Day One was busy but we made A LOT of progress! There was around 30-40 workers working today. In addition to our team of 11, there were also some Mosaic staff, Ma's for Wellington staff and volunteers, and community volunteers from two local churches.
We are renovating three shipping containers that were recently added to the existing nine containers at the Mosaic Paarl Valley community center. One will be used for a classroom, one will be made into an office for social workers and the third will be added to the HOOP 1 to double the size of the kitchen. We are also renovating two of the existing containers to make one into a classroom and the second into a bathroom.
The majority of the group worked on framing the containers. We also had people cutting the insulation and caulking around the windows that were being installed. The insulation does not come sized to fit into the openings between the wall studs in South Africa. :-)
It was sunny and HOT! The temperature got up to 104 degrees.
It is nice to be back in South Africa. I saw many of my friends from previous trips. I continue to work on knowing the names of the people I meet. Some names are challenging to learn so everytime I see the person I try to say their name. It is nice that we are wearing name tags on the worksite so that helps.
The highlight of my day was going to visit a couple of homes with Cornel from Ma's for Wellington. She received some donated food that she wanted to drop off at some of the Ma's for Wellington lighthouses. A lighthouse is basically someone that helps people in their community. Ma's for Wellington knows if they give extra food to these people, they will use it to help feed the kids/people in their community. Hunger is a big problem in the area that we are working in.
At our second stop, Tannie (Auntie) Minnie's house, I saw four of the Mosaic teenagers. I recognized all of them but I didn't know their names. It was so nice to see them! Programs at the Mosaic community center are cancelled for the week because of the construction at the community center. We will have an opportunity to spend time with the Mosaic kids on Friday and next Tuesday. Tannie Minnie had around 10 kids hanging out when we stopped by. Cornel said there are always a bunch of kids hanging around Tannie Minnie's house. She is a light in her neighborhood.
Our last stop was at Tannie Katrina's house. Tannie Katrina is over 80 years old and has some health issues. She is part of the group that prays during the Ma's for Wellington Tuesday and Thursday programs. We visited a little with her and then we prayed for her. We were there around 10 minutes but Cornel said she was tearing up as we left. She really appreciated our visit. This is what I LOVE doing! I am so glad we had the opportunity to do this!
It was a great first day! A majority of the framing is done and we will start putting up the drywall on Tuesday.
Cammy Brantzeg
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