We traveled by bus to the local village’s tribal hall to attend a meeting of the Tribal Council. We were welcomed with open arms, and got to experience prayers and songs in their native language, before being introduced to each member, and learned of their roles in the council, as well as being invited to introduce ourselves with our names and home countries. They expressed their gratitude and at the end even danced a little. Meeting the local community allowed us to truly feel the potential impact of our project as it moves forward, and as we moved on to the work site. We also learned about how the village uses a windmill to sustainably produce their energy.
After walking through some of the village and onto the work site, we were given a brief introduction to the tasks we will focus on in the next 10 days. The construction team walked us through various aspects of the crèche we hope to create, including a garden and chicken coop. We discussed the appropriate safety precautions and geared up to start the project. The walls of the crèche were already built, however there was still lots of work to be done plastering the walls, cleaning the grounds, and strengthening the structure.
We were split into our different Baraza groups and were assigned different tasks. Some groups shovelled dirt and rocks into wheelbarrows to fill in the floors of the crèche and others sorted through the old bricks from the previous building to decide which ones were still usable. It was fun and we were all going at it—there were mini competitions to see who could carry the most and the girls were organising. In all, it was an amazing experience and it was nice to see everyone so invested.
Having finally started working on the project, we began to understand the importance of the project, as while we were there, little kids were running around and helping us to sort the bricks, which showed us that they were just as excited about this project as we were.
Emily, Elise, Gabrielle and Luana
