It has taken a few days to get the internet access sorted out, but no that we’re back online blog updates should be more regular. Our direct flight from London to Rwanda made the trip to Kabale much more manageable and we arrived on schedule at lunchtime last Friday. After a short break to change and freshen up we walked across the road to Amasiko and enjoyed lunch with the staff and children – it was good to greet old friends again and meet some of the children that we had heard much about in recent weeks.
After lunch, we jumped into the AAU car and headed off for the Amasiko Halfway House building site. Even though the first team of students from Ljubianja University in Slovenia had only been on site for a week they made really impressive progress – the ground had been releveled, the foundations had been dug and foundation walls erected. A compactor was busy on the softcore and all is ready for laying the concrete floor slabs next week.
In addition to the students, who were hard at work in the blistering sun, there was a large contingent of local labourers who were busy digging, carting soil and making the innovative interlocking bricks that will form a key part of of the construction. These bricks do not need to be fired and so are environmentally friendly, use next to no mortor and do not need to be plastered, so all in all are relatively cost effective. The Slovenian team are experimenting with using metal strips between the layers of bricks to provide additional stability – all exciting stuff.
Update on Monday – progress continues at a breathtaking pace and the team plan to start laying the main concrete slab tomorrow
Leave a Reply