A very physical day with several distinct areas of work.
1. Trench for supply pipe from borehole.
The boys needed to dig a 25m trench 60cm deep to conceal the water pipe and supply cables from the solar panels. Most of the trench was quickly dug in the morning but the afternoon was spent fighting against a few stubborn pieces of buried concrete with a pick axe. The boys took it in turn to fight their way through (1st Photo)
2. Digging down the courtyard to allow for drainage.
The courtyard is mostly flat at the moment and needs to be concreted on a slight slope to allow for drainage. A large team of boys spent the whole day lowering the level and one end of the courtyard and removing the debris. It was a long process but enjoyed some afternoon shade to ease the working conditions.
3. Support column for water tank.
A column of breeze blocks and concrete is needed to support one corner of the water tank, the rest of the support being provided by the existing walls. A small team of boys were tasked to build this up around the steel reinforcements put up the previous day. This was slow going but the resulting column was straight and true. Expert training was provided by a local builder who showed the boys all the tricks of his trade.
4. Painting the dining room roof.
Many of the internal walls need painting. A few people began this process today – they were certainly the messiest of the boys on the bus when we left the orphanage.
5. Foundations for second column.
As the first column rose it worries developed that the existing walls would not be able to support the weight of the water tanks (9 tons when full). After much head scratching it was decided to build two more columns to help bear the weight. The first stage of this process was to dig and lay a foundation.
6. First stages of plumbing
As many of the water pipes are going to be buried under concrete it was important to layout all the submerged pipes before the concreting could begin. This was done very efficiently by the boys and by the end of the day the shuttering was in place to lay the first slab of concrete tomorrow. As a last task the boys went down to the river to get more water ready for the concrete mixing.
One small group (including your narrator) should not be forgotten who braved the streets of Arusha to pick up a wide range of hardware supplies. It was a fascinating journey, made possible only by the kind loan from Mr Theobald of one of his employees ,Castle, who drove us to our varied destinations.
In the afternoon we visited the USA River Academy, a local boarding school where 16 of the children from the orphanage are students on sponsored places. The boys had the most amazing experience; the children were so friendly and two hours passed by in moments as we went on a tour of the grounds. Everywhere we went the children followed us, played with us and were eager to use everyone’s camera. Within 30 seconds of leaving the bus the boys had all had their cameras wrenched from their hands. It was wonderful to see everyone enjoying themselves so much, not only the students but the Harrow boys too, many of whom had a child on their shoulders for most of the afternoon.
In the end our departure was delayed as we had to remove 20 small children who had decided to jump on the bus with us.
