A third of the way in already shish kebab...

Hello all my lovelies.. Firstly can I say I am sorry I have not been better at updating, but I only have access to internet when i am in the main town, and that is provided that the few internet cafes have a spare computer - and if they do the connection is so slow it is painful to upload pics, the last little blog took me nearly two hours which alo costs a packet, so i will update entirely once i get home over xmas.

But I am having an amazing time, the work is so hard, the tools are old and blunt, materials often turn up late, and half the bricks snap in half, but in the first three weeks in the bush on the construction site we dug the foundations 85cm deep, painful with blunt shovels, then mixed concrete with the same shovels, and carry the concrete in buckets on our heads to fill the foundations with. Next was the brick laying, held together with clay, which does not seem secure but cement is so expensive so we will render it when we get back so it holds hopefully! We even finished 2 days ahead of schedule woop! Wre went to the primary school to visit the kids who will go to the middle school we are building, and tught them some bitesize environmental education, many eat lemurs they,re so hungry and have no idea theyre endangered. But is kinda hard to teach sustainable eco systems when people are starving and the government is so corrupt doing nothing. Anyway I need to dash off as the internet cafe is closing, but all I can say to those wonderful people who donated, your money has gone to such an amazing cause, thanks to you these precious children have a chance to go to middle school,a nd create more of a future for themselves: YOU ARE ALL AMAZING!!!

We get up when the sun rises, have bush breakfast at 6.30, work from 7am until 11am, then 2pm - 5pm, dinner at 6pm, a bit of guitar music and singing , then bucket shower and im ready for bed!! Its amazing to have so much time to think of nothing at ll - im loving life with no stress, a bit worried how i will adjust back to normal life eeekkk i dont want to go in an office ever again now! Am really interested in sustainable tourism, so might look at going down that road when i get back. Here are a few pics, orry cant be more now, but will put more up when i get back in 3 weeks.

Here is a local band who we apaid to play at the bar the night before we left for the bush, same night i lost my phone on the beach ooopps. by the way my new number is 00261343717874.

 This is the building site once we had dug the foundations and started filling with concrete:

 Me laying bricks with clay, first tw layers with concrete:

 This is the school when we left!!!

Miss you all loads hope you are all well, nd cnt wait to fill you all in more detail; I cant emphasise how happy I am to be part of this, and thank yu for being part of it too. x x x x

I have arrived!!!

hello everyone i have arrived safe, fallen in love with the place and saw my beloved lemurs so am a happy bunny! unfortunately the internet is sooooo slow here, and it has taken me over an hour to upload just a few pics, but here are a few of the journey through Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta airport, the flight over Kilimanjaro, the gecko that greeted me in my room the first night, and the amazing lemurs1 One even stuck his head in my bag to  get my bananas - so intelligent!!! there is a pic of the camp communal hut where we eat and have lessons on the other amazing projects Azafady are doing here, but a,m in shock at the lack of infrastructure, far worse than i imagined, and there is so much to be done. even tho the camp is basic, it is luxury compared to how people live here, so i am grateful for running water and a toilet. On Thursday we head out on a bumpy " hour lorry drive to the Mahatalaky school construction site, where there will be no running water and long drop toilets, but after a week learning, packing compost bags and drinking madagascan rum, ill be happy to get to work!! So see you all in a few weeks!!! x x x

1 DAY UNTIL LIFT OFF - I DID IT THANKS TO YOU!!!!

Thank you to every single one of you who has donated and has helped me towards my dream of going to Madagascar! The fundraising smashed my target, and the "zorbing" event was absolutely mental! On the day of the giant ball rolling activities it was so windy up in New Farnley, we were terrified, and the ball bounced down the hill - the guys who worked there said they could hear us screaming all the way down! What a worthwhile thing to do though. I am leaving tomorrow on my Air Kenya flight, and can't wait to fill you all in on the next part of the adventure. The lucky winner of Lemmy the knitted lemur will be announced in the next few days and my mum will send the lemur once we have your details!! Every penny donated will go to an amazing cause, and help improve the lives of some of the poorest people in the world. Love you all!! Look at these photos of the zorbing for the before (happy), middle (rolling), and after - dazed and confused, about to fall over!!!