Day 4 of the Build

We had a surf-side meeting with the Fuller Center last nite and Millard explained that they have between 40-50 Fuller Center convent partners (chapters) in the US and 14 outside the US. David Snell VP of Programs mentioned that Armenia and Nigeria will be very interesting countires to watch. The FCH looks like it will get somehting going in North Korea as well which is pretty amazing.

I meant to post this blog last nite but the computer in the hotel reception area was just tooo busy with other users. So I went to my room to lie down and never made it back to the lobby. I woke up fully dressed with the key lanyard still around my neck and all my clothes on. It made getting dressed this morning pretty easy. Anyway Dot Frank one of the volunteers who lives down the shore in NJ lent me her laptop to do this blog. The hotel has a good wireless signal - thank goodness for technology.

Still no rooves on the houses. They say we'll be doing that today and dedicating the houses at around 3 pm. It's hard to believe that this is the last day of the build. Time has flown by as it usually does on these blitz builds. Tomorrow I get the 10:30 am bus to the airport for a 1:30 flight back to NJ.

We went to see some of the homes where the new homeowners are presently living. One shack was made up of wooden poles covered with all types of plastic material and a dirt floor with an outhouse. I can't imagine what they do when it rains. Outside was a boy who they tell me was 5 years old taking care of his 2 younger siblings, one of which was an infant. Both parents work so these 3 kids are home alone pretty much alll day. This was a real eye opener when you think that this is how people are living in grinding poverty. Wow the next time I complain about some petty annoyance in the US, I'm going to think of what life here is like every day for these folks. I'm told that somehting like 28 families control 80% of the wealth in this country and that there is virtually no middle class. Very sad - but 16 families will have new homes this week. The site we are building on has room for an additional 40 houses which will be built in the future. Some there is some hope for the future.

There was a women at the site selling cloth bags she makes for $5 each. Thanks to Leroy Troyer the chairlan of the FCH who spread the word, she sold all her bags and was so delighted and grateful. She is deaf and her son helps her communicate.

Weel that's it for now - time to get ready for the bus. More later.