Day 4....

The house is on day 4 of no water and no electricity.. i would also like to add to Rob's comment below and let everyone know that all the other girls in the house followed suit and i now have to get buckets of water to flush the disgusting toilets every morning.. this morning i almost barfed, gagged about 8 times and finally got the job done.. well enough about that... Rob started it.. but it actually was pretty hilarious... anyway, all of us decided that we will go out for pizza tonight as, although eating dinner over candle light every night is somewhat romantic and some of our best discussions have been during these evenings, the no lights combined with the no water is starting to get to all of us.. Rob's accommodations are much better than mine so I'm glad he got a little taste of not being able to wash the shampoo out of his hair.. i also now have 9 other volunteers that have been asking for the keys to his place..
i had a terrific day with the boys yesterday, as per usual.. i showed them the music i listen to and it turned out to be pretty hilarious.. all they did is make fun of my "white girl music" and i couldn't stop laughing, mainly because i had to show them how i dance and the only pop i had was santogold.. then they drew tattoo's all over me, tried to help me clean my feet, played with my hair (rumor has it, someone would pay up to $4k for it) and we called it a day.. no matter how shitty the living situation is right now, those boys lift my spirits and are always the highlight of my day..
so this is what i've decided to do for them.. when i get home i will be making a calender to sell.. every month with feature a different kid (or young adult) which will include a picture, their current living conditions (i.e. orphanage etc.), age and what their plans for the future are.. i will sell the calender for fundraising and also give the opportunity for people to contribute directly to one of the children for the term of their schooling.. most of the children i will be focusing on is those wanting to go to university and still live in the orphanage.. without a sponsor, they are stuck in the orphanage sometimes well into their 20's.. this is discouraging for a number of reasons, especially since there are 96 other children that the orphanage feeds but can't provide shelter for.. they are unable to work and save to put themselves through university as the wages paid to people without an education are extremely low and only provide enough income to either obtain shelter or food, usually not both.. saving isn't really an option.. the government gives scholorships but this is only to the top percentile of children, there are no loans.. every person i have spoken to here has a need and i know that i cannot fill these needs.. i can, however, hopefully help a few.. primary school is $100/year, secondary school is $200/year and going to university is about $1,000/year.. i've been interviewing some of the kids and taking their pictures.. if anyone has any thoughts/suggestions please feel free to email me at legerashley@hotmail.com.. i will also be looking for an NGO to work with back home so please let me know if you have one in mind, it's really difficult to do research here with minimal internet time..

we love everyone and miss you all! sorry i never have pics on my solo updates, internet cafe is my only option.. Rob and I are doing great here and will give a beefy update with tons of pics after our adventures this weekend xo