Starting on Monday, we began our work building a new school block at Kazembe
Primary School. Kim and I
volunteered for construction duty, and it is quite challenging. First, the builders measured out the
outline of the project using sticks and string—they really did not use a
measuring tape all that much, which was a little strange. Then, they drew lines in the sand
telling us where to dig for the foundation.
It was quite hard work, since the ground was mostly
sand. Every so often, a wind would
pick up and blow sand in your mouth if you had your mouth open. Also, at times the sand would slide
down the sides back into your trench if you weren’t careful how you shoveled.
After a while, we got to a part that was full of roots from
the nearby trees, so young boys carrying frighteningly sharp machetes would
hack at the roots until the were cut through and could be removed. By the end of the day, thanks to the
help of some hired hands, we had the trench completely finished, and then the
bricklayers started at their work.
In the afternoon, some men pulled up in a flatbed truck and delivered 100 50-kilogram bags of cement, which then had to be removed from the truck and stacked in a school room. It is really amazing to see how much weight Africans can carry on their heads. I was inspired to give it a shot, and it is quite a lot easier than carrying the bags in your hands!
Yesterday, we were relegated to water/brick carriers. When we got to the building site at
8:00, as directed, we found out that the bricklayers had been waiting since
6:00 to get started, but since they had no water, they could not make the
mortar. It struck me as odd that
they would not get the water themselves to get started right away rather than
wait around, but evidently hauling water is woman’s work. Well, woman’s and white men’s work,
anyway. After a minor labor
dispute, working began promptly at 9:30.
Our job now is basically to pump and haul water to the men
to make mortar and lay the bricks.
We also haul bricks. I cannot get over how willing little children are to do work that even we adults find burdensome. The girls haul water much faster and more efficiently than we can!
At any rate, the building is coming along nicely, and we estimate that it should take about a month to complete. I hope it is finished before we leave Malawi!
Wow, Kim is participating in construction works as well! Time is passing fast; amazingly how my little Bé Ti has grown and mature!
ReplyDeleteThe years to come, as the kids to whom Adam and Kim teach grow up, they will remember you guys not only for the fundamental, precious knowledge they received, but also for the physical evidence, the produce of your labor of love, which may last beyond their life time.