Crafting an interesting and worthy end-of-build post has become increasingly difficult. Looking back I realize they sound the same. Not a bad thing, but perhaps teetering on boring. The countries are all so different, the culture and the homeowners too, but the emotions remain the same. Each time I want to tell you that we’ve … Continue reading
One of our favorite challenges is learning the names of the people in the village and as much Chichewa as our brains can absorb! A now familiar name is that of our partner family great grandmother, Chilungula. Chilungula has spent nearly all of her 93 years in Nnima village in Salima district. Of her 8 … Continue reading
Two days of building already under our belt. First chance I have had to buy Internet access and attempt to write a thoughtful blog post. It feels as though our group of 10 has been together much longer. We are enjoying getting to know one another. Working together. Sharing meals. Roommates. Laughing and generally loving … Continue reading
As usual, the week has flown by. Today we had to say goodbye to our village, Celeste and Diana, our amazing construction supervisors Rugerio and Francisco, and tomorrow we will have to say goodbye to our host coordinator Florbela. She has been with us every step of the way and has made our stay here … Continue reading
Having spent the day yesterday in Regua, our batteries were fully charged for a full work day working on Celeste’s house. We awoke to rain and heavy cloud cover; it was cool and perfect build weather since the precipitation quit as we were arriving on site. It’s been heartwarming to see Celeste and her daughters … Continue reading
By the end of day three we can usually see a lot of progress made on the house and this build is no different. There are two areas of the house out team is helping to construct so far; the septic system and insulating the walls. Thankfully the pit behind the house for the septic … Continue reading
Wow. I have been charmed off of my feet. This country is THE most gorgeous have EVER seen. Around every corner beauty awaits. It is like being in a real life fairy tale. We find ourselves walking around with our jaws open, camera lenses shuttering. Our little corner of Portugal is the town of Amarante. … Continue reading
In December of 2004 a devastating tsunami hit Sri Lanka; over 35,000 people died. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, children. Gone. Houses destroyed, communities decimated and lives forever altered in moments. In October 2014 a landslide buried 150 houses and over 300 people confirmed missing, were never found alive. Living in relative affluence and safety … Continue reading
By the last day or two of a build, our ability to sustain the level of physical activity we undertake each day begins to wane. Muscles we didn’t even know we had ache. None of us dig ditches or mix cement by hand in the heat for a living. We are architects, salespeople, nurses, engineers, … Continue reading
Walls are getting taller and the pit is getting deeper!
Global Staci 