New School Building Construction - 9

Here is how the school building looked yesterday. Getting closer to the finished product now! The workers are plastering the outside of the building, then the building will be painted. We're hoping it will be finished in the next two weeks. Classes begin tomorrow; two classes will be meeting in temporary locations while waiting for the new classrooms to be ready.

New School Building Construction - Part 8

I'm now back in Parot after a wonderful break. The work on the new school building has progressed quite a bit in my absence. Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Most of the window shutters have been installed. Late yesterday afternoon the workers started attaching the aluminium roof panels. This work should go quite quickly.

Class Picture

My first year as a primary school teacher ended at the end of November (the school year here runs from February-November). It had its challenges, for sure, but overall it was a great year--I can't imagine not having had the privilege of teaching the 29 kids who made up my class. How I thank God for giving me this new assignment as well as the grace day by day to carry it out! I'm also so grateful to all who were partnering with me in this adventure by upholding me in prayer.

It wasn't easy to get a class picture because the few months of school it seemed there was always at least one student absent. Finally, one day in mid-November, they were all there, so my teammate Emily stood up on a desk and snapped some pics. Hard to get so many kids to smile, when most are not used to having their picture taken, plus a few weren't feeling well. Here's one that turned out pretty well, though.



My class, class 1B, was somewhat the equivalent of grade one in North America. Class 1A is the first level at the school; the kids learn how to read in Dinka, their mother tongue, and start to learn oral English. In Class 1B, the main goal for the year is to learn English phonics and how to read in English. They also do some Math and Social Studies. There were 17 girls and 12 boys in my class, ranging in age from 7 to 15. Here's a more relaxed shot of them.



 I'll end this post with a close-up of quite a smily bunch cropped from another of the pictures taken that day.

New School Building Construction - 7

I'm out on a break for the next month so am no longer on site, but my teammate Daniel is keeping me supplied with pictures of the building progress. This past week, the walls were finished and work began on the ring beam that goes around the building and forms the top of the window and door openings.

I'd like to give a shout out to Canadian relief and development ministry Word and Deed (wordanddeed.org), which is funding the cost of this new building. Word and Deed's mission is to address the spiritual and physical needs of people in the developing world in accordance with biblical principles. W&D is involved in a wide variety of projects including child sponsorship, Christian education, orphan care, disaster relief and vocational training. We're so grateful for their partnership in this project so that the school can grow and impact many more children during the coming years. 

Thanks so much, Word and Deed!

New School Building Construction - 6

The building is really taking shape! Here's where the work was as of the end of this past week.

New School Building Construction - 5

School is now over for the year, so I haven't been at the site much in the past week. I went by this morning and was impressed. Things are really moving along. The building slab and veranda slab are finished, and work has begun on the walls. :-)

Shoe Repair Boys

The other morning I came upon some industrious young businessmen working in the shade of a friend's home. They were repairing a pair of flip-flops, the most common footwear worn here.

Unfortunately, the flip-flops available in our local markets are generally not good quality, and since most people wear theirs all the time and walk everywhere, they break within a matter of two or three months.

Having to buy a new pair of flip-flops didn't used to be too big of a problem, but during the past months prices have risen sharply due to the deteriorating economic situation. Most things--food, clothes, soap, shoes--have tripled in price since the beginning of the year.

A basic pair of flip-flops that cost 8 South Sudanese pounds (SSP) ($1.33) in January now costs 25 SSP ($1.47). In dollar terms, the price is not much higher because the exchange rate has risen from 6 SSP per 1 USD to 17 SSP per dollar.

But for the majority of my neighbours, who are dealing only in SSP, this is a huge increase. I estimate that the average weekly income for many of my women neighbours who are the sole breadwinners for their families is only about 50 to 60 SSP.

The most common problem with flip-flops is that the thong that goes between the toes detaches from the sole of the shoe. The boys charge 2 SSP (12 cents at the current rate) to sew the thong back on to the sole--much, much less than the cost of a new pair.

Tools of the trade

It was very encouraging to see these boys' initiative and work ethic.