Week Fifteen's Work is Complete
Here are different ways to contact us in Burundi
Email:
Val Carr = vcarr@HopeCentreBurundi.com
Charles Carr = ccarr@HopeCentreBurundi.com
New Mobile Phone Numbers:
Val Carr: (00257) 79239810
Charles Carr (00257) 79239809
Our New House Phone Number:
Use this number sequence and you will only pay 4p per minute.
Dial: 08444 287287 & wait for a voice and then..
Dial: 00257 22259608
Please email us and let us know if you don't manage to contact us on these numbers.
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This week we have so many images to share with you. Val's sister Maggie & our oldest son Josh have now returned to the UK. Maggie particularly really enjoyed her time here. I would say she fitted in really well. She would like to return next year if possible.
And also possibly some good news for Burundi as the G8 finance ministers consider cancelling the country's debt.
Read more on this hereApparently our 40' container has begun it's journey from Dar-es-Salaam and should be with us in Bujumbura on Thursday 6th November.
So what has been achieved on site so far? The images from site just now mostly look the same but much work is being carried out each week.
1. The whole site now has a temporary fence around its perimeter.
2. All six main foundation walls for each house are now in place.
3. The four main Septic tanks have been built and mostly finished.
4. The nine man holes servicing the houses have been built.
5. The foundation walls for both external toilet blocks also containing showers and sinks have been built.
6. The four large soak-a-ways have been built.
7. One very large shed for block production and workers shelter has been built.
8. One 20' container for storing tools and materials has been bought.
9. The foundations for the 40' container have been built.
10. Two workman's huts have been built.
11. One workers pit latrine has been built.
12. 4 block presses have been purchased and thousands of blocks have now been manufactured.
13. One large truck has been purchased and is being used daily.
14. We have provided much work for the families of a very poor community.
Once again the truck had to be repaired. This time the cylinder head had to be removed to replace the damaged parts. One good thing about this style of truck is how easy the engine area is to get into... Literally:
Each of the houses will have a shower, two sinks and a toilet but when the children are playing outside they will also have access to a toilet block that also contains a shower and sinks. This will be good as there is a large area within the orphanage grounds that the children will be able to use for playing. You can just see this grassy area in the background:
The finishing touches are being made to the drainage tanks:
It is so good to see this worker back on site. He was one of the first workers that we had at the start but recently he became very ill. He was coughing up blood and had to be taken to hospital. Unfortunately he had no money to pay for the basic tests and treatments but all our site workers chipped in and gave what they could to help. They managed to raise half of the money required. The rest was donated and his health improved allowing him to return to work this week:
Blocks are now being stacked near each house ready for the walls that will be started on soon;
Whilst driving to Gatumba on Friday afternoon with the wages we found our truck at the side of the road. It had lost some bolts on the drive shaft but by the time we found them the truck had almost been fully repaired.
Orphanage in GitegaIn March we visited an Orphanage in Gitega that had been built by volunteers from an organisation called "Youth For Christ". Gitega is located in the middle of Burundi and is over 100k from Bujumbura. This orphanage and how it was laid out is what influenced Val and I when we were considering how we should build our orphanage in Gatumba. We knew by how the children responded that this was a system that worked and found that the children were well adjusted and obviously loved. Some of the children here have had a rough start. One of them was found as a baby abandoned in a pit latrine and left there to die. I was carrying one of the children on my shoulders and one of the workers told me that the child had been brought in suffering from malnutrition. I can assure you that by the weight on my shoulders this child was now eating plentifully.
Taking Maggie and Josh to the orphanage was to remind them and us of why we are here in Burundi. What we, and all those who are supporting this project, are doing this for is for the children. It's all about the children. Maggie and Josh were touched by the experience.
We don't have pictures of the houses that the children are living in. These can be found in our images from March on this site. When we arrived at the orphanage it was beginning to get dark so we set of to see the school that they had built. It was down the track and the children wanted to also go. They just love the attention and take what ever opportunity to hold your hand and give you cuddles. It is such a good feeling and also a little heart wrenching:
These images are from within the class rooms where these children, also local children from the surrounding community, are taught:
One child having a good squeeze of Josh's neck:
By the time we walked back up the track it was getting dark:
The orphanage staff were great with us and had prepared food for both us and all their children. The food on the floor in this picture was caused by Matthew saying "Hello" to the small child. She got a fright and dropped her food. We white people must look a little scary to some of the children.
The children then sang and danced for us:
Burundians like their speeches. After the children sang they welcomed us in a speech and then asked that our Chief say something. Our lot looked at me so I spoke for a few minutes on how we had been blessed by them. After this the children came to pray for each of us which was really lovely:
On the way back from Gitega the next day we took this image of the landscape. It really is a beautiful country:
However if you Zoom into the area next to the water you will see that there is always someone having to work hard:
We stopped off at a museum where I took this image of a stuffed hippo's head. One of the Burundian men who attends our church lost his leg to a hippo. You can see why. They don't look very dangerous but apparently they are.
Something that you are not likely to see in our museums in the UK is someone demonstrating the use of an ancient relic with real fire:
Only mad dogs and English Scotsman go out in the mid day... rainWe went into the centre of Bujumbura to what is a main street to buy some items but it started to rain as it only can in Africa and what was a road turned into a fast flowing river within minutes. Here we are trying to navigate the rapids to the great amusement of the locals.
Some of you may have seen the beautiful cards that the older kids of Hope Centre make. We brought some of these back in March and sold all of them to raise money for Hope Centre Burundi. Once again we placed a large order with the boys to make many cards that can be sold in the UK for Christmas. Maggie and Josh went to collect these from Pastor Leonard's house where the boys make the cards.
You will see in these pictures what I believe are the two boys that are responsible for making the cards:
As well as making the cards they made these larger pictures and gifted them to us. They are very beautiful:
We have recently been introduced to a man from the UK 'John Riches' who has been working here in Burundi for several years now and works for the president of Burundi. He is married to a lovely Burundian woman called Nadine. He has given me some computers that have been donated so that I can make sure that they are working correctly before giving them to a school. For me this is IT heaven 8-)
Here are a couple of pictures of Val and I taken this week. I think that Val is looking particularly lovely, don't you think?
Carrs in the BeanoLast but not least. We received an email from Hugh Henderson (Mission International Director) this week which was entitled "The Real Story...
He said....
"This appeared in the Beano this week, don't know if you recognise any of the characters?"
He obviously has too much time on his hands.
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August 01, 2008, 08:38:15 PM
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