Mpalapande - a roof before the rains

Just one month ago, this is what the Mpalapande Primary School looked like.  The walls were nearly completed up to the rim beam.

Look at the amazing progress made by December 14, when a delegation from Bega Kwa Bega and the Iringa Diocese went out to inspect!

Here's the report received from Julia Hubbard, our connection in the BKB office.

The BKB Office [Julia Hubbard, coordinator for BKB/SPAS, and Rev. Lusungu Msigwa, coordinator for BKB/DIRA] along with Amos Mkuyu [Iringa Diocese construction project manager] and District Pastor Ambrose made a visit out to Mpalapande today.  The Ruaha road is still alright, so we made it out there in not too much time. As you can see from the photos, SAMA is making good progress, so much so in fact that they are requesting more funds to continue the work. 

We had a short meeting after touring the site where Pastor Eva Msigwa as well as several  [elders  of the] Masai were present along with the contractor.  Msigwa encouraged each person to share any comments or thoughts on the current state of progress.  One mzee [elder] shared that "they are working from the heart."  Other notable comments were that it really looks like quality construction (Amos mentioned that he was happy to see the framing for the ceiling was quite thorough and strong, see photo).  Both he and myself mentioned our concern about drainage.  The ground slopes towards the NW (the right side of the classrooms in the photo) and also seems like it could later on even affect the foundation.  It was suggested that SAMA work with Mkuyu to come up with some sort of drainage system to redirect the heavy rainwater. 

Then SAMA offered thanks to the community and everyone for being present, etc. and went ahead and shared the challenges that they are running into with a need for more funds.  

One thing that I was disappointed with is the state of the septic pit for the toilets.  They hit solid rock when they were digging and have continued to struggle to remove it.  A few times now, SAMA has said that this would be completed and it still isn't.  They were working on it today when we arrived, which was encouraging.  SAMA said that they should be finishing it in four days.  As you can see from the short video I took, you can tell it's back-breaking work.  We hope and pray they are able to complete it soon.

Sorry, I couldn't include the video here, but it shows a young man using a lot of strength and effort, and minimal tools, to break up the rock.

the pit for the latrines

From our perspective at SOTV, we are so grateful for the progress we see. We did not expect to see the stucco nearly covering the building, both inside and out.  That is often a next step after the roof. Floors would be finished after that. In these photos, we see walls and framing for the windows and doors also being in progress.

Our funding for this project comes from our congregation's generous support of the Capital Campaign.  Each month, the church council looks at the contributions that have come in, and allocates 5% of the distribution to this outreach project.  Some months we get $2000, other months more or less. We are grateful for every gift that has supported this project.

Together, we can do more at Mpalapande! Thank you for your gifts.

Postscript: an additional comment received from Pastor Msigwa

"Just an additional from one maasai mzee. He said when the project was proposed, he thought it will be just local construction not with this good standard. When I asked why he was thinking so he said because the school will be used by nomads  community he expected that we will just build something not to this standard. So he was very appreciative to the whole process. And he was happy that their children will go to this nice school."