A Day in the life of a volunteer: Allie

This is Allie. Allie came to Amani in September to work with Amani and serve the children in the baby cottage. She teaches preschool in the mornings and works in Cottage B with the little girls. 

At 8am Auntie Allie heads to the preschool room to get started with the lessons. She assists Teacher Happy with class projects and helps each child individually when needed. As she reads books to the class, little hands go up with questions. She helps feed the Amani children their porridge in the morning and as school ends she heads back to Cottage B to ready the girls for lunch and nap time. 

At 12 pm, the lunch routine is the same in every cottage. Allie makes sure babies are fed and cleaned up for naps, and the older children go to Mama Cook to receive their food. When everyone is in bed for the afternoon, Allie heads upstairs to the guest house to have her own lunch and a break until her Cottage wakes up later that afternoon. During her break, she can get a boda and head to Jinja for lunch or to go shopping. Volunteers always travel in groups of 2 or more so Auntie Melissa, Laura, and Allie go to The Deli for lunch and to shop for dinner. 

When Allie returns to Amani, at 4 pm, she puts her scrubs back on for the evening. As the children wake up they surround Allie, smothering her in hugs. Auntie Allie can often be found sitting in the yard with children piled into her lap and hanging on her back. 

As the evening comes to a close, Allie carries girls back into Cottage B and helps the mama’s serve them dinner. When they are finished little rice covered hands reach up and to Allie and she carries the to the shower to be bathed before bed. Allie, dries, lotions, and dresses each little girl, then one by one, helps Mama Rose tuck each girl in bed. 

Around 7pm, the girls are all tucked in and Allie can head upstairs for an evening to herself. Other volunteers from different originations often get together and play games or have bible studies. Sometimes the best option, after a tiring but happy day, is to simply do nothing. 

After dinner with the other Aunties at Amani, Allie can sleep and be ready for the next day.