Teshie School Project – Volunteer Diary - Day 3
A report by ESB & ESBI Volunteers on-site this week at the Ghana School Project
Bodies Tired But Still Going Strong
A strong warning this morning from Brian Cronly to pace ourselves. Temps. in the high 30s again and he reminded us that there's a long way to go. A few people feeling unwell today, which would not be unusual. One of the reasons may be that the fruit juices in the morning are watered down so we'll give those a miss from now on. The topic of discussion at lunch break is a bit different as a result!
The Gift of the Gab Has Hushed
The banter between the teams has noticeably decreased today! This is due to the fact that Day 3 was taking its toll on everyone and people were just getting on with the task in hand and had very little energy for small talk!
We heard today that one of our electricians, Karol Connellan, had actually joined the volunteer group just after his honeymoon.
Excitement as Brushes Arrive
I forgot to mention yesterday that a cause of great excitement had been the arrival of 4 yard brushes! Up to that we had become quite proficient in sweeping with the local brooms (bundles of twigs)!
Local Teachers Thank Group for Leaving Homeland
The young pupils returned today to be presented with their new football by Dave Carey.
Today we had a visit also by some of the teachers who thanked us profusely for leaving our homeland to come over and help them. We gave them a copy of EM where they had featured and they were thrilled to see themselves.
Accra Locals Find Better Use for M50 Motorway
An interesting observation we have noticed on the journey to and from work. On Accra's version of the M50 they have literally hordes of street sellers offering everything from small items of furniture, bales of toilet rolls, household goods to drinks and fruit to the passing traffic. Some of our more innovative team members are considering this as a good career option given the traffic jams on the M50.
Lighting Team Powers Ahead of Painters
Progress today by Painters: Painting is almost completed on Cluster 6 so it is planned to give a first coat to the outside tomorrow. Painting has almost been completed on the Resource Centre and should be completed by tomorrow. Cluster 4 was prepared today for painting to commence tomorrow.
Progress today by Electrical Teams: Some of the team remained on late this evening to complete the lighting on the Resource Centre. All the lighting is now completed apart from the Toilet area. Outside lighting is also completed. All that remains is power for the air conditioning and the central IT island computers. It is expected that the Resource Centre will be fully wired by tomorrow. Light fittings have been fitted in Cluster 6, Main fuse board has been fitted and preparations for earthing system while the main cables have been put in place. Due to slight delay while ceiling panels are being fitted the electricians have taken advantage of the scaffolding which is in place to install the fittings.
Wiring has commenced in Cluster 4. As some of the children are present due to exams the teams are having to accommodate this factor and work around the situation.
by Bernie Healy - Editor EM
