Building/Richard (CV)

Tomorrow morning we will leave Mercy Home bright and early to begin our journey to Uganda.  We are planning to stay in the city of Jinja (on the source of the Nile!) for 3 nights, and then head to Kampala for about a week and a half. 

Things are going well with the high school building project.  I finally feel like I have a handle on keeping track of finances and I am quite proud of my organized excel sheet.  I have now been to the hardware store and the lumber yard in Kiminini so many times that people have begun to stare a little less at the white girl buying all the cement, timber and other building supplies.  It has even become a bit less awkward to go to the worksite because they have employed a few ladies so the ratio is no longer thirty-five to one.

I was surprised at how much time was spent on the foundation.  Clearly I was a bit ignorant on the process.  I would have just dug a hole and poured cement in it, but apparently there are a few more steps than that.  So far I have been impressed with the quality of the work, and I am learning loads about construction!  Now that the foundation for the classrooms is done, progress is a lot more obvious.  The walls are now at waist height, and it is super exciting to be able to see the classes taking shape.  The boys’ dorm is about a week behind the classrooms (we had to wait for approval from the health authority) so they are just finishing digging for its foundation. 

I am a little nervous about leaving behind my accounting responsibilities to go to Uganda, but I am looking forward to coming back and seeing how much progress was made while I was gone. 

As a side note, I just wanted to do a quick blurb on one of the boys at Mercy Home.  Obviously, it would be best not to have favourites.  But of course I do.  Richard Wekesa without a doubt makes top 5 in my books.  He is in Form 1 (grade 9) and he’s one of the sweetest boys I know.  He is also a total goof and never fails to brighten my day.  I found out recently that he is the only student at Mercy Home without a sponsor.  If anyone has been considering sponsoring a child at Mercy Home, then please let me know.  It is $50/month.  I cannot even express how much I would appreciate it; he is like a little brother to me!  Also, even though the other students already have one sponsor, Mercy Home is always looking for more. Now that the children are getting older many of them will be going to college and it will be helpful to double up with sponsorship to make it more affordable. 

Blessings,

Candice