Day 6 - The Longest Day

The day started began with the usual routine; the solar panels went up, water started pumping, walls were painted and concrete was laid.

Alongside these routine activities one extraordinary one was quietly taking shape. All day long the shuttering for the plinth that would support the water tanks 2.5m in the air was being prepared. This was no easy task as we would only get one chance to pour the concrete and the framework had to support the 2 tonnes of wet concrete until it dried. Once dry, the reinforced slab would have to support the 9 tonnes of water that we planned to put on top of it – no small feat.

Whilst the concreting of the courtyard, painting and the beginning of plumbing all went well, the shuttering took far longer than expected and other cutting of the steel reinforcements was delayed when our hacksaw and one blade became almost impossible to use.

The concrete was going to need 3 days to set before we dare place the water tanks on it so it was crucial that we lay it today. When it reached 5.30pm and we still hadn’t poured any concrete this seemed quite unlikely. Had it not been for the fact that the concrete was already mixed this may well have been left until first thing tomorrow. Pouring started at about 6pm in the end with the light about to fade. Very quickly light became an issue for us and our very helpful bus driver (who mixed concrete all day for us anyway!) moved his bus so that we could illuminate our work area with his headlights.

There was a certain amount of Dunkirk spirit at the end of the day as we worked in the darkness to pour the last of the slab. The boys were dog tired but in tremendous spirit even at the bitter end. Although they had worked a 10 hour day with time only for a packed lunch they were in better humour in the bus on the journey back to the hotel than on any previous day.

The slab was the last major engineering hurdle and provided we can devise a clever way to get the solar panels up on the roof the project is well placed to complete all the tasks we planned to.

Day 5 - Concrete

We laid a huge amount of concrete today and I am glad to report that more than 50% of the courtyard is now concreted. It was back breaking work and those boys on that team truly earned their supper. They certainly looked the part by the end of the day; some were covered from head to toe in concrete and cement. The slabs all looked fantastic by the end of the day though and the job for tomorrow is to fill in the gaps.

One team of boys were left to their own devices to build the supports for the sinks, putting to good use the skills taught to them by the local builder as they built the towers a few days earlier. These are the kitchen sinks for washing up and they did a fantastic job making three plinths all the same size and height.

Another team worked on a block house to hide the top of the bore hole, working with the local builder to complete this. Work on this was stalled as all the leaks had to be fixed; there were 6 joints and every time one was fixed another one sprung a leak. It took two frustrating hours with the sun beating down to get them all properly sealed.

Although we pumped water yesterday it was just running freely from a pipe so the electrical team spent the first hour re-installing the system (it was taken down overnight for security until it’s fixed permanently) and setting up a temporary 1000L water tank for everyone to use until the main tanks are set up. This was a huge success and the tank filled up in just 20 minutes, even though people were drawing water from the tap continually. The cut-off switch was also fitted and the system ran very happily all day long, topping up the tank as and when required.

A final thought for today…….not one child had to walk to the river today to collect water – the first time in their lives.

Day 4 - Water

Today we pumped water from the borehole; at that moment in time there was nowhere else in the world that I’d rather have been. In that fraction of second as the water first burst out of the pipe we had changed their lives from that moment on. It was a surreal moment. Initially they were wary of approaching the pipe but as the first was brave enough they all followed. The children just wanted to touch it and run their heads under the clean, cool flow. The adults wanted to taste the water to see whether it was good enough to drink and it did indeed pass muster. (Your narrator tasted it and can confirm that this.)


We had no choice but to pump the water today. We wanted to make so much concrete that we could no longer manage with the supply from the river. Pumping water was a matter of priority and we had hoped to do so before lunch, although in the end it was about 3.30 by the time the first water flowed. Everything was straightforward enough though, we just wanted to be very careful and had to wait for a few bits to be bought from Arusha.

Everything went smoothly and the boys in the electrical team were outstanding in their sensible, cautious approach to the task. (Your narrator was in charge of this team so this was an particularly special task for me.) We had to join the cables in such a way that they would remain strong and secure for the next 50 years, submerged in 30m of water. When joined they would be encased in resin so there was no second chance if it didn’t work out. Once the water pipe, electrical cable and rope were attached we lowered the pump and tied it off. People’s expectations were raised but we needed to wire up the solar panels, pump and cut off switch so there was a delay of 30 minutes or so before it was possible to press the button. One last minute hurdle nearly de-railed us though; we had been supplied with the wrong instructions for the control box and it wasn’t clear which way around to connect the panels and the consequences of getting it wrong could have not only been costly but also delayed the pumping by another day whilst another was purchased. Fortunately the designer of the control box had put the connections in the logical positions so after some pondering the power was finally switched on with some anxiety, but ultimately success.

There was lots of progress elsewhere too; three more concrete slabs were laid and the towers for the water tank continued to grow.

Day 3 - Columns and Slabs

The plan was to have a late breakfast and then a short morning working on one or two little jobs. Things didn’t quite go according to plan though; the one or two short jobs taking considerably longer than planned and when it was time to go to lunch there was still half a tonne of concrete on the floor and nowhere for it to go – yet! The boys worked very hard to keep the concrete live, the shuttering was finally laid and the concrete manhandled into place only one hour late.
The scale of the project began to dawn on them when they realised that all that hard work only concreted about 5% of the total area required and I’m probably being generous.

Did I mention that 5 boys joined Mr White and Mr Griffiths and ran the 8km from the hotel to the orphanage. Your narrator arrived in more leisurely fashion with the boys a little later. I get the impression that this won’t be the last time they run and more may volunteer.

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.

Day 2 - Ground Works

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.

We're Here!

Day one is over. The boys settled into the hotel with their 3 course lunch and then visited the orphange for the first time. They had a good look around and were then treated to a song and dance show from the girls and boys. Following that we all trekked down to the local stream to help them collect water. The boys all made friends and it was a truly wonderful experience.

Before heading back for dinner they had a good game of football with the children.

Mr Griffiths and Mr Smith had sourced all the major materiel in the two days before we got there and had even dug the foundations for the water tank before we got there. There is plenty more to do over the next few days and we'll all be busy digging for the first day or two.

Photos

1. Abeku helping to unload the coach.
2. Arriving at the hotel
3. Collecting water with the children

Nairobi Airport

We reached Nairobi safely at about 7.40am local time. We had lots of fun and games transferring our luggage from one flight to the other but a very helpful gentleman sorted it all out for us and I've now got time to write this little comment whilst I still have internet access.

Hopefully more to follow this evening if the hotel has a decent (or even barely working) internet connection; reports on this matter are mixed.