyperventilate! I have never seen so many kids so genuinely happy and excited, it was like a wave of adrenaline and exhilaration hitting all 160 of us! Unbelievable for all of us, their kids offer so much and take so little, I really can't say any more than that!

Before they got to meet the giraffes (many for the first time) we had to queue for a headcount. At this point Alex came running over. Moment of the day number one coming up, he was very animated and shouting something at me. I looked and he was covered in brown goo! He stood there like he was drowned in water with his hands outsterched shouting "it just poo'd on me, it just poo'd on me"! (insert many sick sounds as he was wretching at the time). As I type this I am the only one in the room and I am laughing loudly! He ran of towards the toilet repeating the same sentence interspersed with vomit noises. I couldn't see for laughing at his misfortune and do feel a little guilty at that (lie!).

Anyway, the kids and staff counted we made our way to the giraffes! I can hardly describe the excitement, it was like people were throwing out 100 pound notes. The children were feeding the giraffes with little food pellets. Maybe 6 giraffe and 160 of us lined up behind a fence, the chikldren running abckwards and forwards getting more pellets and holding them up timidly for massive giraffe (with tongues 30cm long) to eat from them. Each student not up to the knee of a giraffe and they were just looking at them starstruck! It was awesome. We also had a ball, probably my best visit ever! Our boys were amazing as they were helping the younger ones who were too scared on their own, but do not forget that for them it was also a new experience of which they chose to spend their time helping the Victory kids instead of feeding the giraffes themselves, how proud you must be of your sons! As a member of staff I made sure i took the time to stand back and survey what we achieved at this point today and all I could see was our boys giving themselves completely to the Victory students...even after a week they amaze me. Soppy stuff over!

It was all to short as after 15 minutes or so the giraffe had had enough and moved on. We then went into the Park itself and had a look around. We were split into two and half went with teh KG's and half with standards 1-4. I was placed with the KG's and we immediately made our way to see some crocodiles. The kids were so well behaved and our kids were holding ahnds, lifting kids on shoulders etc. The crocs were cool and the kids loved it. We moved on to see fishes and then came upon a big tortoise! They were all afraid, but intrigued! They gathered round and listened intently to the guide. We also then saw Pumba the parks warthog, he was ugly! The reptile house followed and then some more tortoise. After maybe one and a half hours the tour was over and we moved for lunch. THe kids had bread and jam and a 500ml soda. We have some amazing memories of 140 kids sitting in the shade eating jam sandwiches and drinking brightly coloured soda, chasing monkies and have an amazing time. Which brings us to moment of the day number 2 today. Alfie made a new enemy today. A mongoose came to play and Alfie thought he looked like a good mate and so went to say hi. The mongoose, not liking the look of Alfie, charged at Alfie! His face (Alfie's - not the mongoose's) was a picture and I have to say I have never seen a child run so fast with his arms pumping like an old steam trains. the mongoose, let's call him Charlie, gave up chasing Alfie long before Alfie stopped running. I would also point out that the boy ran and hid behind me up the bank, though I wouldn't of defended him as I thought that Charlie (the mongoose) had a point!

After lunch we got everything set up for a group picture and it looks pretty awesome! The kids of Victory had an unbelievable day and it is all thanks to the staff, students and parents of St Andrew's. I am not sure that as trustee's we  can ever thank you enough for your support, but you will see what it means to both the Victory students and your sons in every single photo that they bring home with them. Once the pitcure was taken we had a short wait for the matatus and at around 3pm we were whisked away back to the hotel, before the Victory students were driven back to school.

To coin a phrase.... cost of driving Victory students to and from Haller Park - 20000KES, cost of entry, 30000KES, cost of feeding all 160 participants 12000KES, seeing the looks on all their faces when they saw and fed the giraffes....well you know the last word  Thanks to you all 

And so to the competition winner from yesterday. Discounting Alex's poo incident we reckoned that 3 students recieved a tinkle or a sprinkle and so the small kenya related prize will be winging its way to Mrs Chipperfield. Well done

So on to today's competition :

Each day we play a game of MINE. Those at school will know exactly what I mean. The object is not to say MINE when asked a question or else you have to do 10 pressups in forfiet! So the question is - What will be the total number of pressups completed by the Kenya 20 (staff included) tomorrow between 7:30am and 7:30pm! 12 Hours and countless opportunities! Good luck!

Kwaheri rafikis

By the way, in case I didn't say it already, thanks for everything