Construction Almost Complete, Handing-Over Ceremony Scheduled

The Monday SGB meeting was postponed until Tuesday because there was not a sufficient number of parents to fulfill the parent component. At the Tuesday meeting I reiterated how little work was left on the project, how important this project was for the school, and how difficult it would be for them to organize the resources to complete the last few parts of the project once I leave. I showed them the stack of tax invoices that I had for the project as well as the itemized register of all of the materials. The most skeptical member looked at the stack of receipts and realized how much time it would take to examine them all and decided not to question the legitimacy. After being grilled as if I were sitting in front of a U.S. Senate panel at a Senate confirmation hearing, The SGB approved the measure! I received approval for R3159.20 to complete the project. I then realized on Wednesday that I needed 10 additional bags of cement which cost R650 that the principal approved without getting official approval from the SGB stating "I am an extremely powerful member of the SGB, they will listen to me"; with a Nancy Pelosi-esque demeanor.

On Wednesday we resumed construction and placed the main electrical cable and installed another part of the roof. Thursday we placed the floor topping for the cooking area and veranda. I'd never seen floor topping placed as a finishing surface before as I usually see a full slab poured followed by thorough polishing to create a finished surface. In this method, they mix cement and a fine river sand and a little water to create a dry mix; this serves as the base similar to a stone and sand mix on the roads. Then they put a thin layer of cement with water on top similar to how tar is placed on the roads. We let the topping set on Friday as we had to move the stove over on top of it to do the other room's floor topping.

Saturday was a very productive day. We placed the final pieces of the roof over the veranda, installed the garage door, installed the pedestrian door, placed the floor topping for the one storage room, and installed a large portion of the electrical wiring.

At the urging of the senior educator, we decided it was wise to put a door between the two storage rooms so that we could attach additional padbolts on the inside of the garage door to make it stronger. After I spent the morning unsuccessfully searching for a stone blade to cut an opening through the wall for a future door, we used a sledgehammer to knock out a section large enough to fit a wheelbarrow through which ended up making the wall look like it was hit by a grenade.

In order to place the floor topping in the storage room, we had to move the stove over to the cooking area; we only had only 6 guys to move it instead of the 8 who took a half hour to get it from the truck into the storage room. Our first attempt involved 3 guys on each end lengthwise using steel poles similar to pallbearers carrying a casket; since the stove was extremely top heavy and we didn't lift it up at the same rate, it crashed down on it's side and I cut my knuckle bad enough to require a band-aid. Our second attempt had two guys in the front and back with two others (one of which was me) on the sides to steady it. We successfully moved the stove into the kitchen without it tipping over or it sinking into the floor so there was much rejoicing.

We placed the floor topping late in the day and we didn't have enough time and they didn't have enough energy to place the other room's floor topping. Instead, we installed the pedestrian door. The base of the door frame had bulged out at the base resulting in a 15cm difference between the top and bottom. As a result, we had to sand down the very expensive door to make it fit "properly". It is a little off but it will do.

I have posted some pictures on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2251819&id=10505223&l=e31fe996f1

Since they worked hard and later than initially expected, I had agreed to pay them an extra R20 each (out of my own pocket). The principal explained to me that despite being a volunteer, as a project manager, I am expected to pay for additional expenses such as this. When we arrived at the tavern for happy hour, I paid for a first round and then gave the additional R20 to each of the workers. Unfortunately, the senior educator who helped transport the materials was there witnessing me handing out money and asked me when I was going to pay him the additional R100 for the transport that I still owed him. I escaped that discussion unscathed with an agreement to discuss it with the principal.

The conversation with the senior educator took a strange turn with spanking as discipline and and how spanking becomes abuse once anger is involved became the new topic. He also stated-which I thought was fairly inappropriate and offensive-that my mother was the one who was hard on me and my father really loved me more. Even further, he said that my mother has been sending me cookies in order to try and win me back! He also told me that despite greatly respecting what I am doing he doesn't respect me as a person! Although I was extremely offended by all of this, I realized that I have one more day of construction to complete this project, a week of interacting with this guy, and that was not the time or place to tell him how rude and incorrect his statement was.

I wisely left most of my money at home and could no longer pay for drinks so I left with two of my workers. On the way home, we crashed a party and got a free meal and a few more drinks that have left me full even till now. Overall it was a pretty good day.

On Monday we will pour the other room's floor topping, fill in any gaps in the masonry, install the sink and remaining electrical fixtures, paint the veranda poles and install the window panes. Thursday the school will hold an event to celebrate the completion of the construction as well as give me a sending off since school break starts at the end of this week and I will be leaving before school resumes. 4 weeks from tomorrow I'll be back in the U.S.!

Kitchen Project Update

This past week has been both very stressful and very rewarding. As posted previously, the money ran short and I am awaiting funds from the SGB to complete the project. The failure to meet financial restrictions at this point are due to my inexperience with project management and I have learned a lot through this project that will make me a better one in the future.

A problem I encountered on this project was that other than labor, there was no financial commitment coming directly from the community. As a result, when I asked them for ideas for funding the deficit, the two most disheartening responses I got were: 1)From one of the workers: "Go ask the people who gave you money to give you more money" and 2) From my senior educator, one of the SGB members: "This was your project, it's your fault it ran out of money, you should fund the deficit yourself".

The first can be attributed to lazy thinking that seems to embody the sentiment of many of the South Africans I've encountered who are just looking for a hand out and wasn't terribly shocking. The second, coming from a highly educated person who has been teaching for 20 years, who is considered one of the best primary school math teachers in the region. I have struggled with this man and his greed for the length of my service. He is a well-paid individual that seemed to surpass Ebeneezer Scrooge in his greed and stinginess. He is the man who overcharged me to rent his sound system for a celebration, threatened to off-load some construction supplies until I paid him a transport fee that bordered extortion, and wouldn't lend you a pair of pliers to pull a nail out of your bleeding hand without first receiving compensation.

Which is what made this week all the more surprising for me. We tried to hold an SGB meeting on Sunday (a week ago) but the numbers for donations I had originally received, what I had spent, and what I had left didn't add up so they (rightfully so) wouldn't give me the money that I needed.

Tuesday I went to Pretoria to submit most of the report with the receipts so that I could start getting it processed. However, when I left the office, I didn't bring copies of the receipts with me. When I went to hold the meeting with the SGB on Wednesday, they were unable to make a decision without all of the receipts to back up my claims. The miserly senior educator described above then did something extremely shocking, he spoke in favor of supporting me on the project! He explained that giving me money would be difficult since they would need to show a comprehensive financial report to auditors and the money would need to be transferred from another part of their budget that hasn't been released yet. He told me what would need to be done but then he didn't stop. He gave a 5-minute long monologue professing on behalf of himself and the school community-which he had previously claimed to not belong to despite living in the village, directly across from the school and teaching there for 20 years-how grateful they are with the work I had done. He said that all these years they never had a deep freezer and refrigerator-which were donated to the school by a national appliance retailer-and a beautiful kitchen facility and now because of my hard work and efforts, they have those things. And when I go to America and get a promotion, he didn't think it would be fair that I have a dark spot on my record.

I was awestruck but deeply moved. A man who keeps an angry flock of geese that seem to emulate him in his front yard, who I've struggled to form a positive relationship with over the past two years, has finally cracked and is supporting me!

My trip to Pretoria took longer than expected due to difficulty in getting a material quote from Build-It and transport from Pretoria being untimely so I had to call and postpone the meeting to Friday. When I arrived at school on Friday, the principal wasn't there so I reviewed the receipts and financial statements with the senior educator. He then informed me that the principal wasn't going to be at school that day so we had to postpone the meeting until Monday. As the educators filed into the office, each one gave me a big hug with the occasional mild jumping up and down to congratulate me on the progress. I called the principal and she said she had debriefed the educators on the status of the project on Thursday informing them that we were in the process of getting funds from the SGB to purchase the remaining materials; thus explaining their excitement.

The meeting has been postponed until tomorrow when all of the board members are going to be present. The entire staff is excited, the SGB is excited, and it seems that the project is becoming known in the Northeast Circuit. I was at the library unveiling ceremony at a school where another volunteer had just finished a project and one of the educators there found out who I was and told me that people have been talking about me and the project at Mnyamana and saying how amazing it is.

After approval from the SGB, we need to write letters to the circuit manager who will approve the transfer of funds from the school's current budget. The circuit manager has already delivered the compacting machine from Pretoria free of charge, and purchased 3 large bags of mealie meal (ground maize used to make pap) so I know he's excited and willing to do it; the principal has given him a heads up that the request is coming so he can be ready to approve that as soon as it hits his desk.

If all goes well, the money transfer will be processed on Tuesday and we can begin to finish construction on Wednesday or Thursday (depending on when the building material arrives).

However inconvenient this setback has been, it has provided me with an opportunity to deepen the impact of this project. The project was intended to result in the community taking ownership in the project through having the parents do the labor and having the school involved in the decision making. Since the school is now being forced to invest money in this instead of just waiting for it to be built by someone else, they should now take more ownership in the project. I more clearly and emphatically planted the idea in their heads that this was an investment and not just an expenditure. That if they support this and they put in the effort, they can and will make that money back and continue to improve the school.

Only 19 days left, your move Mnyamana SGB!

Kitchen Construction Almost Complete Part II

The project is now reaching its final stages and I anticipate a completion date of a week from tomorrow (Monday, September 13th). Delays and setbacks have resulted in going over the budget. My latest estimate is that I will be R2500 (approximately $350) over budget. I have put together a proposal and will be presenting it to the School Governing Body on Wednesday; I gave them a tour of the new facility and they were very impressed. They all are very excited about the project and want to see it through to completion so I am positive they will provide me with the money I need.

I posted some pictures on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2249621&id=10505223&l=619d6c4006

1 week until I'm finished with the project, 4.5 weeks until I leave South Africa, and 6 weeks until I finally get home!