2009 Day11

This morning we met with group 10 for “personal hygiene” where we literally washed the girls hands, removed several layers of old nail varnish, brushed their hair, re-painted nails and took them for walks. It doesn’t sound very complicated but we met quite a lot of resistance from some of the girls when it came to washing their hands. We had to bribe some of them with necklaces and eye-shadow.

Nina blowing a kiss for the camera

It was boiling hot today so walking the girls was tough work. I had to keep sneaking inside for drinks of water and I’m totally wrecked now.

Lunchtime was difficult too as the cooks were a little bit ambitious with beetroot. Irena spat out every spoon full where she usually gobbles it up – it was a complete disaster. It literally looked like pink slop and tasted like flour (yes, I tasted it). It’s very nutritious but that’s not going to entice any child. The nanny tried to feed Irena too and even she didn’t have any luck. Eventually we gave up as  Irena gets another big meal later anyway. That’s another surprising aspect – the girls eat mountains of food! I have no idea where they put it.

Garden Party

After lunch there was a garden party for all of the girls and they absolutely loved it. The three entertainers were brilliant. There was a clown, singer and MC. The MC did a great job of rounding up all of the girls and playing games with them. The singer got them all up dancing. And the clown had them all clutching their sides – he was fantastic. We gave out biscuits and fizzy drinks during the party and the girls loved this as well. It was so wonderful to see them all smiling.

By the time dinner came around Irena must have been absolutely starving as she gobbled up every scrap of food on her plate. If she was able, I think she was have licked the plate too!

I usually play with the girls for a while after dinner but today I was just exhausted. The heat was unreal and it completely drains your energy. It’s mad to think that in the winter the temperature here can be minus 30⁰ C.

I think the exhaustion from the last week and a half is catching up on me. Must sleep now! Night night.