August 11, 2011
2:09 AM (via e-mail)
-----
Kris, here is another live update from the field!
-----
All has been going well in Africa; Patsy has developed a fear of large spiders and has been lucky enough to have Desmond near enough to kill them whenever she stumbles on them. Thus far, the most riveting portion of the trip has been the driving conditions. Many of the children provide our comic relief throughout the day. Hollywood John is always sure for a laugh when he is making fun of the other children. Pacito and Dede are sure to be up to trouble whenever they are together. Other than that, the trip has gone pretty much as planned. Here are some updates for the various projects:
-----
Rain Catchment - The concrete slab is curing well without any cracks (which is to be expected with 95% humidity). Steve thankfully found a 5000L tank and it has been delivered to the orphanage. The gutters have been hung and tested and water flows in the right direction so that's a plus. Tomorrow (Friday) the first flush system will be assembled and connected to the tank. Then, all that remains is to have a welder come out to fabricate some sort of locking mechanism for the valve and a strapping system for the tank.
-----
Electrical Assessment - Ryan has completed his assessment work for the orphanage and has begun to draw up plans for local masons to construct a new generator room as we are unsure of how much longer the rented building will be available to the orphanage. Ryan's focus has been primarily on the buildings that are on the orphanages property. An emergency meeting was held and the decision was to purchase a generator. Ryan has been busy teaching the older boys as well as the administrators the importance of loading the generator as well as proper maintenance. Ryan has also gotten the Pump Tech repaired and the well water is flowing once again.
-----
Site Drainage - Kirk has completed the primary ditch and has constructed a secondary ditch to divert water around the boys dormitory. He plans to implement a few secondary/tertiary ditches just to ensure proper drainage and protect a few more foundations.
-----
Health Assessment - Patsy has been diligent in her observations and surveys of the orphanage and surrounding village. Her progress has been remarkable and she has generally been warmly accepted throughout the village. She is estimating in the following day or two to wrap up her work in the village and focus again on the orphanage.
-----
Side Projects - Kirk, Patsy, Chuck, and Nancy will be working on some simple bucket/valve combinations to provide the children with point of use hand washing stations. These are going to be fairly primitive and easy to replicate in the hopes that the seed will be planted and the children will waste less of the precious well water with a limited flow device. Chuck will also be attempting to educate the orphanage on the importance of trash collection. We are hoping that this will take seed and are planning to speak with the Prefect in Tiko about organizing a day for trash collection to properly dispose of waste either in Limbe or Douala.
-----
As for pictures, unfortunately I am pretty limited. I will try to drop a few onto a flash drive since I don't have a 3.5 inch floppy disc readily available to upload pictures at the internet cafe.
-----
Sean
No comments:
Post a Comment