Day 16

17/10/2012

Well I almost made it. But, alas, I caught the cold that half the house had. I’ve stayed home from project because to expose the children to this nasty bug would be selfish. The power has been off all morning. (Actually, if I’m being honest, the power is out rather frequently) So instead of wallowing in despair that I'm stuck at home and not at project...I went outside. Why? 

Well because we actually got a break from this rain and there was a big yellow orb in the sky that was warm and inviting. 

Why do I get the feeling as if I'm writing from Indiana?

Any way, I'm sitting out on my red striped blanket and everything was fine and dandy until the ants invaded. Excuse me, you were not invited to my party.

This is my first and only complaint.

Communication when it comes to Charity is atrocious. I was definitely not in the mood for her to lie straight to my face this morning. Here's what happened:

When I first came to Kenya she recommended that I go to Hope because "Belinda is there by herself and it's not a good idea to have only one volunteer there." I have been at Hope by myself for over a week now. I was excited to get new volunteers because one would be joining me at Hope. However, when I was on my way to project on Monday, Charity said I would not be getting a new volunteer. After some reasoning she said she would ask the girl that came by herself if she would like to go to Hope.

I came home later that day and asked the girl if she was going to come to Hope tomorrow all excited that I get a new friend to help split up the work. She then replied with saying, "We three are going to a new school they just started working with and actually we started today. I love the kids already..." and she went on to talk about how her day was. I asked her if she had been given the option of coming to Hope.

No.

This morning Charity knocked on my door and after going through the small talk of hey, how are you, how are you feeling, do you need a doctor stuff she changed the subject to Hope.

I'm standing in my doorway with a fever and wanting to sleep when she says, "So I asked [the girl] if she wanted to go to Hope during our orientation on Tuesday and she said she preferred to go to the other school. I'm sorry."

First instinct would be to say oh so she probably asked and the girl felt bad about saying no so she told me Charity hadn't. Only actions speak louder than words. When the girl told me Charity hadn't said anything she genuinely looked confused. Also after that she asked me what kind of school Hope was.

I don't mind being at Hope by myself. Honestly (more children to interact with because I'm the only one outside). But, lying to people is not ok. Especially if you run an organization. I wonder if she thought I would never find out but I live in the same house as the girl so I was bound to find out sooner than later.

Does she really think so little of her volunteers that she can't be straightforward with them? That she has to fabricate stories to "keep the peace?" Because the Truth really does come out so why not eliminate the part where the volunteer finds out you lied and knows you are lying right to her sick, tired face and just be honest in the first place?