Ni Endelea

...meaning "it continues." You can say it if you haven't gotten over a cold (which I haven't) and someone asks you how you are, or how your work is going, etc. Basically, things are going on as before. I haven't posted pics of construstion for awhile because it doesn't seem like much is happening--actually it is, but since all the walls are up and roofs on for the most part, the changes aren't as dramatic. But I got busy this week so here's your first 2007 look at PHA!

The classroom administration building is progressing. You can see it's in various stages! There are parts where they've begun to do some finishing work on the cement on the outside, and yet you can also see that there is A LOT of structural work still going on. I find the process often very random--wouldn't you get the building built and then begin doing that smoothing and finishing? But I guess not.

I would have thought that the big construction would be the most time-consuming part (digging and moving dirt, building walls) but word here is that the finishing takes just as long. Apparently the finesse and eye for detail and quality is hard to find here so lots of time work has to be taken down and redone, something that we do quite often here as well. It's frustrating, but then we're reassured by those who have done this that it's common when building here.


What it does mean is that someone (Mark/Max) have to constantly evaluate the work being done and check for consistency, integrity, and quality. Even the head guys that are supposed to check for these things are used to just "putting something up" and either don't recognize or pay attention to things like bulging ceilings or crooked doorways. The harder things to spot or keep up on include knowing if the concrete is being mixed correctly so that bricks (and the buildings) will last or if the rebar has been installed properly! Those require reports that sometimes don't come in on time--but the building goes on!

I know it's the classrooms that are where so much of the learning takes place, but I think the star building on site will always be the dining hall. The roofline and shape makes is stand out on campus--in fact, many visitors think it's a chapel. It will be that, too--and an auditorium, and a movie theatre, and dance hall, and whatever we need to do as a community. It's still a shell, raw on the inside, but the exterior is taking shape very nicely.

Some of you may remember we were going to be moving into our house onsite in February. Somehow I doubt it--there seems to be a few details left to finish! One of the most difficult things we've encountered in living and working (mostly working) here is the culture of deference to your superiors and saving face. When mistakes are made, people often avoid you (they don't show up, they "run out of minutes" or have phone "problems" that prevent them from being contacted) or they put their heads down and don't offer any explanations or reasons. If it's a supervisor, he will often call in someone else and berate them rudely and put the blame on that person, whether or not they are the cause. When a superior demands something, they agree to do it, even if they know they won't do it. In the face of deadlines, if something else comes up, even something that can be predicted, they deal with that thing first. It's hard to explain how many times we've been "burned" because we took what someone said as something that would actually happen, and then realize they never had any intention of doing it. I'm sure you can imagine how this comes across to our American eyes and ears, we who are used to receiving and delivering much more direct messages--that people are dishonest, or lazy, or liars. What we are learning is that it is often none of that--it is simply the way things are done here. It is the aspect of life that will burn you out so quickly if you decide to buck this system. We've tried rewarding people with extra money to do something on time or well (personally, not on the worksite) or deducting pay when someone is not performing, but neither works. People either will or they won't. It's that simple--simple, but not at all easy! And while we are getting much better personally at managing ourselves and our reactions and attitudes, it's very difficult to manage our American work deadlines and expectations with the reality of how people do work here. We often feel like we have to "make" something happen. We want to get down to the business of working with kids and teachers again, but we also want the school be built well and ready on time so we open well, too!
Project 640 arrived in Tanzania last night and will start 6 days of work at the site on Monday. Last year they were invaluable in getting our tree planting started (to date, we've planted over 26,000-that's right--acacia and other trees and almost 3,000 fruit trees!) and working on our beautiful banda. This year they will be tremendously helpful in continuing to process our library books donated by Books for Africa and working on a large herb garden. The herbs will be used to teach our students and cooks how to add different flavors to their food (I'm not saying Tanzanian food is bad, but it does tend to run to the very bland). It would also provide materials for potential future small entrepreneurial projects such as soap or candlemaking, or learning to use herbs for medicinal purposes. Plus it will look beautiful on our campus! P640 will also be visiting a program for adolescent street boys that teaches basic skills and literacy as well as two other Tanzanian secondary schools to get an idea of what education looks like here and how people are working to make a difference in the lives of children. Check back in the next week or so to see the fruits of their labors!

As always, we have deeply needed and appreciated your support of us personally and of the work PHF is doing. Deadlines may come and go, but we have relied on your prayers, words of encouragement, visits, and financial support more than you can know. Some of you have been supporters of PHF since its beginning and we know you are as anxious as we are to see the school welcome its first class. That day is coming! We know our efforts here will change the lives of the students that will attend and the teachers that will work with us and that gives us the light at the end of the tunnel of the difficult days!