Great Day of Work

            After all the setbacks of the last few days (malaria, John leaving), we had an amazing day today.  We were able to do work on 2 houses, with great success.  The previous day, we had toured the town to see different gutter systems already in place.  We drew inspiration from these to create a successful gutter installation today.  The look on Maama Mwanika’s face when she saw the water come out of the gutters was incredible!  It’s been great to experience the gratitude of the villagers as they see tangible work progress.  We have received gifts of eggs, ground nuts and avocados from the clusters.  How sweet!

            We are hoping to finish the remaining gutters tomorrow, and rework the gutters on Winnie Nampijia’s house soon.  On Sunday we plan to adventure into Masaka for the majority of construction process for the rest of the summer.  Miss everyone back home!

-Kevin <3

Malaria + Gutter Struggles

What a fun few days!  Wednesday morning, Vanya was still feeling a bit ill, so she headed to the Engeye Health clinic for some malaria testing.  And she was positive… So the whole team got tested.  Kevin also tested positive, although he was not showing symptoms yet.  They were both given medication, and both have been feeling much better.

Work has progressed despite that major setback.  As of this afternoon, we have 3 of the 5 holes dug, and have some sort of gutter or fascia board on 3 houses.  This morning was extremely frustrating when we were attempting to place the gutter on Winnie Nampija’s house.  Due to the bowing of the housing beams, and the dramatic offset between roof beams, the pliable metal gutters have been difficult to install.  They seem to direct water every way but towards the downspout.  We are looking at stiffer gutter systems and other solutions, because simply moving the gutter sections around has proved ineffective.  On a more positive note, we are all getting very good at hammering and sawing- maybe we should consider opening a carpentry business when we get back to the states.

We also had to bid our mentor John a sad farewell this afternoon.  His enthusiasm, strength, and problem solving skills will be missed.  As will his sense of humor.

Gutters!

                Hello Again!  On Sunday, the team enjoyed a relaxing trip to Masaka with John (from the clinic).  We went to the market for fruits, veggies and other supplies.  Then we enjoyed an American meal of burgers from a Masakan restaurant.  Unfortunately, several members of the team (Kevin, Becca, John and Vanya) got food poisoning and were out of commission for a bit (Vanya is still a little out of it today).  After a “relaxing” day off on Sunday, we were back to work on Monday.  As a team, we decided to try to start the gutters of the houses first while waiting for the ring beams to cure.  This way, we would maximize efficiency.  On Monday, John and I (Kevin) went into Masaka to pick up the materials for the gutters while Becca, Vanya, and Deborah surveyed the sites and prepared them for construction (and slept).  Today (Tuesday), we started installing the gutters in two of the houses, and began digging the first hole! It was a very successful day until the rains started.

                We are very fortunate to welcome Leonia from Makerere University in Kampala.  She is a recent graduate in Construction Management, and has been a huge help both technically and with translating. We are also sad to see John leaving in a few days, but are excited to see Nalan again.

Work Starts!

Hello from Ddegeya, Uganda. We have had a very intense, but rewarding 3 days here.  After a long car ride from Kampala (thanks to Deborah for arranging transport!), we finally made it to Engeye Health Clinic.  Upon arrival, we were met by John, the clinic director.  John was very helpful to help set us up in our homes and answer our questions.  Our hosts, Maama Mwanika and Eddie, are very nice and accommodating.  Living in Ddegeya is definitely different from Boston, but we are enjoying it (for the most part).  The village is very peaceful, but sswalking down the street sometimes feels like a parade.  The children call out “Muzunga!” (white person) and come down to wave or hug us.

We met with the Water Board on Thursday.  It was a very successful meeting- all 5 clusters were ready for us to start construction of the tanks.  Today we started digging the ring beams of the tanks.  Digging was interesting… The Ugandan soil is made of mostly hard, dry clay, which is difficult, if not impossible to dig.  Eventually, we finished the beam channels.  Vanya and I (Becca) then followed behind and mixed and poured the concrete for the ring beams.  We managed to finish 2 and a half of the beams today, and plan on completing the rest tomorrow.  While the beams cure, we will be installing the gutters that will divert the rain water to the tanks. 

We’re all very excited to see these ring beams finished and the main water retention holes dug. 

Hello Uganda!

           Hello everyone!  This summer brings a completely new team to continue the project in Ddegeya.  The travel team consists of Becca, Vanya, John, Nalan, Deborah, and Kevin (me).  Yesterday morning, Becca and I disembarked the plane and were greeted by the fresh, crisp air of Entebbe.  The beauty of the land and the pristine waters of Lake Victoria immediately struck us.  After exiting the airport, Deborah picked us up and took us to the mall for the essentials—an internet modem, a cell phone, and of course Ugandan schillings.  While exchanging money proved simple, the former two posed a much more difficult task as the mall was out of SIM cards.  Luckily, however, with Deborah’s help we were able to accomplish what we had set out for.  In the afternoon, Deborah dropped us off at the hostel and we enjoyed a pleasant night there.  We will head out to Ddegeya as a group as soon as we pick up John and Vanya from the airport this morning.

            The goals for this trip will become clearer as more blog entries are added; however, I’ll outline the general goals here.  The primary goal will be to construct six rainwater harvesting tanks for the community and pass on the construction knowledge so the tanks can be repaired and replicated throughout the village.  Additionally, we plan to further educate the community on water safety and heighten water safety awareness.  And with those goals in mind, we will head out to Ddegeya and hopefully have a safe, fun, and rewarding journey.