This week was a success in both construction and volunteer work on the site. An entire exterior wall at the base of the centre was plastered with the expertise of Brian and Damian from Ireland and the help of all of our other volunteers. This wall will be painted once the plaster dries.

With most of the work being done by tradesmen, volunteers were busy playing the role of assistants this week:  Bricks are being moved, stacked, cleaned, pointed, and watered; mortar must be prepared, mixed, and applied; and concrete mixed by hand and carried up ladders to pour the columns and the ring beams.  Volunteers have also started on smaller projects including making supplies for the classrooms. We were able to get scrap wood and paint for building blocks and hope to find more materials for interactive learning resources for each classroom.

Brick-laying is time consuming, but crucial as it provides the most evidence for the progress of the building. Once the bricks are laid, we can begin installing custom-made windows and doors. Doors will be steel, which will be costly, but necessary for safety as the centre is in a fairly unpredictable area.

With the electrical plans in tote we started the tedious process of applying to the city for electricity, and permission to tap into water mains and sewage lines.  Definitely the least favourite part of the project is painfully chipping away at the bureaucratic layers of such institutions.  Luckily we have a solid team of community ‘dirigentes’ or directors willing to lend us a hand filling out forms, crossing Ts and dotting Is.

It’s hard to believe that construction has been underway for over a month, which leaves us with a little under two months to complete the plumbing, electricity, roofing, windows and doors, plastering, tiling, landscaping, painting, and finishing touches.  It’s a good thing time is on our side because the current plummeting exchange rate sure has not been doing us any favours!