The last two days have been mostly about hard work in the hot sun. Our work project this year was to build a latrine in a mostly Haitian neighborhood in Santiago. The latrine actually had two sides, one for the toilet and one for a shower. To get the project done requires a lot of hauling of concrete block and sand along the narrow paths of the area. Many of the children in the area are really excited about helping us. It’s very rewarding that the area we’re working in is the same neighborhood where we did Strategic Ministry Time earlier this week. We encounter many of the same people each day and we quickly become a trusted fixture in the area with many greetings from our new friends. A latrine is a very important addition for these people, most of their housing does not have indoor plumbing facilities and a place to dispose of waste is critical for health and well being. During both days we worked on the latrine and also pitched in to pick up garbage in the immediate area, the kids were very proud of their contribution to the garbage effort. A funny side story is one of our team members (unnamed) got stuck in the bathroom of a home and Tim had to break the lock and door knob to free her. We were able to secure a new knob and got it installed today. Mixing concrete on the ground is an interesting activity based on judgment and feel as you mix the sand, rock, concrete and water. We had two Haitian stone masons to direct our work. The mixing area was also away from the building project which meant carrying buckets of concrete to the site for construction. We finished this afternoon with our contributions to the project, there are a few finishing touches that the Haitians will take care of in the next couple days. We’ve posted a number of pictures below. Our week is coming to an end soon, we feel very blessed to have been able to again serve with our Haitian and Dominican brothers and sisters.
Looks great! What a task!