It's done!

Jaun

Community house

Why were here!

We have water!

Dedication of the system

Tim with GeniEye

GeniEye provides clean water

Today began with a mix of excitement and sadness. We’ll see water flow but it’s also our last day at the school. Martha and Jose held a dedication ceremony for system and told us what it meant to them and the families of the school. It was a very emotional ceremony and there was barely a dry eye amongst our team.

After the service, we finished the last of the sand, the final adjustments to the GeniEye Ionization System, the  plumbing was finished and the last of the water arrived. The electric went out but they got a generator and we were able to get the system running while the solar power system charged.

In the afternoon once we were done, Martha requested that those of us who hadn’t been down to the “community” go to visit the families and see first hand how things were and what we had done for the children. Until then, we had a percieved picture of those we were serving. We knew it would be bad, we were afraid it would look like they were a side show. We were assured that they wanted us there. To them it was a sign of hope for their families, to know that people cared. All I can say is there isn’t any possible way I could describe the conditions that many of these families live. You have to experience it to comprehend it fully. Yet in all the adverse conditions, I saw a people who were kind and generous despite their adverse conditions. It was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. May I never forget what I learned on this trip.

Fiesta!

Some of the students

Traditional Columbian dance

Aquascape team

Kids loved pictures

New friends

Kids ran circles around the adults

Barrenquilla Junior football match

Today we had to stop on the way at the local home store for some fittings…due to this we were a bit late getting to school. It was the kids first day back and little did we know they had a fiesta planned for us. It was like suprise party when we arrived. The school yard was packed with kids and they had a show all planned for us. A few of us even joined in with a bit of encouragement. At the end they presented us with traditional Columbian sun hats to remember them by.

We spent the next few hours celebrating with the kids and having tons of pictures taken. Alex commented that he felt like a Disney World mascot. The kids loved taking pictures and seeing themselves on the cameras.

When the festivities were finally done and the kids made their way home, we were back at it. The team was finishing up the solar panels and ionization as well as filling in with the never ending sand. In between the sand deliveries team members took time out to play some soccer or take a well earned rest. 

Many of you know Chris’s passion for soccer, we were fortunate enough to get tickets to a game that night and half the team headed to the stadium along with our hosts (I expect it was for added protection). Two of the ladies decided stay behind as they were a bit worn out and we took Douglass and Julio along. Not only was the game a great cultural experience but watching the fun these kids were having made it all the more special. It was wonderful to see them be kids! The next day Julio’s sister told us that it was the best day of his life. I imagine it was pretty overwhelming for him over all….first day of school, a party and football. It was probably one of the best days as well for us!

Til tomorrow…

Leaving our mark

Ready for the rest of the sand

Covering the basin

Roof view

Kind neighbors

Today started with the same determination as the previous days with one difference. We would have water.  The school and community still did not have water and there wasn’t any rain in sight as it’s the dry season. Inquiries were made into how much it would cost to truck the water in. $400 was the magic number. Carla Whittstock, the founder of the Aqauscape Foundation, put the call out on her blog to the Aquascape family of contractors, distributors and friends. Over $1000 was raised and we were able to start them off with a full system! The difference went to other things the school needed, including two mattresses and a rain barrel for the neighbor we mentioned in Monday’s blog. We had been borrowing  the few pavers she had that were essential to us and had also created a bit of a mess in her yard due to our work. We mentioned to her that we wanted to do something for her. She thought about it for a day and requested a rain barrel (she only had a few 5 gal buckets) and a mattress. It turns out that her and her husband, who is blind, slept on cardboard on a wooden bed frame (she is 70 and he is 81). They were so happy when they came and we in return felt grateful that we could help. Al and Chris also hooked them up with better clothes lines (when the wall came down, so did her lines).

The first 2500 gallons of water arrived that afternoon and the final 7500 would arrive Thursday. We continued to move the sand and hoped to have the sytem completed Thursday afternoon.

Til tomorrow….

Aquablocks Almost Installed

The start of the sand for backfill

April will hate this picture!

The "shop"

Julio, Alex & Douglass

Diana, her sister's and brother

Sorry for the delay in posting, after Monday internet access was basically non-existent for me. So now I’ll get you all up to date.

The day dawned bright and hot. Thank goodness for the strong breezes! Only problem we had was that they constantly filled all our eyes with sand. Everyone by now knew what to expect and set to their assigned tasks. We had some challenges and improvised when possible. We felt like MacGuyver at times. We focused on installing the aquablocks, running the plumbing and packing the system with sand.

Some of the school kids started floating in and out and keeping us entertained throughout the day. One of the things that most impressed me, were two of the teenage boys who came by, Julio and Douglass. Without being asked they stepped in and begain carrying heavy buckets of sand (we had 24 tons to move). It was back breaking and hot! We all did this for three days along with a few very shakey wheel barrows. Everyday they can back and worked alongside the crew.

In between the deliveries, we contractors jumped back in the hole and set about our work and a few of the wonderful ladies who had joined us set about sorting through the all the clothes and shoes that were so generously donated by family and friends. They set about setting up a small “shop” so that when the kids returned to school, they and their families could get some things that they so desperately need.

Up until now, we had all been doing what we had to do for any project. Get in and get it done on schedule. It didn’t really hit me,as we were relatively sheltered so far, until late morning. I looked down and noticed Douglass’s shoes. At first, having a teenage son, I thought “oh look at that fad” instantly realizing they were all he had. They were old black Converse. They were only attached around the toes and tied up like regular sneaks. He was sent to the “shop” were the ladies immediately fitted him out with a new pair and some shirts. Same went for Julio (he’s a shy 14 year old and has never been to school, this will be a first for him).Later we were told how proud he was of his new things and that back in the community he would look like a king.

In the afternoon, some of team went down to the community to meet a few if the families who this system would benefit. When they returned we saw just how horrific, by our standards things really were.From here on out our purpose for being here was magnified. Yes it was hot, we were dirty, we had minor issues but we were happy to be there! To have an opportunity to help ease some of the hardships they face made it all worth while.

Our Team

Basin before we started

Aqua block assembly

300 Aqua blocks

Collapsed wall

Fixed wall

End of day1

Hello everyone and a special hello to two little girls, Isobel and Isla. Well, were do I start, we arrived safely and settled in over the weekend. On Sunday we visited La Rosa de Sharon School to check out the place and see what progress had been made. They were going to have the hole we needed dug and we had hoped to be able to tidy up and get right to the nitty gritty of the project.

We  arrived at the school this morning with high hopes and a determination to get to a certain point for the day. It was a hot 92 degrees with humidity. Rough after coming from our weather!

We hit a few snags along the way such as a wall, that we were really concerned about collapsing, it did, and make shift braces not holding so well, it’s all sand… No worries though everyone was safe. Martha and Jose (wonderful people who run the school) did have the foresight to pull most of  the wall down, thank goodness, before we got there and it was just the last bit which came down. You can see it in the photos. Everyone just took a deep breath and started clean up. By the end of the day we had assembled 300 aqua bocks, shaped the basin,lined it with underlayment and liner. We started to get the blocks in place and the day was over.

I can’t begin to tell you how rewarding it is to be here. The people are so gracious in the face of such adversity. When we arrived at the school, we found that the water had been off for the last three days and know one knew when it would be back on. I was suprised to find out, that it just wasn’t the school without water,it’s the entire community! Just and example of what some people are up against, if  you look at the photo of the hole….check out the house next door, it’s 10 x 10 and what looks like a lean too in the back, that’s their bathroom. Their kitchen is the two buckets by the back door. To put it in perspective, the kids we’re helping here would be thrilled to have such a home. 

After a long and tiring day, were all looking forward to a good night sleep and a early start tomorrow. The goal for that will be to get the holding basin done and start on getting the gutters up which is fraught with it’s own challenges. We’ll also pitch in and get some painting and clean up done of the school during the times when there are “too many cooks in the kitchen” 

I forgot to mention, that the kids aren’t there at the moment. Schools closed for a few days so that we could get in and do what needed to be done without any of them getting hurt. We’ll get to meet all of them on Thursday when school re-opens and we can finish up.

Til tomorrow….