On day five we woke up at around 6:30 am to the sounds of crowing roosters. We started the day with a breakfast of toast and boiled eggs. After some competitive and boisterous games of UNO we made our way back to the work site.
The work was very hard and exhausting. We started to complete the walls and windows in the house. Everyone work really hard to get all the work finished. There were few delays and everyone had their own jobs that were important to the building of the house. As each brick was placed we could slowly see the final finish line in the distance. This rose all of our spirts to see what all the work had created. The walls rose very quickly once we had gotten into the groove of the brick laying. This progress inspired us to keep working and the whole group functioned like a true team. The villagers watched as we created a house for them to live in for years to come. Some villagers also joined in and despite the language barriers their warmth of spirit and good humour was infectious. After a welcome and hard earned lunch break we returned to the work site to finish the walls. What began as a roof and timber frame was now transforming into a house. The only thing left to do was finish the floor and remaining walls.
Once the long hard work was nearly complete, we started to work on the floors. After concreting approximately one quarter of the floor it was time to down tools and head back to our rooms. We were rewarded by a strong rain shower as we were walking to where we were staying. We all relished the opportunity to get clean in the rain and rest after a hard days work. The rain cleansed our bodies and refreshed our minds and we were all looking forward to completing the house in the morning.
Before dinner we donated the villagers some much needed supplies. Each one of us provided a local with big baskets of cooking essentials and sleeping equipment. The villagers were very excited to see their new gifts. The smiles on their faces and appreciation in their eyes was enormously rewarding. The leader of the village also gave a speech to thank us for our hard work and the donations of supplies. After dinner we sat down to listen to the traditional songs of the village. We watched as the children performed many songs and dances of the village. We also participated in a group dance which was a lot of fun. We then also performed two songs for the children of the village. They were all delighted by our performance and it was a great end to an incredibly rewarding day.
By Max Ross and Matt Annable
