2nd Day of Building

We have been building for 2 days now. The frist day was hard for some, including myself. The heat took a little getting used to and I had not eaten enough breakfast to sustatain myself. I took longer breaks than everyone else. The 2nd day of building I was much better prepared.

Here's a small view of what's happening here. Kumai is many things. It is beautiful and sad all at the same time. There is so much help that is needed here. The orphanage visit was an eye opener. The standards of the building would have cause it to be shut down in seconds in the states. Filthy cribs for babies and I believe that some of the children actually sleep on the floor. I didn't see any blankets around or anything like that. Just bare floors. I didn't see toys for them to play with either. We brought some toys for the children to have on our fist visit. They seemed so unfamiliar with toys that it was obvious that they didn't know what to do with them. They were all starving for attention. For us in the states this would seem like child cruelity. In this region the most important thing is to have a place where the children can be safe and get something to eat. Anything else is extra. Also, when things are donated to the orphanage we are not positive that they children see them. It's possible that material things are being sold. We have no proof of that however. We will be going back again to deliver some of the backpacks and other items that hadn't arrived once we got here. We will probalby also be purchasing tiles so that the children have a more sanitary floor to play and sleep on. Right now it's just cement and a few wooden benches.

I would have had pictures of some of the children from the orphanage but the battery on my camera died that day. I'll have some of them when I return.

However, I do have these pictures of the houses we are building and some of the children that live in the villiage. I must say that my mind has changed about the friendliness of Ghananians. As we drive through the city children and some adults wave at us constantly. At the build site the curious children are always close by. Here are some pictures of them and some of the builders who are called Artisans. They are masons and carpenters.

Here's a pic of one of the guys that was digging a 20ft hole in the ground. He's probably about 5'7" tall but all the workers and most of the men that I've seen here are extremely fit. We as americans should be extremely ashamed of ourselves for the way we look. INCLUDING MYSELF! I mean it is rare to see man or woman that is overweight here. You will see more women that are heavier but I believe that's due to baby weight.