The famous Week 0 has just ended during which Emily, Tessa and I got everything set up and prepared for volunteer arrivals.

Since the 3 of us are here for the full length of the project, we also began preliminary work on the chicken coop and the bridge. The 'usual suspects' of the great kids from the past and some really fabulous young ones have jumped right into the fray.

Emily is leading the pack at the chicken coop where the footing has been poured the first couple of courses of block have been laid.

Tessa has been the Captain of the Bridge where she and her followers have been clearing a wheelbarrow path across the river on rocks and sand bags.

Today is Lisa's first day and all crews have moved to the bridge efforts for the next few days.

We are having to hire overnight security for the bridge area work because it lies outside the campus and the surrounding community sees concrete form boards as firewood for the taking and rebar as great raw material for tools!

We hope to pour the far side bridge abutment tomorrow and have invited the neighbors to help with the mixing and wheelbarrow loads of concrete. Maybe pride in the effort will set in for more people.

One really fun part is that the bridge project is directly on the path of tons of very cute and very little Primary School kids. They are enthralled by us and the work. When Emily started the saw up today, Lisa said they jumped and ran like cats from a vacuum cleaner!   Most of them are trying out a few English words on us and then giggling at each other!

From the land of happy kids,
Rome