Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. We all have clever ways of putting this slogan into action. But here in Bistekville, necessity has proven itself once again to be the mother of invention. Check out just a few of the many ways things get reinvented. Construction on the second floor continued again today. One new job was added: … Continue reading
Sweating standing still. This is what we are doing in the extreme humidity that is the Philippines. Despite…great work day today and only one short rain interruption. Luck or answered prayer. Cement mixing, bucket throwing, brick hoisting continues. We also started putting up walls on the second floor of our two-story apartment building which includes … Continue reading
Exhilarating drive to the worksite. Check. Safety orientation and morning stretching. Check. Cueing up for brick passing and cement hauling. Check. Having to stop work for the rain. Three times. Check. The rainy season gets underway in the Philippines in May. The worst rains come in August and September as typhoon season is in full … Continue reading
Everyone on the team has safely arrived half way around the world and settled in to our new digs in Quezon City, Manila. Everyone has showed remarkable flexibility considering just two weeks and two days ago we expected to be in Thailand and not the Philippines. What a wonderful group of volunteers. Our hats go … Continue reading
Another scorcher building in Pelican Park today. It was 85 to 90 degrees in the shade with a whipping wind today. The wind coming from the nearby ocean blows across the site with ease as there are no barriers at the moment to block its progress. A lot of sand and dust flew around today … Continue reading
Apart from having nearly finished all the bricklaying on both houses, one thing left an indelible impression upon us today – seeing the inside of Salanawo’s old house. If you’ve been following, you will remember that she is the grandmother caring for her seven orphaned grandchildren. It is absolutely astonishing that this family sleeps in … Continue reading
Another banner day at the worksite! We made a lot of progress on both houses thanks to the hot, dry and sunny weather. The walls are nearly complete. The local craftsman erected wooden scaffolding in order for us to be able to reach the top levels. Once the walls are up, the roof will go … Continue reading
If ever there was a perfect day for building a Global Village house in Malawi, today was it. Hands down. Despite the fact that the bus was temporarily stuck in the wet sandy soil on the road to Thanguli village, our spirits were high and we were eager to get back to work. And because … Continue reading
Rain delay. The rains came yesterday afternoon and they’ve decided to stay. Working in the rain isn’t always a problem, but when you are building with “matope” (mortar) made with mud, too much water ain’t a good thing. Dirt roads that turn to mud when they are saturated also would make it challenging for our … Continue reading
We made it! And we have all almost mastered the greetings and basic words of our new language, Chichewa. Muli Bwanji? Ndidi Bwino! Malawi is as beautiful as expected and truly lives up to its reputation as being “The Warm Heart of Africa.” Already in just one day’s time, we have bonded with one another … Continue reading
Global Staci 