RSIS Borneo: waterfalls and new walls

Posted: 16 December 2019

Saturday 14th December

Waterfall visit

On Saturday the whole team enjoyed a morning of adventure with a visit to Mahua Waterfall. The 17 meter waterfall and plunge pool is just a 20 min trip away from the orphanage and offered the perfect opportunity for the team to get out and explore some of the beautiful local scenery.

Students had the opportunity to paddle in the refreshing waters and enjoy morning tea with a view. They then went back to the local village to visit the markets, before returning to the orphanage for a late lunch.

 

Student blog update written by: Augustine, Ayush, Charlie, Evie, Kara, Louisa, Shourya and Vishal from Team 3.

“Today we had the chance to sleep in, which was really nice because we were all really tired from the last few days work. We then went to the waterfall at Crocker Range Park after breakfast. We had to walk a bit to get there once we had arrived in the area, but the surroundings were incredible. It was really pretty and it was nice to be in a cooler area. It was amazing to see some more of Borneo, and we enjoyed the music in the bus. The water at the waterfall was really energizing as it was so cool and we were used to being sweaty and dirty. We really enjoyed our swim. We took many photos which we look forward to showing our families. It was really nice there because it was so untouched and it felt like we were at one with the nature. It was a nice day for meeting people outside of our group.

We then went to a market and it was great to see how people live outside of the community in which we are living. The market had a lot of shops and there was lot of food for sale – there were lots opportunities to try new food, and smoothies and banana fritters. It was also really noisy there – there was so much to look at we didn’t even know where to start. It was a really good atmosphere. We then had a free afternoon so we had time to tidy up and put our lives back together. We played cards, badminton, and there was a really nice walk to the river. We then went to the local church for an amazingly inspiring service; it was so different from home. We didn’t understand anything but we tried to sing along, and again, the people were so very nice and friendly. We were really touched by this experience.

We then returned to the orphanage and we created some art and played cards; there were some good, competitive matches and we all had a lot of fun. We also had the opportunity to paint and express our feelings artistically. We then had dinner and had the opportunity to catch up with everyone as a group. We then worked as a team to wash the dishes before we planned and prepared for the talent show. We all look forward to getting back to work tomorrow!”

Sunday 15th December

Art club

Student shave been exploring their creative sides in their downtime with an art club:

 

Monday 16th December

We are extremely proud of our teams tenacity as they continue to work hard on the project site. The new building is starting to take shape with the concrete slab now forming the solid foundation of the new building and students have started to lay bricks to form the walls of the new structure.

Student blog update written by: Eleni, Sophie, Kayla, Sydney, Miles, Dave, Bryce, Saksham

“We have made it to the penultimate day of work, and we have certainly achieved more than we could have dreamed of. Today was the day we finally got to start seeing the final shape of the house. We started the morning off by removing all the wood and scaffolding/ panels and then stuffed and transported aggregate bags. We moved onto cement in the afternoon and were lucky enough to be able to complete the flooring of the house.

Some teams got to start brick laying the walls using water and cement as the ‘glue’ and the bricks we had previously transported. All teams worked hard from 8am until 5pm and were exhausted by the end. We are realizing that this is our second-to-last day of the project and although we are sad to not be finishing the house, we will be enthusiastic until we finish tomorrow afternoon. We are all extremely grateful of the opportunity we received to contribute and make a difference to this lovely and welcoming community.

Love from the best team: Eleni, Sophie, Kayla, Sydney, Miles, Dave, Bryce, Saksham and our wonderful mother Anna.”