Dresses and Braids

Here are some pictures:  

On the 12^th, I went into town with Lida, Evelyne, Kara, and Joyce and I got my hair braided. It hurt. But it was worth it because I looked GOOD. I was definitely the mzungu with the corn rows. That girl. But it’s all good. It was a fun day at the salon, and I was thoroughly entertained for the entirety of the 2 hours it took—one of the men working there was having fun trying to deal with Kara and Joyce’s short hair, then Lida and Evelyne got their hair done, and then the two of them came up with interesting, unique new designs for Kara including French braiding her side burns and the half-comb-over half mohawk look.

In other girly news, I took Caroline’s dress and my material from the market to Joanita, the best seamstress in Kayanga. Two days later, I returned with Joyce and Kara to pick it up. They loved it so much that they ordered the same dress, different material, on the spot. It was great. Since then, Caroline and Katie have also gotten a dress made. We all match. 

The following Monday, Lida told us to wear our new dresses to WOMEDA so she could see them. When we arrived at work, we were semi forced into a giggly photo shoot. All the women went outside and took pictures in front of the WOMEDA sign. Lida and Evelyne were cracking up, making Kara and I do different poses—definitely a thing here. A good pose goes a long way. Here are Kara and I in our dresses, posing in front of the WOMEDA sign:

These are the women of WOMEDA, minus Jesca who was taking the picture.

Above are 2 pictures of the water tank that we’ve been helping work on in Chonyonyo village, about 40 minutes from Kayanga. The water tank is one of many being built at a new boarding school for girls. The school is estimated to open 2015. We mostly helped doing manual labor—moving rocks. Though while we were there, we met 2 German engineers working through Engineers Without Borders. They’re building a toilet at the school that separates feces and urine, to use as fertilizer and compost. I’ve since been back a few times to help with their project, which has been great. Last time I was there, we made a mosaic on the base of the toilet, where you’re supposed to stand. Here is our creation:

The view on the way to Chonyonyo.