Posted in Kenya on August 15, 2024
Day 1
Day 1 and this team rocks! The introductions were short and brief which was just as well as everyone seemed anxious to dive right in and get to work. In no time at all we had sorted ourselves into sub-teams; stained the wood for the roof rafters, working on rebar for the reinforcing lintels, and mixing mortar, moving blocks and generally just helping the masons. By 10:00 am the first three courses of block were laid in the first section of wall. By the end of the day 10 courses were laid in the two side walls and the front and back walls were up to 5 courses capped with reinforced steel concrete lintels. Absolutely amazing work.
And interspersed with this work was a chance to meet some of the Grade 8 students who did their best not to laugh at us as we tried to follow and imitate their dance moves. This was followed by a free for all soccer scrum with all the kids and team members racing up and down the field just having fun kicking the ball. Amid all this Christina was having an intense conversation with the Grade 8 teacher and 6 or 8 of her students who had to duck every now and then as the ball flew over their heads. The group of conversationalists in the middle of the soccer pitch didn’t seem to slow down the rest of the players one bit.
David Lyon, DWC Team Leader
Day 2
After a few days here in Kenya I reflect on the people; so far they seem kind, friendly, and they definitely have a sense of humour. Gladys our liaison likes a laugh. The kids were wonderful. Our drivers Joesph and Isaac interact with us, help us feel welcome, even the Uber driver that took me back to the airport for my luggage was interactive and very helpful, he went beyond what I expected. The workers on site are very welcoming and encourage us to participate, though I’m curious about what they and the other people here think of us. Do we seem strange to them? Or are we all very similar in many things we do? I guess if you break down our daily lives, we are not much different, though I do think that their sense of community and family is stronger here than at home, I like that. I’m looking forward to getting to know them all a little better.
Mark Murray, DWC Volunteer
Day 3
Live a good story
Issac, our guide/driver, has a T-shirt with the caption, live a good story, on it. My thoughts are that this volunteer trip is allowing us Canadians to live a good story – visiting Kenya – and allowing us to support a better future, a good story, for the children in this community.
We are fortunate to be building the grade 9 classroom (up to this point the school went to grade 8).A DWC team last November did the intensely physical work of building the foundation and the weight bearing columns.
In our Day 1 and 2, the masons, with support from us, put up the walls. It went amazingly quickly!
Day 3 has been all about preparing for the roof.
In David’s orientation, he mentioned, this project would have gone ahead without us, we are simply pressing the fast forward button to get it done sooner.
We are so much enjoying getting to know the children that come to visit us each day. So happy, curious and open. Each day we can talk with them in between our work and after lunch they show us what gifted dancers they are!
Christina Cederlof, DWC Volunteer
Day 4
A Day In Naro Maru
Waking up and listening to the birds outside my room feels like I’m still in a dream. I slowly wander down to breakfast in search of amazing Kenyan coffee and food.
We hop into a bus that carries us away to Karinyaga (think spelt that wrong) school where we settle into the days work.
Today that work involved William gently guiding us to hammer holes into steel strips, carry blocks then clean and carry blocks again. 😂
The development of the classroom in 4 days is astounding and I can’t wait to see what we have accomplished in 2 weeks time.
Somewhere in between all the work we rest for coffee and biscuits, an amazing lunch and the kids dance. I have shown each class the Macarena and without fail they master it in minutes. I think I need to bring something harder to the table next week.
Everyone is so gracious. Gladys and Lucy make sure we are fed and taken care of.
In the evenings if the weather is warm some of us brave ones will take a dip into the “refreshing” waters and then off to our rooms to get ready for dinner and make a night cap with Egan.
As a group I couldn’t have asked for a better team. The mesh we have is undoubtedly the grounds for some everlasting friendships. Everyday I look forward to learning new things about our DWC team and the people we work with on site.
Missie Champagne, DWC Volunteer
Day 5
I can’t believe it’s been a week already. We started with a foundation, and we’re almost ready for roofing. Maybe not on Monday, lol.
I’ve met so many amazing people. The workers are always smiling while tolerating our numerous questions.
The workers here are so inventive. We’ve had hammers made from wood, drills (for holes) made with wood with a steel nail pounded in, scraping tools (for cleaning bricks) made from the metal strips we were making holes in earlier, etc.
I’ve worked on painting, pounding holes in metal stripes, curing the brick walls, making squares with re-bar, mixing and pouring cement, washing bricks, moving bricks from here to there, to there and back to here, lol.
I wonder what new experiences we’ll have next week. 🤔
Heather Gill, DWC Volunteer
Day 6
I thought it might be nice to meet some members of the Kenyan team.
William is kind and soft spoken. He has overseen and supported our treating of over 200 boards with a termite prevention stain, the stamping of metal ties, and the preparation of the gable bricks, to name a few tasks. William is always there to gently steer us along. He shyly grinned (looking pleased) when I said, we were William’s harem. After working with us he goes home to tend to his potato farm with his daughter, Terry.
Simon is our gregarious foreman. He starts us off each morning telling us the tasks of the day. Also, Simon has assessed the skills of our team. You can often hear him call a DWC team member by name to take on a particular construction task.
Clearly our team has proven our competence in his experienced eyes. Simon rides his motorcycle to work each day, he lives 4 km away on a rough road. He also lives on a farm and has two sons, Marvin and Alvin.
Christina Cederlof, DWC Volunteer
Day 7: Resourcefulness
We are building trusses to support the roof. It isn’t prefabricated here! Our builders are very resourceful in creating work arounds and using what is available.
Cement bags are used for brick scrubbers, or to seal up the holes in the concrete molds. For the metal wraps we made, the hole stamps were created with a nail in a board along with a mallet made from a piece of 2 by 4 (machete used to shape the handle). Buckets created by cutting off the tops of drums earlier used for solvent or molasses with wire handles. If a tool breaks, it gets repaired rather than replaced.
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Everyday as we work away I’ll look up to see a couple children peaking around the side of the building at us.
Some are a bit more courageous and will wander on to the work site while others are shy and hide behind their friends.
They are eager to chat with us, ask our names and many random questions.
Last week Heather and I went around to the back of the school and we were immediately swarmed by the grade 4 class.
They were happy to sing and dance for us and were thrilled to have us video them and eager to watch the replay.
Most days after lunch they do a performance for us. Singing, dancing and always cheerful with big smiling faces. They usually have 1 or 2 that will lead but they all dance as one group.
They are happy to challenge us to a game of football and are quick on the ball.
I am impressed with how caring the children are with each other. They look out for one another and get along really well.
It’s so refreshing to see a field full of children playing, laughing, enjoying life together.
Brenda, DWC Volunteer
Day 8
The day the trusses went up!! It was a big day! So wonderful to witness the next step towards a finished building. Amazing to watch it done with ingenuity and strength.
Plus, the last of the bricks were scraped and washed!
These are some of the Kenyan Access and school volunteers that have made our time here so special.
Lucy greets us every morning and ensures the smooth running of our mid morning tea and lunch. A very kind motherly figure both to us and the kitchen staff.
Gladys is the Access representative. She starts us off each morning with a focus on the progress made, acknowledging the good work that has been done. Gladys has also worked alongside us, scraping and washing bricks, painting, pitching in wherever possible.
She is also a teacher and yesterday gave us an impromptu Swahili lesson in the classroom the was built by previous DWC teams. She has explained that a typical elementary and high schools’ classes have 50 – 53 students to one teacher and they rotate around between subjects. It is very evident the pride she has in her colleagues and the students.
Christina Cederlof, DWC Volunteer
Day 9: Challenges and Rewards
On my first DWC trip last year, things all seemed to go pretty smoothly. In Kenya, I had an issue right at the start. I somehow picked up a bug. It arrived in the middle of the night on Sunday night and led me to be unable to work on Monday, the first day of work. I had serious FOMO but knew I could not travel to the site with the team. By Tuesday, I was feeling a bit better, and was able to do some work on site and meet the Kenya team. They were so welcoming and assigned me manageable tasks on the first day. I took a couple of van naps and was back close to normal by Wednesday.
All this to say that things can happen when you travel to a new country. One’s body is used to certain patterns and food. At times it will rebel. But this is part of the adventure.
This group of volunteers that I have been fortunate enough to join have been so supportive of one another., teaming up in different groups to get the rebar bent and wired, scaffolding built, concrete blocks stacked and cleaned, what seemed like a thousand boards painted and nails pulled, lots of cuts made with increasingly dull saws, nails hammered with hammers bent and repaired and inadequate for purpose. All the while chatting with each other and our Kenyan crew mates, joking with Simon, Moses, William, and the others. Our special teammates, Isaac and Joseph, who in addition to driving us everywhere on rough roads, were enthusiastic members of the construction crew.
Today, as we headed back to the Lusoi Resort after our last workday, I reflected on the impression this country has had on me. The beautiful landscape in the shadow of the elusive Mount Kenya, over there amongst the clouds, the people in transit by motorcycle or foot or bicycle, mother and child, hand-in-hand, an old gentleman in a neat suit jacket and toque, protecting himself against the cool breeze that arrives promptly at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, people waiting for other people, or just talking with one another, living their unhurried lives. I will miss you Kenya, and hope to see you again, sometime soon.
Geoff Jeffery, DWC Volunteer
Posted in Kenya on August 15, 2024
