Day 8

There are a number of tired looking faces around the dinner table tonight. We’ve been working hard in the village today but have coped well with both the heat and the nature of work we have completed. Split into three teams the group felt a little divided but it enabled us to lend a hand on different projects. The first group, consisting of myself, Julie, Anthea, Sarah and jean were tasked with cleaning out the community hall and teaching the local children how to speak English. The first half of our day was very taxing, moving scaffolding, clearing out rubbish, sweeping, mopping, scrubbing and cleaning windows and chairs. After lunch we taught the young children ‘my only sunshine’ and ‘ring a ring a roses’. It was great fun and fabulous to be interacting with them. The more we sang the less nervous they were around us. After a little while some of the older children became more intrigued and we divided them in to groups to teach them some basic conversation skills. The language barrier made it difficult but we left feeling satisfied with what we had done. The second team consisting of sue, Simon, Sarah, Tina and Vicky had to dig trenches for water pipes which would supply the village with water at different points. It was real tough work and simon has the blisters on the palms of his hands to prove it. The third group, with Andrea, Christine, Chris, Emma and louis had to build concrete bases for showers along three points and run the water pipes to them. Working in the sun the team had to stay hydrated but had a couple of beers to quench the thirst. As a way to wind down a few of us went fishing in the waters as a storm rolled in. Absolutely incredible. Both Louis and Vicky were successful in catching fish. Our guides JC, Gary and tikka cooked a mouth watering feast on the bbq including tuna, corn on the cob, jacket potato and seasoned chicken. We went to bed with full stomachs that’s for sure. A brilliant end to a brilliant day.