Our day began with our standard breakfast of chipati, coffee and received our daily 1.5L supply of water. About a half hour later, while the team got ready to return to the school build site to work on the new washrooms, Nathan and I went into the diocese meeting room to begin preparing for our camera course. With access to a projector, a surprise to both of us, we spent the hour before the course creating a slideshow of camera basics and general rules of photography. Finally, around 10:00, youth began pouring into the room, and we prepared to begin. We were very lucky to have Boaz as our translator (The student we met yesterday who is studying bio-molecular engineering), who luckily understood our course content and could therefore re-explain the concepts properly in Swahili. The course seemed to go quite well, and after a final assignment of trying to use the "Rule of Thirds" to take a picture of the rest of the group, Nathan and I received a 4 minute long thank-you song from Steven and the rest of the youth. We both felt very humbled and thanked them profusely, saying that they are welcome in Canada anytime.
Meanwhile at the washrooms, Jane, Terry, Dylan and Justin started out going to the washrooms to see what needed to be done. The brick layer responded with a request to move more bricks to the build site. So, they obliged, and began moving the total of 80 bricks (again, 60-80lbs each) from one side of the school to the other, near the washrooms. Unlike yesterday, it was only the team doing the brick moving with no-one else to assist (for the beginning at least), so due to that and the immense heat, several water breaks were taken. To increase efficiency, Terry used the wheelbarrow (with an extremely small wheel, making it less practical than it could have been) to carry 3 bricks per trip along with Jane, whereas Dylan and Justin found some rope, put it around their shoulders, and attached it to a skid which they then used to carry 3 bricks at a time as well(they figure with the weight of these bricks, the skid was around 200lbs). These strategies, while both physically taxing, worked very well, and they managed to finish all the bricks in about 2 hours.
Sidenote: Some important details about the washrooms! The amount raised by the KCI music department and the Kitchener Waterloo teacher's choir is actually more than enough to cover the full cost of the washrooms. The student's facility will include 4 stalls for each gender, and 1 handicap stall for each gender (revolutionary for any institution in the area). Many people are very excited and thankful for the generosity of the donation, and the money is being put to good use! The additional money raised will not be put into paint as originally thought, but being put into worksheds for the vocational school, which will soon house donated machinery coming from Holland.
During one water break, Jane met a very well dressed man who had been looking around the build site. Upon introducing herself, she discovered that he was a youth pastor from the Shiratiarea, and was very appreciative of us coming from Canada to help. When asked if there were any prayer requests that we could keep in our prayers, he listed 5 distinct ones. His biggest concern was that youth were leaving the church, and he does not want this to happen. Because not many youth have money for school, nor do they have jobs, so they may get into trouble. After this discussion, the pastor came to assist with the brick moving, helping to speed things along nicely.
Just after they finished with the brick moving, they made their way to the brick making part of the property, at which point Nathan and I met up with them. The engineer we met yesterday, Abel (not Cain), was preparing a mixture of termite dirt and concrete on the ground, making the perfect combination before adding water. We were fascinated to see the machine that they used to make the bricks, inserting oil and sand into it before adding the dirt/concrete mixture, then compressing the mixture using a large lever on the top. After this lever has been pushed down all the way, the brick makers bring it back the opposite way again, remove the cover, and out pops (literally) a fresh brick. Just before leaving, the 3 men gave us the opportunity to try to compress the bricks ourselves, which Terry and Nathan gladly took. After Nathan finished his brick, Abel gave him the opportunity to sign the brick before it was placed in the bathroom, which Nathan signed on behalf of the church (picture included).
We then walked back for lunch, which was followed by a 2 hour long nap for all of us, exhausted from the heat and enjoying our new, high quality fans (as the heat seems to be starting to be catching up with us)! We then got up again at 4:00 to play ping pong at the hospital (as usual, the people who said they would come did not, but we enjoyed the company of about a dozen kids from the hospital who came to both watch and play). After about an hour, Dylan, Nathan and Justin went back to the diocese to receive their new shirts (which, naturally, came an hour later than expected), where Terry, Jane and I joined them about a half hour later. When the shirts finally arrived, the guys quickly tried them on with glee. Just after this, Challo texted me to say that our planned dinner at his house was ready (which we hired him and his wife to make for us), so we began walking to meet him at the dukas (stores) on "main street". Upon meeting him there, we walked with him to his home, and enjoyed an incredible meal of chicken, fish, rice, beans, chipati, a mixture of tomatoes, onions and peppers, beef, rice pilau (with a bit of curry in it) and the sweetest watermelon and pineapple we have had yet! We enjoyed some great food and fellowship with him and his family.
The plan for tomorrow is to do a 1 hour drive to a village to build an awning for a paraplegic man's duka. We had planned to do another hut build, but due to a death in the family of the person we hoped to build the hut for, this was no longer possible.