The Arrival
33 hours after leaving home we finally arrived here at the YWAM Base in Jinja, adjacent to the Village of Hope. As we wearily unloaded our luggage from the bus we were allocated our rooms. We are spread out right across the base, but have found ways to keep in touch. After settling our stuff into our rooms we walked across in the dark to the village and were met with a very excited greeting by the children, and the mothers, Agnes and Lois.
After the initial greeting time we enjoyed some dinner that the ladies had prepared for us, then we took our dirupted body clocks off for some sleep We really are here in Africa.
The Work Begins
Day 1 began with rain. This delayed our start, and our breakfast for a while. Settling into the worksite took some time, as did working out what we could do and what jobs required something else to be done first. The day was really about preparation for the tasks ahead. Still no sign of a container on site – we need it really soon as there are things inside we want/need to use. Hopefully the right people can do what has to be done to get that sorted very quickly for us. It turned out to be a good day, and we are in readiness tomorrow to start laying some bricks. Looking forward to that!
Day 2
First bricks laid today. The building is on the way up again. We had a quick tutorial for all of the novices and then they were quickly into it. From Jeff who managed the mixer with Sarah on water supply, to Judith who was wetting the walls in preparation for all of the brick layers. Emily and Anne-Marie did some point work before going off to paint some doors. It was great to see progress being made. This afternoon we were in town for the first time, stocking up on phone cards and various other supplies. Up to date there haven't been too many complaints about the posho, although rumour has it that Roger may not have actually eaten any of it yet.
Agnes preparing our breakfast - delicious "Rolexes"
After lunch we moved the scaffolding and began some more bricklaying. The progress looks slow but the steel rods throught the bricks to tie the roof on do make it a lot harder. It is great to see it going up and we can see that it will be achievable. Still no container! Grrr! The whole team is working really well together and everybody seems to be enjoying it and working very hard. We are still getting used to the change in timezones, but sleep is happening a little easier for most now.
Roger struggling through his dinner
After the initial greeting time we enjoyed some dinner that the ladies had prepared for us, then we took our dirupted body clocks off for some sleep We really are here in Africa.
Agnes preparing our breakfast - delicious "Rolexes"
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