We have been working at the build site since Thursday, but our first full day on the job was yesterday. The work is pretty strenuous all in all…digging foundations, brick-making or levelling the interior floor space once the outside structure is up (to prepare for concrete pouring). I have been spending most of my time digging foundations. I find the work with a pickaxe quite satisfying. I can imagine the various people or things that annoy me and take my frustrations out on the clay soil. Today I perfected the pickaxe technique and was motoring through the soil, clay and shale like a roto-tiller.
The work is plentiful but there is also ample opportunity to play with the local kids and take pictures of them.
On Friday a bunch of the habitat volunteers got into a soccer match with the local boys and their coaches. What a game. We broke from work at noon and headed down to the makeshift soccer field. You would have thought from the cacaphony of young voices and hooting parents that it was the second coming or something.
The game was a tremendous opportunity for us to bond with the locals. The teams were quite lopsided. About `15 kids and their 3 over-achieving coaches against about 10 of us gringos. Of the group of us, only Scott from Nebraska had played soccer in any serious way (and he’s quite a good player). I had my one summer of experience with a university soccer team known as the Bombers (yes we bombed most of the time). That meant that Scott and I were the forwards. Great thing is that Scott could carry the ball well and set me up. Since all I can do is run and kick I would run into position and Scott would pass. I managed to score the first goal of the game and would go on to scoring twice more. We had the locals on the ropes until 20 minutes before the end of a TWO HOUR GAME, and in the absence of oxygen tanks and medics, the gringos began to fade. The local
heros won the day 7-5. The score mattered little, however, as the kids just appreciated the opportunity to play with us (and I think the coaches were somewhat impressed with out performance).
On Sunday we attended a local church service with a small congregation whose services are held in a school while they build more permanent premises elsewhere. The service was fun with lots of singing and hand-clapping. The highlight for us volunteers was how our group was introduced and then singled out by the various pastors and preachers, recognizing our work. The pastor giving the homily called us a “devine visitation” which was humbling thing to say to us. On another note, it was the first time anyone referred to me as devine before! (ha ha). At the moment when the congregation was to exchange the sign of peace, the pastor asked everyone to greet us in particular. As the choir belted out another groovy hymn, everyone filed around the church greeting each other. One man gave me a big hug. A number of our group were overwhelmed by the welcome.
Today we had a half-day of work. After lunch we went to one of the Maseru orphanages. Many kids here have been left without parents because of AIDS. Some are arrive at the orphanage door step without any identification, names or health information. We spent the afternoon playing with the kids who ranged in age from 1 to 14. I bonded with one little fellow named Moshey who was one and a half very quiet and looked like he may have been suffering from an illness. Some of the kids contracted HIV from their mothers at birth and without proper medical attention, the virus
quickly develops in their young bodies. I also had a chance to roughhouse with some of the older kids. Wrestling and soccer seem to be their biggest pasttimes. We left them with a ton of school supplies, stickers and a soccer ball to keep them busy for a while after we’re gone.
Tomorrow will be our last day of work before the weekend. We have some touring plans for Saturday and Sunday, including a short jaunt to Ladybrand, South Africa for dinner and a night out. More news later!
sedativegunk 