Kidron Orphanage Project: THE DORMITORY CONSTRUCTION

View from the uphill
side of the orphan home

Tuesday 15 February

We arrived at the Kidron School & Orphanage dormitory site after 40 hours of travel more than a little weary, but had our passion reinvigorated after being enthusiastically greeted by the beaming faces of the children we have come to love, and upon witnessing the commendable progress that has been made by a dedicated Big John and his team of local labourers.

The surface area of the site had been levelled by the earthmovers, and strenuous digging by hand has demarcated the childrens’ future bedrooms, which they will share with two or three of their peers, instead of being corralled into one room altogether, which is the current scenario.

Local red bricks and cement (the latter being quite a precious commodity, with one bag equivalent to a week’s worth of labour from one local worker) are being swiftly applied to the exterior wall of the dormitory by the twelve local workers engaged from 6am until 7pm at night to do the job, under the watchful gaze of foreman and engineer Tony.

We were pleased to see that Big John, as the on-ground executor/project manager, is not only adamant about sourcing quality bricks at the cheapest prices, but is concerned for the security of the bricks once the workers leave the site at the end of the day, and has to this end minimised the potential for overnight theft by only ordering limited supplies and waiting for that supply to run out completely before reordering.

Having seen ample evidence of work undertaken, and correspondingly our confidence in Big John and the project having been fortified, we ventured into nearby Jinja for some delicious locally grown coffee and a proper meeting about financial accountability issues.

We are happy to report that John impressed us with his professional and comprehensive reporting and evidence of receipts, bank statements and ledgers. We also felt he really understood our high expectations for ongoing and detailed account of his expenses and decisions long after we leave Kidron for the second time. We have armed him with his own digital camera so he is able to photographically document the progress of the site and upload them via email fortnightly to help him achieve this.

On route home, we picked up a repaired wheel for one of the three wheelbarrows John has purchased to aid the workers building the dormitory. Upon our return home, it took us no time at all to surrender to some much-needed sleep, thus completing our first successful day back in Naminya, Uganda.