Volunteers stay in houses in a walled compound about a 20 minute walk from the orphanages.   The windows of the houses have louvred windows, mosquito netting and are burglar-proofed.   A decorative grill with a gate secures the small veranda area outside the front door of each house.   At night a Maasai tribesman is employed as a watchman.

The houses are connected to the mains water and electriciy supplies but the drought which has affected East Afica in recent times and the fragility of local infrastructure and maintenance skills mean that cuts to both services are a common occurrence.

One house has been equipped for cooking with a fridge, electric hotplates, a kerosene stove and a supply of cooking pots, plates, mugs and cutlery.   Meals used to be prepared by local staff but volunteers have found that their needs have been better met by preparing their own.   Bread

rice, eggs, beans, meat, vegetables and fruit can be bought in Buswelu village, a 5 minute walk from the compound, or in Mwanza where there are two supermarkets stocking a range of branded tinned and packet foods.   Bottled drinking water is cheap and available everywhere, as are soft drinks and beer.

Bedrooms are lockable.   There are two single bedrooms and one larger room with two single beds in each house.   Each bed has a mattress, two sheets, a pillow and a mosquito net.    There are built-in cupboards for storage

"When I walk up the dirt road from our compound to the orphanages almost everyone greets you;  little kids yell "mzungu" - Kiswahili for white person - and come up to hold your hand"

Each house has two cold water showers, two wash basins and two toilets, one of which is western and one Tanzanian.

"I taught Standard 1 at Hisani and Standard 2 at Watoto in my last week and just had some fun time.   Read stories and played games.   We threw a party/games day at Watoto last Saturday which was fantastic.   We taught them team songs and competed along with ball games and Limbo.   The ladies cooked a superb dinner and we bought sodas and ice lollies.   The children were so well behaved and had a great time.   At Hisani, the following week, we took cakes and sodas to say goodbye there too.   It was hilarious to see a few of them get so drunk on sugar!"