Updated 9 March 2011
It was a Monday morning in June at The World Federation’s Autistic Day Care Centre in Dar es Salaam…however; this was by no means an ordinary start to the week! The joyous, beaming faces and sparkling eyes of both children and staff members alike were testament to the fact that something wonderful was afoot…but what?!
The Centre had organised a field trip to Wet n’ Wild Water Sports Park at Kunduchi! Hooray! The excitement was tangible as everyone piled onto the school bus hurriedly, chattering excitedly all the while. 1,2,3…and AWAY WE GO!!!
A half an hour later, at 10.00 am, we had reached our destination. All in all, we had 17 children and 11 staff members amongst us. Upon disembarking from the bus, the School Administrator proceeded to meet the Management of the Water Park in order to express our sincere appreciation and gratitude for their extremely kind and noble gesture in sponsoring our entrance fees and lunches for the day – how absolutely delightful it all was!
In a short while, we were all warmly welcomed to get into the pool and A-SPLISHING and A-SPLOSHING we went! The younger ones frolicked to their heart’s content in the baby pool, while the older children were escorted to a deeper pool where they too enjoyed their time to the utmost, playing with balls and, later, going on to the water slides. A bevy of happy faces, bedazzled by the invigorating combination of a brilliantly warm sun and cool water, finally exited the pools at 12 noon, altogether famished and indeed ravenous for a good meal!
Once everyone had freshened up, it was time for the children’s lunch - a mouth-wateringly delicious menu of mutton pulao, salad and water, following which the staff members were served their lunch menu of chicken and chips and a cold drink each.
The entire day had been, without a shadow of a doubt, a resounding success! The staff members befittingly applauded the Park Management’s impeccable hospitality by way of handing over to the School Administrator a special Thank You card that they had painstakingly made in honour of the occasion. He then strutted proudly to the Financial Controller’s office bearing this ‘gift of gratitude’ on behalf of all of us.
It was time to make our way back home and so we all boarded the bus, tired but blissfully happy, replete with our memories of this wonderful day fresh in our minds and hearts, where they will surely reside for ages to come.