A family in Las Penitas, Nicaraua gets a new home in 10 days

Its the end of November in Las Penitas Nicaragua. The temperature is in the high 30s and the humidity is off the dial.

I met Kyle at Atlanta airport as we were both transiting through there and heading for Managua. He from Canada and of course I came in from the Uk. The rest of the team had already arrived in Managua about 35 minutes before us and where waiting with our hosts just outside the terminal building. Following introductions it was into the bus after loading the luggage on the roof and then heading to Las Penitas, a two hour drive from the airport.

Old Home

I had visited Las Penitas the previous year to meet the Fuller Center guys and take a look at the projects they were working on. Since my visit they have been working hard hosting teams and funding the building of numerous homes in the  area. I was pleased to see one in particular that I had used in my marketing material for this trip. The plastic house had been replaced with a block built home and had even been painted by an artist from a previous team. I called to see the family and showed them the picture I had previously taken. They were so pleased and proud to show me their new home.

New Home

This was going to be a hot and hard build. Even the 50 degree heat of Rajasthan could not prepare me for the humidity we were about to experience here in Nicaragua. Our cloths were soaked through before we even got to the build site and started working.

Setting Out

Day one commenced with the setting out of the foundations and then digging them to depth. This was hard going as the ground was not very forgiving. We worked with the family who's home this would become.

Craig getting stuck into the foundations

I was surprised at the strength and tenacity of the wife within the family who was there from the very first pickax strike to the  last task of accepting the keys to her new home. Her husband was with her all the way except the last day when he had to travel to start work as a scuba diver fisherman some miles from home. So excepting the keys to the home was left to the rest of the family. No doubt they will prepare it for a celebration upon his homecoming.

Front left and far right are the home owners

From Digging foundations to bending and tying re-bar for the strength in the walls and Crown Beam. To laying blocks, placing and packing mortar, moving blocks, mixing concrete and raising the roof. The team worked tirelessly to achieve the goal of finishing the house in 10 days

Jean bending re-bar

Jenay and others tying  Re-bar

During our time in Las Penitas some of us took the opportunity to Visit Leon for the festival. An Amazing spectacle, sounds, colours, lights and fireworks. I was so pleased not to have missed this. The whole town put so much into it.

Leon

 

Back on site the house rose block by block throughout our time there. With direction from our mason and our Fuller Center hosts, the team managed to get the home built in 10 days. I can only applaud their efforts and thank them for completing a home, only the second time I have achieved this in 22 builds. The first was in Sri Lanka in 2006. We would normally get it up to lintel height and then have to leave or finish off a building started by another team. So this was a milestone for me and a great result for the team.

The handover of the house keys

Unfortunately Craig is missing from this line up

 So now it is onto the next project being Thailand. Watch  this space for more information. If you want to see the full set of pictures in this album please click the following link.

https://goo.gl/photos/HqHMQdEQrCPCjqNu7

Defying the heat so a village has water

The following article was published by Developing World Connections in their monthly newsletter.  It is my thank you to them for allowing me to be part of this amazing project. I post it here so that I can share my thoughts with you.

Defying the heat so a village has water

Ray Fowell and his team went to one of the hottest, driest parts of India, Rajasthan, at one of the hottest times of the year: May. Despite temperatures reaching 50C, they worked full days to ensure a water-retention structure got built. Here is Ray's perspective. Rajasthan, Udaipur, Bargatua Kella, May 2016. Unless you have been there, unless you have experienced the heat and seen the dry arid land, it is hard to imagine how the village farmers exist in Rajasthan. Having been there and seen it, I still find it hard to imagine. They rely on one precious source provided by Mother Nature, but only if she feels like it. Rajasthan sits at the tail end of the monsoons. They race up from the south sometimes causing havoc on their way, but as they get further north they curl to the west over the parched lands of Rajasthan depositing the remnants of a once powerful storm. In 2014, there was very little rainfall, followed by a very poor 2015. Not enough to re-charge the wells that support the villages and irrigate the land. The life source depended on by the farmers is currently in short supply while they hope for a better result in 2016. When the rain comes, it rushes across the land so fast there is no time for the water to seep into the earth and reach down to replenish the water table and the wells. This is where a sub-surface dam comes into its own, holding back the water long enough for it to be of use to villagers and farmers alike.   Having had the privilege of working alongside the local people of Bargatua Kella, with a team of volunteers from DWC, having seen the smiles and laughter, the anticipation and hope that this dam will bring them the water they so need and deserve, after all the hard work that has been put into this project, I have no doubt this was the trip to be part of. If not only for the fantastic hospitality, the many laughs created through a non-common language, the songs, the dance, the many visits to villagers homes to meet their family to drink their chai and eat their snacks, the smiling faces, the colour of the women's saris, the hard work put in by everyone in the village to reach a common goal, if not only for that, then the fact that these beautiful people may have a better year after the monsoon, water for their wells and crops in their fields, all because a team of international volunteers appeared in their village, willing to pitch in and help them build a dream. And what do the volunteers gain from this experience? Unimaginable memories, new friends, a greater understanding of life outside their comfort zone, the chance to travel to parts of the world tourists will never see, and some they will. To be part of the change, to try something new, gain experience, develop skills, improve their career prospects, build confidence. The list is endless and the only way to find out what it will do for you is to go do it. Thank you Developing World Connections for allowing me to be part of it. Ray Fowell