This week we welcomed a new puppy to the project.  Though there are countless dogs in and around the slums, Oreo somehow stood out amongst the masses, and brave volunteer Alina decided she would take him back to Vancouver.  Though she has to spend the next month going back and forth to the veterinarian for various shots and inoculations, Alina seems to have figured out a possible way to get him through customs.  

We can only hope for his sake, this works out in her favour.  

In construction, this week we saw the completion of the plastering on Block 1, the classroom building. A few of our volunteers worked with the plasterers and were able to pick up a new skill. Once the plaster is dry, which takes a while with the humid climate, we will be able to start painting all of the plastered areas.

We have been narrowing down paint and varnish choices for the brick. It has been difficult to decipher between the qualities of varnish and what will hold up to the humidity and sand. We have chosen a varnish as well as paint and will use both in the centre. Our volunteers will begin painting once all of the bricks and scraped clean of cement.

The first set of windows have been installed and are painted black, which is a beautiful contrast with our red bricks. We installed the exterior windows first in order to secure the centre and store expensive building materials such as tiles, paint and wood.  It’s finally starting to look like somewhat of a finished product…at least from the outside.