Darrick & Kellie Hatch

Nkoaranga Hospital and Orphanage

2007-11-25T11:43:00.000-08:00

No Computers Here!

We have definitely had a lot of fun here. Kellie and I will have no problems trying to handle our kids! The orphanage here has 5 infants under 6 months, 15-20 toddlers and 8 kids ages 3-6.

Toddler Heaven!

Unfortunately, there are only three matrons working with all the children, so we double team when we can. The kids all want to be held at the same time. These are our favorites. If we could take them home today, we would. Their names are Foibe and Ebeneezer, the twins.

Chakula!

(Time to Eat)

They all get lined up on top of the counter and just sit patiently for their yummy noodles or rice and beans.

The feeding-time assembly line...

The Gang!

No explanation needed...

Me Holding the Twins.

How do you not pick up Ebenezzer?

Husseini is also one of our favorites. I don't recall seeing a bigger smile on a kid...

David... he doesn't smile much, but he sure is cudley.

Today is washing day, just outside of the house we are staying at. Hand washing is standard.

Good Hope Orphanage, Arusha

2007-11-25T11:35:00.001-08:00

Good Hope Orphanage also recieved one of the computers.

We were very happy with the Orphanage Director... he seemed to have a great handle on things and was also very computer literate... We know he will continue to do a great job teaching the children everything they need to know about computers.

The kids were so well behaved, they stood against the wall while we were setting up the computer and just watched.

Malaika Orphanage

2007-11-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

This is Malaika Orphanage! One of the computers was donated here, for the children's use to learn computer skills and typing.

This picture is of Charles, who unfortunately had to stay home from school the day we arrived because he suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis. He was a brilliant little boy who caught on so well, he became the new computer teacher. He loves fixing watches and the VCR, so he was pretty excited to see the inside of the computer and how it works.

This is a picture of the youngest... he was three years old and seemed to be more excited about the computer boxes than the actual computer!

The kids here were great. Need a cell phone? Grab a piece of styrofoam and a pen! As usual, they use everything you give them. The matron of the orphanage turned the styrofoam packing for the computers into cell phones and even made a play charger and taped it to the wall. They all took turns charging their new cool toys. On some of the phones, she even put her name and number on the screen, as if they were calling her.

Making good use of the plastic bags and other misc. accessories that came with the computers. This little guy left for a while with the wrapping and came back looking like this. Future Broadway costume designer, here we come!

Christopher did a great job helping us teach the rest of the kids! We know they will make good use of the computer here.

Slip-N-Slides and Computer Classes

2007-11-25T07:34:00.000-08:00

On our last school day before we left the town of Bagamoyo, we introduced the renouned American activity... SLIP-N-SLIDE! We went to Dar Es Salaam and purchased a large, blue plastic sheet and brought it back to the school, grabbed a few buckets, and headed to the beach.

At first, the kids attacked the slide and tried to go down all at once...
Eventually they settled down and we were able to heard them into two lines, so they were able to take turns.
Tamela was the best launcher; we would dump a bucket of water on them and he would throw/push/slide the kids down the runway. (Although this picture shows terror... they absolutely loved it!)The slide ended in the ocean... "you run, you slide, you hit the bump and take a dive!"
At the end of the day, we eventually got all the kids back into their cute little uniforms and headed home. We will sure miss Bagamoyo.

Next, we headed back to Dar Es Salaam and arrived at Bethsaida Secondary School for Orphans (Olof Palme). The first computer lesson was opening them, showing the "guts", and then connecting it all together. Boy was that fun. Lots of "ooh's and ahh's". They were so excited; many of them have never even touched or used a computer before.

It was sure hot even though it was nightime, but the girls couldn't wait... they wanted to set them up THAT night.

The next day, we started off with the basics... "This is a mouse. This is a keyboard. This is a monitor..." They can now use basic Microsoft Office programs and are learning to type using Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!
They gave us some traditional African clothing as a thank-you present. Thank you everyone who made this possible. Being able to use a computer will give them a huge advantage in life and a head start on securing a descent job, getting into better schools, and creating a better life for themselves.

Finally! Pictures!

2007-10-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well, thank you everyone who has helped us get where we are today. We are currently in Bagamoyo, a city / village of about 200,000 people about 45 minutes north of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. All of the buildings are made from either hand-made bricks, sheet metal, or sticks and mud. The tallest ones are some old German Buildings built in the 1800’s during the colonial era and are situated on the coast.
We will be visiting 3 different cities and placing computers in 5 different places:
1 in Bagamoyo Pre-School
1 in Malaika Orphanage
1 in Arusha’s Good Hope Orphanage
1 in Arusha’s Women’s Shelter
8 in Olofe Palme Orphanage / Secondary School.
We have purchased half of the computers and are waiting for the second wire transfer and will purchase the rest.

The computer-building-room looks just like the old “bat-cave” or the Kapalua IT room…

Olof Palme Orphanage Secondary School

The girls were excited for us to pull up – they asked if they could carry all of the computers inside, so we let them!

Here are some of the 90 girls and Kellie and I.

Our coordinator – Yotam - and one of the teachers at the orphanage.

Here I am giving Jimmy (Teacher in Bagamoyo) a computer to help the school.

The kids at Bagamoyo are cute as can be.

The School needs a lot of work… but mostly just money to finish it. Maybe next trip…

Here is the School in Bagamoyo… 2 offices, 2 classrooms inside, and 2 classrooms outside under the thatched roof.

We threw a surprise party for Kellie’s Birthday… and this is one of her presents from the girls at Olof Palme (and the Matron).

Jimmy, the teacher, taught the children that drugs are bad!

Major source of food... Fishing!

Our Blog...

2007-09-30T04:18:00.000-07:00

I have never wanted to do one of these, but because of time restraints ... emailing pictures to people's inboxes, we set one up. If you would like us to email you pictures personally, just post a request on here and we'll do so.