Since November, there have been some interruptions in the work due to intense rainy periods and some illnesses. Our General Contractor, Isaya, got very sick in January, but he's better now and back to work - keeping his crew motivated and doing stellar work.
Recent building progress was possible thanks to contributions from friends and family over the holidays and into February when the Ignite Salt Lake presentation garnered some attention for the work of Project Wezesha. I also drove some funds into Project Wezesha as my birthday wish on Facebook this year. We'll have to arrange a few good fundraisers in the summer before I head back in August to make sure all the completed classrooms can get their roofs this summer.
The first big successes of the winter building endeavor were the two additional classrooms that Isaya and his crew finished.
After completing this row of rooms (4 classrooms and 1 office space), Isaya began work on the foundation for the next set of 5 rooms. This required the very difficult job of clearing the land and digging the trenches for the foundation. The foundation consists of a cement/lyme mix poured over boulders placed in the trenches. These stones and the sand that gets mixed with the cement are valuable to local villages - in this case, the village of Mgaraganza has donated all the stones and sand as well as the labor required to get these heavy stones and buckets of sand to the site from a nearby dry riverbed. I've said it before and I'll say it again, those buckets are HEAVY and the women carry them with no hands, babies on their backs and flip flops on their feet. I'm ever impressed!
Again, without Lucas the work would likely get done at a much slower rate. Lucas is often visiting the village and talking with the local leaders to remind them that the school is a community project. After the rainy season, Lucas stirred everyone into action again by checking in and encouraging them to pitch in. I think he's getting good at giving pep talks (as you can see in the picture where he's captivating them).
In addition to the villagers of Mgaraganza, a group of students in the Project Wezesha scholarship program came out to help! These students are already going to secondary school at Mwandiga Secondary School and PW helps with their school fees, uniforms and materials. But still, they have come out to Mgaraganza with Lucas to chip in! They carried sand and water and then took some breaks to make sure Isaya was staying on task. :)
After a strong push to get the foundation dug and round up enough stones and sand, the workers finished the foundation for the next row of classes! The next step will be to buy bricks, transport them to the site and start raising them to the sky! So exciting!!
Lucas, you rock! Asante Sana!!
