Sunday, May 26, 2013

Step 2 in Building of School

We are well on our way to getting our computer lab built at the Girls School In Nyariga.

 

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 Everyday depending on the work of the day we have plenty of villagers willing to help.  This labor part of the construction is done by volunteers, Blessing Basket/Whole Foods is paying for the “parts”.  Notice all the pans on the ladies head.  They will be filled with dirt, rocks, cement, water, whatever is needed at the moment.

 

The villagers work from morning until it gets dark.  I love this picture.

 

 

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If you remember they put the foundation down by making ditches filling with concrete then started the walls moving up.  How do you get the floor in?  You have the ladies bring you the cement on their heads and then you put in the room and smooth out.

 

 

Time to start work on bracing the roof:

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June is so close..they want to start putting the computers in the room and have the volunteers from Whole Food start teaching the girls on June 20th!!  Less than a month.  Bets being taken!!  Oh yea the electricity will follow up with that in the next blog.  Yea we have no lights in this part of the village.

 

 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Building a Computer Lab for the Girls School

Blessing Baskets (from now on BB) and Whole Foods has purchased computers for the girls school BUT there is not a safe place to keep them, there is no electricity, and the girls need to learn about Computers.

So BB and Whole Foods has set a date.  They would pay for 75% of the building (this like everything is from your purchasing of the baskets) and the village needed to contribute the rest.  BB asked Whole Foods if they could send some volunteers to the village to set up the computer room and teach the girls.  So this has all been set for June 2013. 

Just to add interest the owner of BB Theresa and her fiancĂ©e Joe will be getting married at the end of the trip in our little village.  Not just a wedding a traditional wedding. So Plans are being made.

Except when I went by the school to visit the end of April the ground had been laid out that is all.  I was worried so Abdulai took me out to visit.

I went on May 7 around 5:30 to see what had been done.  WORK!!! BUSY LITTLE BEES!!

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Yes you are seeing right the women are carrying the cement and men are building!!!

 

P1040588 The pan is full of cement.  The women are waiting for the sand/cement to be mixed before they will all be carrying to the men.

P1040591This is the walls going up around the office and the actual computer lab.  Floor will be cement when time comes but now just the foundation for the walls is in place.  They had been working all day and getting ready to finish when I got there.  VERY HOT!!! today but they just smiled at me when I said something.

Girls school will have a wonderful addition.  Now if Theresa has any pull with the gov’t to get the electricity to the building.  Saw the poles as we drove in but they seem far away to me but …..

Will keep you up with the excitement for the next 6 weeks or so.  Oh yeah I have told the village people that my white skin will have much more company when June gets here.  I tell them I think the village will be more white than black.  They laugh but we shall see in picture form!!!

 

 

 

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Fun with the Kids!!

This morning I went to fetch water and was greeted by Paul and Francis.  They were playing, singing and dancing.  Notice the cans that drums are tomato cans.   When they saw the camera Paul came running so Francis followed.  When I showed Paul the pictures he had a BIG smile, however, Francis ran away, looked at me and when I tried to show him again he screwed up his face to cry.  Just can’t win a 100% of the time.  Ha!!

 

P1040598Paul is Texas Orange shirt Francis has grin!!!

 

P1040594Francis before he really understood what I was doing.

LOVED HER HAIR …..

P1040587While at one of the craft centers I saw this sweet little girl.  I loved her hair and she was fine when I sat down beside her to take her picture…but then realized it was the white woman and she just fell into tears.  I felt so bad but she did get to nurse to make her feel better.  Can you see her tribal mark on her right cheek.  It is still being done especially in the Northern Regions. 

 

Peter wanted his picture notice his teeth are yellow from eating the stuff inside of the bean you see on the ground.  The  kids suck on the inside then spit out the seeds!!!

007Camera is very important to the kids all they want to do is see it and laugh!!!  Peter now wants to carry my small bucket of water just encase I might have a taffy for him. 

 

001While reading outside Mubarak drove up with Tahiru’s youngest daughter and son.  Yes no one wears a helmet in the village just when they go to Bolga HOWEVER the children are not required to have a helmet even if you are tied to your mothers back.  Armenia HATED getting near the bike with her Uncle but even she has grown up and will go with him.

 

P1040496Then there is Abbas with his Ideal powdered milk package calling me like he is on a cell phone.  EVERYONE seems to have a cell phone and they make them last forever.  You should see the condition some are in and they still work. 

 

Enjoy my Kids!!!