After nearly nine months of organizing, fundraising, and recruiting, we finally began the initial stages of construction. Although we spent the first day waiting for materials, we eventually broke ground Tuesday morning.

Volunteers and workers have been hard at work digging the foundations to be poured over the next week. To make up for the 2.5 metre difference from one end of the site to the other, we decided to erect a retainer wall on the far side of the site and split the entire compound over two levels. The required digging is made easier by the fact that the whole site is comparable to a giant sand box. On the other hand, it also means that if we dig too deep, the foundation walls cave in quite easily. To solve this, we watered the sand and let it seep through overnight. We have taken a number of additional precautions due to the high prevalence of seismic activity in this part of the world. Steel columns are being assembled to be positioned approximately every 3 metres to keep the structure as structually sound as possible in the event of an earthquake.

This week was an important lesson in cultural sensitivity, as we reached a compromise between how we intended to prepare the foundations and the way foundations are customarily prepared in Peru. At our last directors meeting, we received the exciting news that as of last week a total of 90 children have been registered to attend the school when classes resume in February. Collectively, it has been a wonderful week and we are all gaining a great sense of Peruvian culture.

Workers place steel columns in the foundation.

 Volunteers take a break with some of the children from Hijos de Luya.