Nikhil’s Project Diary
The first two weeks of volunteers’ project work are challenging. Volunteers have to get used to the heat and drinking large amounts of water to prevent dehydrating and to be oriented to ongoing projects which are normally physical work of different types. More challenging is getting to work along side local ‘fundis�? (masons, carpenters, roofers, etc) who do not speak good English and who find it hard with volunteers accents. Fortunately Camp Kenya employed staff help with instruction and guiding.To make this process easier volunteers are divided in groups each assigned one Camp Kenya staff. Each group selects a team leader whose role includes responsibility to all tools and equipment used by the group, ensuring that team members have appropriate tools and equipment and that all group members are motivated and participates in project task. Group leaders submit both verbal and written daily reports of project activities which include achievements, challenges and problems. At the end of the week, leaders provide summary weekly reports. Nikhil Samuel an Australian volunteer was one of the first group leaders, his report is a diary of the daily project work life in the Camp:
‘Our team is called ‘Kisima�? (Well), Monday being our first project day we started with the staff quarters. This we feel will be our project as it is already half built and we will finish it off. Together we made some makeshift scaffolding and mixed our first batch of cement. Laying four rows of brick to finish of the inside walls. After lunch we headed into the bush with machetes. We managed to chop down a mini tree! With a drinking break in between we cleared about six or seven square feet of scrub for the fence.
During the evening we headed to the village for a bit of a wonder and others played soccer with the village kids.
On Tuesday we went to work putting up the fence. We mixed more cement sand and concrete and each carried large wooden fence posts. We used one wheel burrow of the mixture for each post and set about eight posts.
In the afternoon, we dug a trench around the library and laid stones in it, then poured cement within the stones, creating a walk way around the library.
In the afternoon we all met our village buddies who gave us all bracelets. With another game of football, we called it a day.
On Wednesday we were all able to choose what to do so part of the group cemented and rendered the library floor. The rest of us did barbed wire tensioning for the fence.
Thursday was our day off
Friday we dug more fence holes in the morning and fixed frames for the library roof in the afternoon.
On Saturday we finished off laying the bricks at the staff quarters.
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