Precious Vision go to Haller Park for the First time!!

It’s my first week on the Mombasa Project and my second day at Precious Vision School. In such a short space of time I’ve already become attached to the students there. Today, in particular, was a special day because they had their first ever day trip to Haller Park. The day began getting all the standard 3, 4 and 5 students along with staff into 2 Matatu’s. We then headed off to the park, the children singing… all the way. Such a hype of excitement!!

Precious Vision Students waiting patiently to set off to Haller Park

When we arrived at Haller Park we went to feed the giraffes. This turned out to be quite an event for everyone.

The students were wonderfully eager to feed the giraffes, but their enthusiasm quickly faded once their hands were dripping in giraffe saliva and half chewed giraffe food. Overall though, it was great to see their faces light up at getting the opportunity to be so close to the animals.

Giraffe feeding time!!

After an hour of feeding the giraffes, it was time for the student’s picnic… and the monkeys… or so the monkeys thought. The cheeky monkeys crowded the students waiting for an opportunity to snatch some peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Some of them actually succeeded, thanks to their agility, ability to leap what seemed meters, and just all round cheekiness.

Cheeky monkey spying for food

After the monkeys had stolen all they could, we moved on to see some extraordinary wildlife. We saw several Tortoise, which were all around 120 years old. ‘Wow’, was the response from the students and teachers. They are such fascinating creatures. As were the baby albino crocodiles, ten different species of snake, crocodiles, fish and birds.

Albino Crocodile

Precious Vision students posing for the camera

The highlight of the day was the Hippo’s. To begin with they seemed to be hiding. Then after a small amount of waiting, in the distance we could see a pair of large heads and small ears rising from the surface of the water. Our guide beckoned the couple over using a special whistle. They swam towards us and gave an amazing display of the inside of their mouths, showing tongue, gums and huge, sharp teeth, with a 180 degree yawn! Amazing! More ‘WOWS’ from the both the students and teachers.

Tired, yawning Hippos

Overall it was a great day, with the students still buzzing with excitement at the end of it. It was also a great day for me, as a volunteer, because I got to see the students go from being excited, amazed, shocked, to excited again and so on. At the same time the children were all learning loads and loads. This is a great resource for us to use in lessons over the next week or so. I’m looking forward to the rest of the week. Lots of wildlife fun!!

A great day at Haller Park

Gary 2010

Precious Vision go to Haller Park for the First time!!