Day 11
Let me tell you about the hotel. Family run and delightful owner. Its very dark and when there is no power on you have to walk 50 ft in the pitch black, as dark as a mine and work out where the lock to my door is. After trying to get into an adjacent cupboard I now have finding it down to a fine art. We hand in keys in the hope our rooms are serviced and each day the bed is made and floor cleaned. Sometimes I get a towel, it can be like a nappy so once my left leg is dry the rest of me has to shake in the warm air. There is no running water and you somehow get used to bathing in a bucket. Different team members adopt different techniques. Aircon is great though, when there is power. As we are in the poorer part of town (the East) its share of national power is sadly minimal. For most of the time it is generator or candles.
Whoever builds here just cannot find good tilers and plumbers. Taps are broken even if they had water and tiles are stuck together without any regard for the pattern. And everything is painted in dark colours. But you know, it’s not about the facilities, but about the people. They make all the difference. Food here is good though and the place is growing on me. In fact, if I painted the place as hard it’s not really that bad at all.
So Bob led the thought for the day which was just excellent and after porridge and boiled eggs, we headed to Lifelines. A day to continue the build. Today a few were able to take a lesson for an hour and they nearly all commented, that that hour of teaching was one of the hardest of the week. Songs, links to the UK, basic spelling and numbers and games all formed part of the rich communications for children at a range of ages.
We were then visited by some of the YWAM team with Michael Green and his family. Interesting to see white children here which are fairly rare and all the children wanted to see them. We toured lifelines and Michael was able to talk to Prince about how they may contribute and serve over the next 3 weeks so hopefully that will be the start of a great partnership.
Thinking ahead we bought paint for the teams work on Friday afternoon and Leonard very kindly bought it for us. Also walked around the teams 3 work locations, delivering water and hearing what was happening. It seems to be working well for everyone.
Lunch of sandwiches and then back to hotel to freshen up and a 30 minute drive out to the “king George V1 Coronation Home for the elderly. We have worked with this home since 2003. S many have died. An oil company bought their old home and built a new one. Whoever did the deal did such a most unhelpful thing as shown by nearly 50% of the residents dead within a year of the move. In the new location there are no people so whereas they went out to beg or could sell a few things that is not open. You would have thought an endowment would provide care and food. The residents seem almost emaciated and they tell us how little they get.
Our team brought a ray of hope to their day. We started off with songs, they sang some and we did. I played Guitar, Rebecca played on the keyboard and Bob played trumpet. Team felt a bit under prepared to sing but that is what the seniors expected of us. We had put together a personal hygiene bag for each resident. You have to make the same gift to each member of staff or they simply take the residents things. We had brought many pairs of glasses so a number of the residents were just so thrilled as we sorted out which suited who. Sadly some had too many problems with their eyes, cataracts, glaucoma and blindness but the joy it brought to some was a joy to behold. Others did craft with the residents.
We then went next door where we have been involved in building City of Rest, a mental and drug rehabilitation facility. A huge place with 30 rooms and still unoccupied. It has been seemingly ready for a year yet they have not moved in and the place was covered in red dust. Over a mountain track and on to Freetown of a drink and debrief. Then on to Alexes for an excellent dinner and then 50 min ride back home. And to Bed