Thomas Gabriel Blog Day 4

As things have become more familiar, I have begun to register things that I had been vaguely aware of but which had not embedded themselves in my mind. There is a woman who sits on the hill between the classrooms and the well where we get the water for the concrete and the plaster. She has a baby with her and usually lights a fire on her arrival. Today I noticed that she cooks things that look like tortillas. These are then filled with vegetables.. I’m not sure if she is the equivalent of the ice cream van outside a school but the schoolchildren all pass her by at break time. When that first break is over she packs up her things and leaves. I’ll try to remamber to pay more attention tomorrow! The young children not at school were again around the well wanting to help load the buckets. It takes approximately 60 pumps of the handle to fill a bucket and we have been filling at least 80 buckets a day – having the children help from time to time in this heat is fun for them and a relief for us!I also noticed the ‘shacks’ across the road from our project. They look flimsy and very small. Today however, I also had an opportunity to visit some of the beneficiaries of the project.

I should mention in passing that a number of dignitaries visited the project today. Speeches took place and tours of the site were encouraged – but I will assume that all these things will be more appropriately recorded elsewhere. Back to the beneficiaries! These are families who live about 500 yards from the project in habitats set back from the road. All the volunteers are being given the chance to make these visits in small groups. The good news is that it allowed about 16 of us to finish early, get out of the sun and have a shower. The other good news is that it very forcibly brought home the value of what we are doing here. The first house we saw was an ‘upgraded’ existing home. This is a home where the residents want to stay where they are. I saw a wooden structure of two rooms and a veranda covered on one side with a low wall around the other two sides. This houses eight people. It’s erected on a concrete base. If I thought this house was bad, I had a bigger shock when we went to see a house from which a woman and her children will be moving to one of the Haven Homes. She lives in what I would describe as a mud hut with leaves for a roof. The floor was mud and the wooden upright slats were filled with dry mud. It did not look as though it would survive a heavy downpour. In these houses were also the very cheerful children who come to help us at the well each day. As we left, a group of about 7 children burst into spontaneous happy song and we all clapped along. I was moved to tears. I joined the dots and could see precisely what our efforts were going to help achieve. We may not be able to save the world or rid it of all it’s problems but we can try to do what we can – one house at a time, one step at a time. The point is – that rather than just talk, we have to ‘do something’.

After the emotional roller coaster that was the local housing, we went to an orphanage in Ouanaminthe. Down an alley off the main street we walked to an entrance covered with tarpaulins where another group of very cheerful children greeted us with songs and dancing. The orphanage houses 400 children and is run by a woman who oozes charisma. No parent could go into that place and not be moved. I don’t believe any person can be truly present in such a situation and not feel heartbroken. Whilst there was a lot of chat and banter on the way there, the bus was virtually silent on the return – each of us wrestling with our own thoughts and feelings.

So – with the back of the week now broken, it’s the race toward the finish line. The heat remains obstinately oppressive, the humidity is not helpful but the spirit of the teams is still high and unique lifelong memories continue to be created for each of the volunteers.