Teshie School Project – Volunteer Diary - Day 2
Day 2 - Monday 10 August 2009
Despite the long haul on Sunday everyone was in great spirits first thing Monday morning and ready to start work. Thankfully, no volunteer incurred the 5 Cedis fine for being late! This morning was our first time to see Accra in full glory and our short bus journey gave us a glimpse of life here. First impressions of the site were how great it looked. The buildings completed on previous visits are in full use with children in attendance for extra classes even though it is the school holidays. After a site safety briefing from Brian Cronly, work started in earnest with the various teams getting busy on their projects.
Electrical Progress – three remain on to work into the night
Our team of electrical workers led by Brendan O'Connor was broken into two teams. Team 1 was assigned to the Technical school, with its sub-teams assigned to carry out trunking installation in the workshops and installation of the main fuse boards and cables. The installation of the plastic trunking got underway once Gerry Whelan found out how to use his spirit level late in the afternoon!
Team 2 moved into the Kindergarten and by the end of the day had completed preparation work for three classrooms, where the builder is installing ceilings in order to erect fluorescent fittings towards the end of week one. This part of the project is progressing extremely well, with the contractor working to ensure the team can complete on time. The Technical School, however, is a little behind but the team are expected to complete before returning to Ireland. With some issues identified in the Resource Centre, Ghana Electric was called out to correct a fault and was assisted by James Harkin, Daragh Mulligan and Brendan O'Connor who worked late into the night.
Painting Progress – a white-out experience
OK, ok, we may be calling them "unskilled" staff but they're learning fast on the job! Anyway our painting team led by Martin O'Brien is divided into four groups. With team leaders appointed, each group quickly got to grips with their brushes and their tasks. On the to-do list is the Kindergarten, Vendors Huts and the Technical School workshops. Maurice O'Connor, coined the day by describing it as "a white-out experience". Although truth be known, more paint ended up on the team than on the walls. Finger's crossed the skill level improves for Day 2.
IT Progress – team arrives to 30 eager students
It was a busy start for the Highly Skilled (!) IT team with 30 teachers from the school already in the classroom waiting for their first course when the team arrived to the IT Centre! Justine was there to greet the team, led by Allison Morris, and get things started. A few technical issues had to be resolved before any classes could be started including connecting the 6 new laptops to the network, reinstalling some software and a partial loss of power, which was resolved by Daragh Mulligan.
And all before lunch
Hard to believe but yes all of that hard work was before our 13:30 lunch break, which was supplied by "head chef" Michael O'Connor, whose delicious spread of lunch rolls and crisps set us up for the rest of the day.
Despite verbal rumblings, the contest for the most "highly skilled" team continues. Alas, since these daily updates are brought to you by a member of the IT team we're keeping that title for now!
A report by Sharyn McMenamin, ICT Group
