A Post Full of Crap

This was my first real day as a volunteer. there were two activities going on. The first was a dental camp that provided dental care to 100 villagers. The other project is a latrine for a secondary school about an hour away. I went with the group to the latrine which we call the pit. We rode out through many villages. It is beautiful out in the villages and all the children wave as we pass. I had no idea what to expect, it was insane.

        

        

       

The pit is a giant whole with a mental roof over the top. Originallly when they built the pit then roof fell down and they didnt have the funds to fix it. The bathrooms that exist on the property are holes in the ground and are beyond nasty. There are even nasty for Africa and those of you that have never lived in a 3rd world country...I just cannot explain the bathrooms. The first order of buisness was to support the roof so when we pulled the roof down it wouldn't fall into the giant hole in the ground. We pulled it down then the real work began. We had to clean out the trash in the hole. I guess when the roof fell down the children started using the hole as a garage can. So there was about 5 feet of mud and garbage that need to be pulled out of the hole. The hole was about 10 feet deep so we needed some kind of tool to get the stuff out. We took giant woven plastic bags and tied ropes through them. Then the people in the pit filled them with garbage and we pulled them up. Here in Africa there is a real garbage problem. There is not where it take the garbage. So we just moved it from in the hole to a giant pile behehind the existing bathrooms. That was my job and it was pretty intense work. I have never been so disgusting in all my life. 

                                         

                                 

While I was working I talked with some of the children. They are so fun and friendly. I met a young girl about 13 years old named Christina. We talked for a bit about the project and then she asked me about America. I told here that America is very different from Africa. She said that someday she would like to come visit and see how we live in America. As I thought on her statement I was so humbled at what she would find there. A country full of people with every convince and yet we are not as happy as these native are here. I wonder if it would be harder to see our wealth or for me to see their poverty? I have never felt so motivated to be grateful for what I have. I knew when I signed up for this that I would be more changed than the people I helped, but I never knew how much this would change my perspective. We are so blessed!   

The people we work with here are so amazing. Many men came with us to the school and missed a day of work to come. They were willing so make sacrifices to help the children love better. They had all the nohow and desire, they just needed some motivation and materials to get this going. 

                                         

This school has 900 students, 600 girls and 300 boys. I was talking ei the head teacher and he told me that 50% are orphans. Many of them come from villages 3-4 miles away and they walk every morning to get to their lessons on time. Many if the teachers also walk for and hour or two to make it in time. Without the latrine they didn't know how they would fill the needs of the students and teachers since most are at the school all day long. With the new latrine they will be able to use it for years! I am so excited to see it completed!