By Dean Horvath
November 7, 2011

Back to work today. And work it was.

The hot sun was relentless in the morning and our job was to fill the foundation of the new classroom with rocks that ranged in size from a tennis ball up to a medicine ball. It was back breaking work.

Meanwhile, Kioni went to Evelyn’s house to measure her roof, without letting on the reason why. He determined it would take 14 sheets of iron to cover the roof at a cost of $160 CAD.

We were floored. Only $160?? We had plenty more money between us than that. So someone said “Could we just build them a new house?”

Kioni thought for a minute, and said “Sure.” So he calculated how much it would cost to build them a permanent mortar structure with an iron roof and a cement floor. Before long, he came up with a price. “$1200, and the timing is good because our crew can build it as soon as this classroom is finished.”

The decision was an easy one. We would completely change Evelyn’s family’s life. The change from their old home to the new one will change everything for them. Protection from the elements and freedom from the diseases brought by mud floors and flies will quite literally change their life paths.

We’ll present this gift to them at the ceremony on Friday.

The rain clouds rolled in and we had to pack up early. The dirt road to the village becomes impassable once the rain sets in, so we had to get out of there before we were stuck all night.

On the way back, we stopped by the schoolbook supply store in Naro-Moru. Jamie and Mia had collected donations from their families for textbooks, so they purchased over 200 Math, English and Social Studies textbooks and maps for all of the different classes. The books will be delivered Friday during the ceremony.

It’s becoming quite obvious that this ceremony is going to be a very emotional event.