We were all awake early and out of the classrooms, some of the
pupils here arrive by 7.30am, and we
had to move our belongings into the office for the day. Doug was helping the builders lay
cement floors in the temporary classrooms and so he was called by Sanaba to
start work early. The school management committee had built the temporary classrooms last year with mud blocks, but unfortunately part of the end wall had collapsed in the rainy season. The charity are mending the building and plastering the walls to make the structure stronger. The floors have been left just as the ground, which is a problem with the tables and chairs as they sink into the sand. We left Doug and the other builders using pickaxes and crow
bars to break up the ground ready for a new concrete floor.. Fiona was helping in one
of the classrooms; Channeh, Kebba and I
were going to the Lumo to collect things for the school and cement for the
builders; Steve and Sheila were going to Loumen to visit the school and to take one of the ladies from the village to the
clinic at Sara Kunda. We all got into the truck and Steve dropped
us in Kaur where we went looking for supplies for the school kitchen and cement
for the builders. We split up and met Kebba
back at the building supplies shop; where he had sourced corrugate, timber and
cement. Our shopping was relatively
light but the cement was too heavy for the donkey cart and so we had to get a tractor and
trailer to take us back to Jamwelly.
That was quite an experience, Channeh and I perched in the cab with the
driver, Kebba in the trailer with other passengers and our load. We arrived back at the school and distributed
the sandwiches we had bought for the builders and Fiona, whilst Kebba and the boys unloaded the cement for
the floor. We sat and had breakfast and
then moved into the office out of the sun when the pupils broke for their mid
morning snack. Spelling is a problem
here as most adults, even if they have been to school, have never had a book. It was quite amusing therefore to read the
handwritten notices in the office and spot the mistakes. Some words are spelt as they sound, but the
one that caused us the most laughter was the rules for teachers which stated
that ‘teachers should not torch the private parts of any pupil’
We were given lunch by the school and Doug joined us to eat,
he is enjoying his time with the builders, lots of banter going on there.
The afternoon got hotter, up to 45 degrees and so whilst Doug went
back to work, we spent the afternoon sat in the shade.
When the heat of the day had died down and the building work
was finished, the builders piled all the tools into the truck and we set off
for Kaur where they are going to stay in the old teachers quarters whilst they
are converting an old meeting room into a library, thanks to Belle Vue Boys
School in Bradford who have raised the funds. We arrived at the school and met
with the deputy head, Mr Njie, who knew we were coming and was delighted to see
everyone, he fetched the key to the quarters but we were disappointed to see
that they had not been cleaned out as promised, so a deputation of school girls
was sent to sweep the rooms and some boys to take out the old furniture which
was stored there. Kebba and I went off
to organise someone to cook dinner for the builders and to order cement and
sand for the morning, whilst Steve and the builders unpacked everything from the truck. When we had ordered all the supplies needed Fiona and I then
called at the Lumo which was just packing up to buy buckets and ladles for
showers. Everyone settled in, we called
at the welders to collect some metal shutters which were being repaired and
returned to Jamwelly in time for dinner.
A quieter night tonight without the builders there, so everyone slept
well.
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