Today, Saturday, while my wife is sewing, I went to the main entertainment in town. No, no funeral, today is market day. I am a regular at the market and they all know me. Not much selection in the market. Prices are very high, much higher than in California, since it is the dry season. I have my regular stops.
I give the “onion lady” one GH Cedis and she fills a bag of onion for me. The peanut butter woman is waiting for me with a large jar. Papaya, avocado, egg-garden (eggplant) and okra. We eat “same same” every night.
I am reading now “Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson, who built many schools in Pakistan.
As an American, building schools for girls in an Islamic country, Mortenson had his share of problems. However, I wish that my Ewe Community would have some of the Pakistani Villagers enthusiasm to have a school provided for them. Here I am trying every trick in the book to bring the people to work on their own school. The Airfield Community interpret democracy in such a way that every decision has to be discussed by the elders and the chief does not have much power over the people. The bottom line is they will tel you whatever you want hear and do what ever they want to do.
This week like any other week on the site has it ups and downs. The only problem is that we don’t have any more time or money for “downs”.
The carpenters are progressing on the roof and one building is already covered with the aluminum sheets.
My ETC (Estimate To Complete) is growing every day. My roofing carpenter underestimated the amount of wood that he would need, adding $1250 to the cost of the roof. The plastering of the walls takes much too long, adding on labor cost for the masons. Now they are telling me about “screeding”, process of finishing the floor, which require more cement and was not in the original estimate.
The roofer is not on schedule but never the less is asking for more money. A deal is always open ended even if it is in writing and not keeping your word your commitment or your appointment is always OK as long as you have an excuse and it doesn’t make any difference how lame the excuse is. No shame and no apology.
On Tuesday I traveled with the carpenter (a different one) to Hohoe, a town two hours away, to buy wood for the doors and windows. I can save 25% on the wood price since the wood is brought there directly from the “Bush”, no idea if it is legal or not. Since the police has road blocks to check on such harvest, the wood was cut and shaped in Hohoe before shipped to Ho. We bought a partial quantity and will come back for more as soon as it is available.
When work was progressing too slow, I hired laborers for one day and stopped the work on the Toilet/Septic tank project. The community finally received the massage and started to prepare the morning work at the end of the previous day, something that I am asking of them for long time but without avail. Thursday and Friday the work started on time but with slow progress. I asked the community to work on Saturday. They responded by a strange written letter. They cannot work Saturday, but will bring the whole community, not by groups, during the week if I hire more masons to finish the plastering. I agreed, I don’t know why, all previous agreements by the community were not honored, must be tired.
Only five and half weeks to go and so much to do.
Aku Sika Shop is popular with the foreigners in Ho – missionaries and young volunteers. Our recent acquaintance with ProjectAbroad volunteers did a lot of good this week at Airfield School. They came to teach at the school, brought art supply for art projects. They will now include Airfield School in their program.
On Wednesday, their Outreach Medical Team arrived. One Ghanaian male nurse, four young European helpers. They sat a clinic in one of the "classroom". I was impressed with the amount of medical supply they brought. Looks like a well-funded NGO.
Eric, the nurse used no gloves. He screened all the kids at Airfield School, checking hands, mouth, ears, eyes, head, skin, glens,belly and looking for open wounds. He does not need blood test to identify Malaria. He looked at the eyes, sours around the mouth and high fever. He talked and joked with the kids. Funny young man. Doreen from the Netherlands handing the kids Vitamin C candies, Picaddely cookies and a note with the diagnoses, before they proceed to the "clinic". Robert, Ivor and Phillip from Holland were treating the kids.
Last week, again, I went from hut to hut asking people to come to work. Not much success.
When they don’t have a good answer they say that they are sick, they have a headache.
I was standing in front of a mud house, a half-naked woman was seating at the doorway with two infants, chickens running around, empty look in her eyes, she was probably wandering what did this Yavoo (white person) want from her life at this early hour of the day. The future of her children was not her first concern at that time.
The work was slow to start on Monday, a lot of wasted time.
We have less than two months and so much to do.
There was a lot of commotion at Airfield School this week. The head mistress and two teachers got a transfer letter. The Director of Education followed-up on his promise to Benny and new teachers were assigned to the school.
I am going to divide my time between sewing and teaching.
There were two trips this week. Very different trips. On Monday we accompanied George to his new venture in Kpando Technical Institute. George is very shy and naive, and he was overwhelmed by the process. We also needed to talk to his family to assure that they will help him with some food etc.
My second trip was a major shopping trip in Accra. I rented a truck in Ho and with our contractor and Prosper we bought all the roofing material, two large poly tanks, toilet, paints and other material at a significant saving.
As I said in my last journal, this week will give us some indication where this project is going. Sure enough we had quite an exciting week. After I made my rounds in the community on Sunday we started the week on Monday on a positive note. We laid in the first block on Monday morning and in five days we had quite a nice progress.
On Monday afternoon I had another meeting with the elders and Prosper regarding the making of the remaining of the 2000 blocks. It was a very interesting conversation by which I felt that finally the token fell, the phone rang and the massage went through: without making the blocks ASAP we are not going to meet the schedule. It was a very candid conversation by which the elders revealed their plan to make blocks – it did not have a check with reality. At this point it was clear that the elders will not be able to bring the community with larger enough numbers to make the blocks. It was a moment of truth. On our way home Prosper told me that without much choice he will bring his apprentices to make the blocks. It took a few days but on Friday the apprentices came and started to make the blocks. It will take about a week to finish molding the additional 2000 blocks and another week to dry out.
I also realized that if I want to build a toilet system, I need an outside help to excavate the large septic tank. In the evening, I went together with one of the city engineers, to the Mayor’s home.
It was a good discussion. I will need to submit a request to the Assembly for approval of the septic tank excavation and the Mayor didn’t see any reason why it will not be approved in spite the fact that it is not in his budget. New furniture for the new school will not happen at this time,maybe in about six months.
On Thursday I received my first 100 Cement bags and the balance on Friday. It took some doing and coordination on my behalf but I have made it.
On Tuesday I submitted a request for the excavation and was surprised to see my letter with many approved signatures in the hands of the city engineers when they come to visit me on the site the next day. They keep telling me that it will not take too long before the final approval will be given. But in Africa time has a different dimension than in the Western world. I hope that it will happen next week.
So, things are moving along and it looks like we have a chance to make it happen. The time is short and there is a lot to do. Hopefully no more surprises.
In Ghana, when you want to speak to parliament member, assembly member or the mayor, you can call him directly, go to his office or go to his home. This week Benny daily schedule included meetings with the mayor, assembly member and the city engineers.
The Parliament Member came through on his promise and 200 bags of cement were delivered to the site. The city officials also promised to help us excavate the large hole for the septic tank.
Last Sunday Benny walked door-to-door through the community, make sure the people will show up for work to support the masons.
The walls of the school are rising, and Prosper sent his apprentices to help molding the blocks.
A good week with a lot of progress.
Prosper called Thursday afternoon, "Benny, you must come over here, the whole community is dancing and singing". It was the end of Phase I of the construction. Casting the floor was completed as scheduled!
We left the site earlier, it looked like a bee-hive. Fifty community members, including some of the youth and a few from neighboring community. Benny had rented a concrete mixer for three days to cast the floor. Women carryied head pans full of stones, sands, cement and water into the mixer. On the other side they were loading the head pans with concrete. Smiles were on every face. They were so proud of themselves. (They all recognized that if it was not for Benny pushing them, they would still digging the foundation.)
But somehow they got the wrong idea that when the floor was done their share of labor was completed… and Benny was planning to start laying the wall blocks the following day, on Friday. Benny hired six masons. Each mason required two community members to support him, mixing the mortar and bringing the mortar and blocks to the mason, so that they could lay the walls. They also need to mold 2000 additional blocks.
Benny gathered the community on Thursday, during their kenke-lunch break.
For the next five weeks he needs the community to support the masons in laying the blocks and continue making 360 blocks per day. "If we do not have twelve community members to support the masons, I am sending the masons home."
and he did…
While the community rested, Josef, the 75 year "elder" continued to work in the hot sun.
Benny met again with the MP. He promised 200 bags of cement, but now it seems that we have to chase him and his promise.
Ho is the capital of the Volta Region, but it is more like a big village. The only entertainment in town is funerals, wedding or church. There are many miserable looking bars. Not even a movie house.
In the mornings the locals burn the trash, plastic bags and all. This in addition to the dry desert wind that fills the air with dust and reduced visibility. They call it Harmattan, dusty wind from the Sahara.
So we spent most of New Year weekend in our room, Israeli music fills the room, thanks to Eran, Ofra and Nord’s son who gave us his little speaker toy. Benny is working on the building plans, accounting, coordination, estimating cost. and I am moving from my book to the sewing machine to the kitchen.
What do we wish for 2010 for ourselves and our loved ones? If we are in a good place in life, let’s keep it and treasure everyday.
And by the way have a happy, healthy and prosperous year.
A short week, but never the less it was not short of excitement. I rented a compact machine for two days to compact the sand in preparation for casting the floor.
We need a total of 6300 cement blocks for the building, and I told the community that they need to produce minimum of 360 blocks per day, using twelve bags of cement. So far they molded about 4300 blocks.
Monday the community did not have money to buy food for the workers so, they were hungry and left at lunch. Tuesday the same and Wednesday, twenty people came, but they were tired and produced only 120 blocks, using only four bags of cement.
