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Monday, January 31, 2011

The Working Journey Around Ghana Day 1: The Ferry to Kete Krachi our First Stop

February 25, 2011

Submitted by Erin Nolan
We started off early in order to head into Accra for some basic errands and to get supplies for our 10 day trip.   Our plan was to be at the ferry departure point by 1600hrs with the gang and the supplies but as I am learning things do not always go as planned.  5 minutes into our drive the inside of the Toyota Previa filled with smoke.
 
Patricia immediately found a safe place to pull over and shut down the engine.  After a brief inspection the AC was suspect.  Kojo’s first rescue begins with meeting us where we pulled over and joined us into Accra adding an AC repair to the do list.  I realized the importance of this a few hours later.  He took us to pick up someone who could assist him with the repairs and we were in a part of the city that still has open sewers and had not only second hand vehicle parts piled high but almost everything I could think of shop to shop.  The next few hours were spent at the repair shop were the outside temperature continued to climb and the concrete block behind me well that happens to be the toilet.  I chose to take a short walk to a nearby restaurant to take care of those needs!



After the AC was fixed we made a few more stops including the supermarket.  This supermarket is the biggest in all of Ghana and located in the first and only mall.  After we picked up supplies we began to head back to Kpong to pick up the girls and make it to the ferry.  Good thing we got word that the ferry was running late as well because we arrived after dark around 7pm.  The ferry departs Akosombo for Kete Krachi and travels approximately 9km per hour and will be about an 18 hour trip. I am going to have to admit as we were driving on our vehicle and boarding the Yapei Queen it was the first time I felt afraid. 



I was definitely scared of the unknown because I had no idea what to expect.  I walked on through the back of the ferry noticing all the people, cars, trucks and crates all squeezed into a pretty tight space.  Passengers were making “rooms” for themselves in the empty crates aboard and people were sitting in the middle of the ferry on benches with all their belongings.  As we continued to walk through we passed a kitchen area and I saw some things being cooked at the rear of the boat, as we walked upstairs to the top level of the ferry there was a very small goat tied to the steps. I never did find out who he belonged to!

Space between everything was so tight and even the steps were very narrow and, I started to think what do we do in an emergency since I also noticed the lack of life preservers and safety equipment.  I am trying to stay calm because I didn’t want the girls to sense my fear but I’m sure it was all over my face.  As we continued to walk up to the top level to our rooms I felt a little better knowing we had a little space to call our own.  We got the girls settled in their rooms and I was happy to see they all had life vests in their closets.  I demonstrated how to put on their lifejackets in case of an emergency and headed to do the same in the room I shared with Patricia. There was a restroom for the few cabins on board and a shower but the water ran out sometime in the night before we fell asleep.  This also marks my very first baby wipe shower. Thank God for baby wipes they have saved me more than a few times! It was very dark out on the water and as we set sail and pulled away from the dock it made it tough to see the scenery but I enjoyed the nice cool breeze.   I had a lot of anxiety after the lights went out but I made a quick prayer and calmed myself to sleep knowing the girls were so excited to be on their first ever boat ship and to all of us this was an experience of a lifetime. 

Treating malaria using Artemisia annua in the Fulani camp

Submitted by Mathew Porter
I am writing an interesting blog this evening. I need to give you a brief background first to put things in perspective, and, I hope, this will also open up a new section on medicinal plants and their uses.
Almost 3 years ago, in March 2008, I attended a seminar organised by Anamed (Action NAtural MEDicine), which was about the use of naturally occuring plants to treat common ailments in Africa specifically, but also anywhere else as well! A fascinating course involving lots of plants, I learnt things that had always seemed out of my league - such as making tinctures, ointments - even soap!!! One of, if not THE most useful practical course I have ever taken. One of the highlights of this course was the use of Artemisia annua to treat malaria. Malaria is very common out here, and living on a farm, with an interest in nutritional and useful plants already, this sounded very interesting. Now I am a bit of a Thomas. I don't just believe something until I have fully understood it or seen it for myself. The guy leading the course, Keith Lindsey is a Brit working in Germany for Anamed and goes all round Africa teaching people how to help themselves using the plants around them and alleviate the need to use precious money to buy commercialised products with the same ingredients as those around them.

So. After this week we had learnt a lot, and the Artemisia annua was of particular interest to me. I grew it, quite successfully, and used it on many occasions to treat malaria for myself, my Dad, my Mum, Patricia, even Alai. It is the same plant that is used in the production of the now-standard artemisinin/artemether-based drugs here. It however contains another 10anti-malarial compounds, making it a ACT (Antimalarial Combination Therapy) in itself.

SO, when I went by Alai and Amina's house a few days ago, their 5 year old child was pretty sick with malaria I asked why she wasnt at hospital and they told me they had no money and their NHIS (health insurance card) had run out, so they needed money to renew it or pay for hospital. I know Alai very well, but literally had not a penny with me. I told him this, and he was fine about it, wasn't really asking me anyway, but the girl was really sick. Lying down, very hot, not eating, been vomiting. Not good.

So we thought about Artemisia - this guy, Alai, whom i work with already has taken artemisia before for malaria and was surprised by how effective it is, so I came back to check my Anamed's "Natural Medicine in the Tropics" book on dosages for children and my Artemisia stock. I found the dosages, but my stock was not enough for a full treatment for her. I also picked up some lemongrass for the fever and as a diuretic. I got there, and was honest was him - I had some Artemisia, but not enough to treat his daughter. I had enough for 3 days but not for the full 7 that was required and did not want to start something that we could not finish - thankfully he told me he still had some Artemisia annua left from last time I gave some to him (less than 2year old leaves!!!) - so we looked at it, measured it, and mixed them together.

I explained the dosages very carefully and even drew some diagrams on their whiteboard to demonstrate it all. I mixed up one day's worth of both Artemisia and lemongrass for her and made sure he (and Amina) understood it. The next day I went back, and they had not given it to her for the morning dose, so I made sure they gave her some right there and then - still no money! - explained (again) how important it was to keep dosages up - on this morning, she was still pretty bad. She had been better the night before, but malaria oftens relapses in the mornings especially if you don't treat it on time! But by that evening, with her dosages correct and the lemongrass, she was up and around, still a bit warm, but 10x better! By the next day, I had some money - so, as we are dealing with a 5 year old, one has to be very sure they are getting better, I gave him some money to sort out health insurance - I actually owed him for helping me out with sheep and bush fires anyway...! Of course, sorting out health insurance took another full day, and it wasnt until that evening that they got it, so not until morning that they were able to go to hospital! So it was the Monday afternoon we found her pretty sick, and not until the Thusday morning that she was able to get to a hospital.

I made sure they kept giving the right amounts at the right time, but asked them to still go to hospital when they could to check her out - by now, both parents are quite happy to leave her on the Artemisia as they can clearly see the effects, but it was wise all the same, especially as we were dealing with a child. At the hospital they tested her and gave her some drugs anyway - I told them to tell hospital they had been treating her herbally, and they did, and also to stop the herbal treatment once on the pharmaceuticals - I don't like to experiment with children!!!

So, her mother is very happy, as is her father, as is the girl! If I had not gone there, they would have kept giving her paracetamol until they had the money to go to hospital. But thanks to the Artemisia, we were able to get rid of most of the symptoms and treat her until she went to hospital. I didn't really like mixing the herbal with hospital, but I felt that she really needed to go and see a doctor in case there was anything else wrong that the Artemisia could not treat. I do however know that she would have been fine on just the Artemisia along with the lemongrass but I wanted to make sure that she saw a physician who could do tests on her. SO! Phew! Giving children a herbal medicine is not something I have done before, especially for something as serious as malaria,... But sometimes we have to take decisions under circumstances - based on experience and knowledge, preferably, but the point here is that thanks to Artemisia, and Anamed, we certainly avoided their child getting very sick indeed.

So this demonstrates a practical application of herbal remedies - especially in an emergency situation. I hope that we can have the opportunity and interest in more herbal remedies and experiences on this site, as the reality is that MOST of the rural people are still using herbal remedies as their primary form of healthcare. Some may be misguided, but there is often a lot of good in what is used, and one should be very mindful not to throw the baby out with the bath water when dealing with rural people and rural solutions.

You can find out more about the fascinating work of anamed at www.anamed.net - I jointly represent Anamed Ghana and those interested in learning more about this should contact me !

Sunday, January 30, 2011

My 2nd Day at the airfield.... Sunday 1/30/11

Submitted by Erin Nolan
At 0700hrs we departed the house for the airfield and I was a little sleepy from my travels but I was so excited because I was planning to have my first flight with Patricia.  We got started right away the weather was good and it is still cool in the morning hours.  Patricia went through a thorough preflight and I am hoping to be more comfortable in the aircraft on the second flight.

Patricia is both a confident and talented instructor.  She is very detailed, articulate and very professional.  I was so comfortable taking instruction from her and really felt I learned a lot in such a short lesson.  Short meaning, there is no traffic delays, ATC delays or long checklists to follow.  It is all business from start up to shut down.  I may have been flying for some time now but this is her aircraft and her environment.   Believe me it shows! 


I learned that this type of low inertia aircraft requires a little different flying technique and I need to get more aggressive on the controls, my slow and small helicopter inputs are just not enough for these types of aircraft.  I need to break my muscle memory and FLY the AIRPLANE!  I was already looking forward to my next lesson with Patricia. 

As the flight operations continued Jonathan put over a brief “code 9” over the aircraft and all of a sudden I saw Patricia and all the girls spring into action. Code 9 indicated an emergency so they grabbed a first aid kit, fire extinguisher, and we all jumped in the van.  Patricia drove down to the end of the runway and we found all occupants were OK and that it was only a drill.  I was impressed by their quick response.  We discussed the drill later on and the girls were wondering why he didn’t repeat the call when asked over the radio.  The reason was to demonstrate that the pilot may not only have the time and/or the ability to get out more than one distress call over the radio and it is imperative they remain diligent while on radio monitoring duty.  Well done by everyone and I am thrilled to see positive and recurrent training in action.

Even after a long exciting day the crew is cleaning up, putting the aircraft to bed, and meticulously putting everything away for the next 10 days that we spent on our exciting journey around Ghana.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Erin’s Blog

January 29, 2011

Submitted by Erin Nolan
So sorry for the delay we had a very busy first two weeks with a few technical/mechanical difficulties and I had some catching up to do but I will start from the beginning and promise not to leave anything out!

I arrived on a Saturday it was the 29th of January bright and early after my over night flight. I got a good rest on the plane and was expecting to meet Matthew and the Av Tech Academy girls upon arrival.  As soon as I got off the plane on the open tarmac, I could feel the heat and see a complete change in the atmosphere around me.   As I entered the terminal building I was excited to finally start my adventure in Ghana.   

 As I came through customs I saw the smiling faces of Lydia, Emanuella, Ciara, and Juliette all decked out in their bright yellow WAASPS polo shirts. Matthew got us all to the car and we headed directly to the airfield. It took us about an hour and a half to drive approximately 80km from the airport in Accra to Kpong airfield. I instantly took notice of the tremendous amount of people, taxis (tro tros), and people walking alongside the roadway all along our drive. Matthew was quick to warn me that this was nothing compared to the normal traffic during the week and we were surely about to experience a reckless driver or two! No sooner than a minute later a vehicle in front of us began to swerve all across the motor way throwing trash outside the front window of the vehicle!  

 We arrived safely at the airfield and Patricia and Jonathan were busy conducting flight training. Saturday and Sunday are the flight operation days and everyone was excited to get back to flying since the weather had been keeping them grounded for awhile prior to my arrival. The first thing I noticed was the how well they maintain the airfield, it was so clean and the grass was perfectly sculpted and everything has a place. I immediately sensed an aura of peacefulness and pride.   



All airfield duties are split up among everyone.  Matthew oversees the ground operations and Patricia whips everyone into shape on the airside of things.  They are one big team working together to create a safe environment for learning, teaching, and flying.

While operations are up and running all the girls are busy operating the radio, fueling, and moving aircraft around the airfield, giving wind and weather updates and I am meeting the many staff members.  Mr. Solo the mastercraftsman and a group of masons who are building the new accommodations at the airfield, lunch caterer who cooks lunch for staff during the day, Kojo the mechanical wizard (as the adventure continues he gets us out of a few situations), night security at both the airfield and the house, and Jane, Matthews girlfriend who does the work around the farm house!     



Later on in the afternoon I took my first flight with Jonathan.  I have to admit I was a little nervous at first I have never flown in a LSA type aircraft and wasn’t sure what to expect .  Jonathan just gave me the controls and off we went.  WOW!!!  Do I need some practice flying a light aircraft!!!  The controls have a very different feel.  I will be definitely focusing on getting back to the basics. The scenery is fantastic and feels good to be getting some training. 



Sun sets around 6pm so later that evening we headed back to the house to get settled.  I got set up in my room and was exhausted from the long journey and all the excitement of the day.  I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow and I hope I adjust to the 5 hour time difference!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Phoenix Flight

Submitted by Jonathan Porter
The story of the phoenix bird that loves fire came to mind today.




For the first time this year, we were able to fly - circuits and very local, but operational.  Safety procedures are essential when you have been on the ground for an extended period, as has happened this year.

Our in house regulation is that 'if you have not flown for 28 days you must do a check ride with an instructor for 2 touch and go's and a landing of a good standard before taking a passenger'.  So, since we were all 'out of hours', we carried out the following procedure.  Capt. Yaw carried out 3 circuits solo, then checked out Patrick before starting the lessons for the day (on the next flying day, he will check out Patricia and other pilots).  Of course, the aircraft needed a good looking over since they age on the ground more than in the air, which was Patricia's devoted task of the day!



Safety observed, we started operations over the heavily blackened landscape.  Then, the field to the North of the field started to burn with great gusto, whilst AA was in the air on a lesson with Paul J.  The winds allowed the flight to continue using the cross-runway, 29/11.  Paul enjoyed the pressure and the challenge - and realised that climbing out over a graphite black surface has its challenges - lack of lift, presence of will-o-the-wisps and smoke from burning fields, albeit that the harmattan has lifted to a good level of visibility.

Much of the airfield and over 1,000 acres are blackened from bush fires in the week, so when started on the approach to 19, a lot of care and attention was called for.   As soon soon as the wind changed, it was clearly time to land for a while whilst the undershoot area north of the road at threshold 19 was simply consumed.



Turning final at 300' over the edge of the flames, was timely as the wind then whisked the fire into a veritable inferno - as can been seen by the flames v the adult male running to move his car out of the car park...





Sadly the fire also consumed some properties near to the field.  The occupants are few, and the belongings not substantial, but a room in one of these buildings can be home to somebody...



It can be seen from the photos of the airfield how Matthew and his team worked hard to protect the operations area of Kpong Field in the week and beat out the fire at the fence line and in the bush to keep it at bay. Poor Matthew seems to be constantly thinking about how to prevent and control some natural enemy - be it fire, water, grass, tsetse flies, snakes, scorpions or the engineering team... but he is a steadfast and solid chap, an un-sung hero, without whom the airfield could not function.  (Thank you Matthew!)







So now, we have so many other things to do, on top of the usual usual, and the dust and the dirt is increased.... and this is not going to get any better before the first rain.. .which is not expected for at least eight weeks... there will be more fires, more destruction and more challenges before this dry season is out.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Harmattan and Hangar Flying

Submitted by Jonathan Porter
Harmattan is the name of a wind that blows off of the Sahara desert, carrying with it sand particles so fine that they can clog your nose and every filter known to man!  When this sand fills the air, we refer to it as Harmattan weather or, more commonly, simply Harmattan.

Harmattan bites us hard this January. The dust gets into every nook and cranny and leaves its distinctive, unpleasant, taste on our lips, and visibility hampered.   Therefore, our aircraft have sat in their hangars, waiting for visibility to increase sufficiently for safe flight operations.

(image below is of Wa during light Harmattan - see the buildings beyond the runway?)



In Europe and North America the snow and fog has had a similar effect, not only on the light aircraft operations, but also on the heavier metal, with delays and cancellations galore.

In aviation terms, this weather is known as ‘Hangar Flying’ weather. Weather where you talk about flying, because the visibility is too low to actually fly. Aviation related topics, become the stock and trade of the hangar flyer. Imagine a group of grounded pilots sitting on old tyres at the edge of a hangar, looking at the gloomy Harmattan/snow/fog and talking, incessantly, about a) what they have done, b) what others have done, c) what they want to do and d) what they are going to do. 

Most of what they claim to have done will be exaggerated; their stories of others’ achievements will be embellished, their depiction of what they want to do based on making a good impression, and their declarations of what they are actually going to do more smoke and mirrors than substance.  But they enjoy their time, chatting and dreaming – and nobody can take that away from them.  The majority of dreams will never make it to a vision, because of distractions from declared intentions. 

I remember days like this in Europe nearly twenty years ago.  We would all sit and dream of going to Africa, starting flying doctors and humanitarian aviation programmes; an affordable flying school for young Africans, and an engineering base of repute.  Today, out of the many that I sat with and shared those dreams, I am the only one from the group who actually kept to the hangar flying dream - turning it into a vision and something that is making history.  I assure you that the challenge of bringing such dreams to reality is harder than ever considered whilst sitting in a hangar, during fog in Europe!  I can also assure you that the rewards are far greater – not in financial terms, but in personal satisfaction – the greatest reward of all.

No matter where you are in the world, you can always witness a similar type of event to Hangar Flying … it is called discussion group, talk-shop, oops, I mean workshop, parliament, council or the senate or something similar.  In such places, you get a lot of people who are put into a room, unable to do anything that day but sit and talk.  Their visibility is often shrouded by fog and Harmattan of administrative natures, and their direction diverted by the oft forgotten fact that they must answer one day for their inactions.  They sit there, pontificating, procrastinating, propositioning, arguing and, often, complaining.  Talking incessantly about:-  a) what they have done, b) what others have done, c) what they want to do and d) what they are going to do!

I leave it up to your experience and judgement in your field as to what the chances are that most of what they claim to have done will be exaggerated, their stories of others’ achievements will be embellished, their depiction of what they want to do based on making a good impression and their declarations of what they are actually going to do more smoke and mirrors than substance! 

Of course, at times, intentions of some are well meaning, but the lack of cooperation and perseverance from others will fail them – there is, of course, also the matter of cash – yet it is mainly the lack of human endeavour, effort and desire to see a project through/support it that results in the failure of projects to see the light of day!  Those without abundant cash are often more dedicated and creative, and know the value of ‘sweat capital’, the missing resource for success in so, so many projects.

You will read in the coming blogs, about how we are actively preparing to take aviation inspiration on a road-show (since the visibility is too low to fly), as we set out on a total of six half-day events over a ten day period (travel time will be long and the roads rough) in the Northern and Brong Ahafo regions, and flying one hundred children from the villages, once again making sure that our Hangar Flying dreams make it to reality. 

It is wonderful that this year we are being joined by two other 'Hangar Flyers who make it come true'.  We are being joined for a about five weeks each, by the well know Pilot Erin Nolan, from the NYPD and Aerobatic tumbler Melissa Pemberton (http://sportsgal.com/) at different points during our forthcoming activities, and Rex Pemberton (http://rexpemberton.com/) the well-known climber and 'jump out of aeroplanes man' plans to make an appearance for a few weeks as well!!

These coming events are about educating and inspiring young people.  Inspiration is a great gift, and it is too often inspired by ‘golden headlines’, only to be turned sour by the lack of dedication and effort to make it come true; by the ‘failure by omission of effort’ of a few that leads to individuals, and whole communities, feeling let down and disappointed. 

So, if you are Hangar Flying at work today, in the office, in a conference centre or in some more prestigious edifice of a building, make sure that you live up to the dreams that you are meant to turn into visions, and on into realities, for this world needs them now, not at some far off point shrouded, dulled and hidden by the Fog/Snow/Harmattan of excuses.

OF course, if your hangar dream has been or is the same as ours, you can always come out and make it happen, of if that is not possible, why not make a donation today, so that we can do even more, even when we cannot fly - we can still inspire - and we really do ' Change live, one flight at a time'... with your help!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Be Bold...

Jonathan Porter
The Be Bold initiative (Education and Building Opportunity for Leadership and Development) has started a TV series, chat show style... For the first edition, Patricia Mawuli Nyekodzi, was selected as a person who has BEEN BOLD... and is inspiring others... Apart from the glitzy city show at a 5 star hotel (which is not where I feel comfortable), the event went really well and generated a number of peoples interest...

They showed some super footage of the airfield, aircraft and the 801 awaiting completion....as well as shots of Patricia working on the Rotax engines... Christal also took a flight with Patricia and was impressed!



We extend our thanks to Christal Jeanne (left) for organising this event, for choosing Patricia, MoM, and all that goes on at the airfield... We will follow up with an interview with Erin and Melissa on the 5th March, this years ' Fly Me Day'  - when we will fly 100 children from the villages in a day... (we hope).

Those in Ghana can possibly watch e-TV on Sundays at 9pm starting 30th Jan 2011, for 13 weeks...  this is from the 1st episode on the 30th!!!

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The beginning of a Fulani school!

Submitted by Matt Porter
As you may have read in my last blog, it is looking like the prime need of the Fulanis is education - the more we look at things though here, the more we realise how those of us who have been educated, and especially those of us who have benefited from educated parents AND a good education, take the ability to read, and thus the ability to teach oneself things beyond the scope of the community and the norm, for granted.

So in the past few weeks I have been lobbying in the camp to get the work underway for a school hut to be erected so that the children have a centre of learning - not just someone's house under a tree. This would be good as it would in-still some discipline of learning - one learns in a place at a time - currently there is no place for education in their traditional lives.  Or rather, there is no place for a modern, internationally and economically useful education. They know all about the cows and the sheep though!

So, last week Alai (whose house we currently meet at) and Karim (Alai's neighbour), got their act together and cut 14 massive sticks for the frame of the hut. I was impressed - they came to the farm to cut them, as we have more big sticks (we don't use them for firewood!), but we had to go and use another neighbour's pick up truck to move them (bush neighbour = 250m + away!)

Here is a picture of the sticks.


In the background you can see a clearing - this is the site we have chosen. It is central to all the settlements there - we dont want any biasedness! Having seen that they have cut and moved the sticks, as a gesture of good faith i have told them we will get them some excercise books. Remember, so far, nothing has been promised to these guys - only that we would help them if they helped themselves! The teaching though will be shared with whoever can help! Any volunteers?!?

This day we were also supposed to have Nurse Lydia with the ladies. Very unfortunately, she was not able to make it, which was a bit of a disappointed to the ladies, so as I was there (and now all the children have turned up!!!) I decided to start taking down names of the children in the camp. I have talked about this before with Alai, when trying get an idea as to whether it would be worth it or not. I must admit that since Lydia started her time with the ladies, a lot more people have emerged from the bush that i knew were there! So, having sat down with Alai and a couple of ladies, we pretty much managed to log all the children there - most are semi-permanent resisdents - a few who are passing through, but I took down their names all the same for when/if they return. I was surprised then to count 28 children under 15 in the camp. Most are under 8, and only about 4 less than 2/3. This is very interesting. This is also the first time we have counted them!!! And now we have a list, it is something to work from. With Lydia next time, we would like to make a tour of the other houses - this would be encouraging and show that none are left out. Might also find some hidden people!

After this, I couldn't leave without spending at least some time with the children... So, we did some anatomy!!!


The children, amazingly, still remember "eye, nose, mouth" from our last but one session with them. The reading is a little bit behind still - also, remember, we are trying to get children to learn an alphabet of a language they do not speak - English, let alone in a script they do not use! so they need to learn English alongisde this. They really do need to learn to read, write and speak english, and basic arithmetic if they are to get along in the world outside the camp. Their arithmetic is coming along as well by the way - I was in there 3 days ago, using half a pack of playing cards they had  to teach them up to ten... After a while, i asked Reki (above foreground in the blue) to count to ten - "1,2,3,4,5,6,7,x,y,z!!!'' said she all proudly! An amzing improvement on three months ago!!! After this session, we have added ''ears, cheeks, hair, hand, foot, leg and arm'' - might seem like a lot, but these minds are HUNGRY. I have also been picking up the Fufulde versions. Not as well as the children though!!! So next time, we will see what they have remembered!

I was also very happy to see that the whiteboard I have given them is serving another use -


A marabou (travelling Muslim religious teacher and healer) must have been passing through and used it to write something in Arabic - any one who can interpret this will be welcome to post what it says! Arabic is also very important in their lives. I like to encourage this, as it is an integral part of their culture and religion.

UpDate January 18th

The Fulanis have finished digging the holes for the sticks, all to the depth required, they were finishing off trimming the ends of the sticks so they are uniform and go in the holes, and then in the morning they will be using some anti-termite products...Sticks will be in the ground ready for beams and pearling by tomorrow evening! Will try and get picture of what they have done so far. But one is clear - they are working and trying very hard. The men are around working, and the children are hanging around, waiting for their school hut to be completed...

January 20th

Well here it is...




Some chunky sticks there. Getting the next bits on will b a little tricky, but we will manage! It is about 5m long, and about 3m wide. Enough to accomodate 30 children!
We have worked out it should take about ten roofing sheets to cover it. How the children will sit, we have not discussed yet.