Today I had the privilege of driving all the volunteers (there are 6 of us) into town to pay a visit to the immigration office. An immigration official stopped by the other day and told us that our visas aren't good enough and we have to get work permit/class C visas. Which means we all have to pay another $120. I left 4 of the girls in town and came back with Emma. I was a few steps ahead of her as we walked into the apartment, but I stopped short just as I got inside. Our whole apartment was covered with TWO INCHES of standing water!
Before we left, the tub was on because some clothes were soaking. Then the water suddenly cut off (as it does often), and we thought we turned off the faucet, but apparently hadn't turned it all the way off. While we were gone the water came back on and flooded all our bedrooms, our bathrooms, and our hallway. All my books are ruined, and some of my stationery is a little disformed. The only book that survived completely damage-free was my Bible (what a blessing!!). Luckily that was all the damage I suffered. Emma's computer may be ruined. We're still waiting to see if it will turn on. My other roommates seem to have not lost much, if anything. I'm thankful for that!
The water took 2 hours to clean up. I wish we had a pump. Instead, Emma and the gardener, David, mopped it all up with mops and bed sheets and towels. I had to go to a meeting and could not help.
The meeting I had to go to was Cradle of Love's 1st administrative council meeting. Davona, the director, and I are the 2 administrators. Our council also consists of Zahara, the staff coordinator, and Batilda, the nurse. We had a great meeting (there were a lot of issues to discuss!). I really like being part of the administration. I feel respected and valued, and like I can make a difference. I've also started to become a sort of mediator between the director and the other volunteers. There is nothing bad to mediate; I just help make sure that scheduling is communicated, etc.
I'm glad the water is cleaned up, but I'm still lamenting the loss of my books (most of which were brand new).
I'm also relieved, though, that the administrative council seems like a group that will work together very well.
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I created this blog to keep all my friends, family, and supporters up-to-date on my trip to Africa. In September 2008 I came to spend 8 months at the Cradle of Love Baby Home in Arusha, Tanzania. I really appreciate everyone who takes time to read my blog, and I would love to hear from you! Blessings, Katie
1 comment:
Hi Katie, I know this is late advice and you probably already have researched how to dry wet books, but here is a link http://www2.lib.udel.edu/Preservation/wet_books.htm to a good source of detailed information on how to dry out a wet book. Many years ago my father received some books that were inadvertantly drowned in the bottom of the Yangtze River in China and later recovered http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_River and he was able to very carefully use them for many years, but they were old bindings and fragile to handle and had ample evidence that they were once drowned. I hope you can save some of them if you haven't already discarded them.
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