Today was the day we finally got to see the school we would refurbish. It is Farview School...grades 1-9. This school was chosen by the organization because they have chosen to use the funding that they receive from the government to feed and take care of the numerous AIDS orphans in the area. That leaves nothing left for maintaining the school and for school supplies. There are many more schools that are actually in much worse shape, but the caring and dedication to the community and students here makes them very special. These people have lost a whole generation of people to AIDS. The children have no parents and the grandparents are raising their grandchildren. There are the very young and the very old. It's a huge problem all over Africa.
As we walked through the campus, we noticed the dingy buildings with many broken windows, trash and broken glass all over the ground, the grounds were all dirt so when it rained, it turned into a mud slide. The classrooms were filthy, mainly because the dirt was tracked inside and no one bothered to clean it. We have raised money to have the whole area paved, so should help greatly on keeping the dirt down.
As we approached one of the classrooms, we could here the most beautiful singing! The kids were practicing, what we would find out later, was a special welcome ceremony for us. The naturally beautiful voices of these children were astonishing! I doubt they had music coaches!
School was officially out of session for a few weeks, but there were morning classes for some of the kids, so we were able to interact with them. I was so amazed to see how dedicated to education these kids were. There was no complaining about having to go to school while many others were off. And they literally walked miles to school as very few people had cars. When I asked many of the kids what their plans were after graduating high school, most said they were planning on going to University and some of the career choices were Biomedical Engineering, Doctors, Nurses, etc. They realize that education is the way out of poverty for them. Hopefully they can give back to their communities then and help others.
Although the school is publicly funded, it is a Catholic school and there is a mission and church on the premises. There are orphans and boarders living at the mission who also attend school here. Father Makoro (far right) runs the church and mission and is very involved in the school. Here we are discussing the project at hand. Goodman (left of Father) is a teacher at the school and was helping us when he could.
Here the students are in uniform in front of the church getting ready to perform and welcome us.
The two girls on the right were with us all week. They were darling and very curious about what we were doing.
This young man was a ham. He loved to get his picture taken!
All the kids wanted to get their pics taken...
The young girl in front really took to our girls, especially Katy.
Most of these kids are grades 6-9.
The kids performed songs for us as a welcome. They really do have amazing voices! We were all very touched by their gratitude.
The Farview campus. It is called Farview because it sits high on a hill and the view from all sides is panoramic. You can see below them in the valley and the mountains all around.
Abbi, Katy and Amanda gearing up for a lot of painting. I don't think any of us realized HOW much painting there was. They were troopers...worked very hard, had great attitudes, never complaining.
The kids helped move all of the desks out of the rooms and the guys started carrying in plywood for ceilings. None of the classes in this block had ceilings, so it was cold in winter and hot in summer.
Amanda with the gang. The African kids LOVED our kids. They all became fast friends
Seth with the younger kids. Like I said, they were not camera shy!
Amanda with the kids again.
Taking a break...it was very hot!
The ceiling crew quickly invented tools to help make the work a bit easier. A nail gun would sure come in handy...can't imagine how many fingers were hit with hammers! The lack of tools made everything ten times harder than it should have been...
John nailing upside down while Tom holds up the plywood.
Here is the paint crew starting the prime the walls. The paint was horrible and oil based!! Who knew how long in had been sitting. The whole bottom was hard so the coverage was awful. Took SO many coats!
Katy gets ready to paint high while Amanda cuts in.
The guys discussing plans with Fr. Makoro (in light colored hat) and another contractor.
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