This week has come with many challenges; I have had a difficulty sleeping, many volunteers have left Mukti, and there have been set-backs to my fencing project.
Katie, Dave and Di returned home to Michigan. Alan and Elsa finished work on Wednesday and left Thursday bound for Australia. Faith has left to travel Nepal. I am the last non-Indian volunteer here before the summer heat arrives (The food is also getting hotter as the westerners leave).
Alan and I had a few salary workers join our project to build the fence. In two days Alan and I wired two strong fences and a gate. The three local workers wired one fence and destroyed many of the concrete posts. I was left in a difficult situation because Alan had finished and I could not trust the quality of work from these other men. I also need to finish the project next week.
On Thursday I drew several fencing diagrams. I took the head of maintenance and the workers out to the fence posts they had destroyed for a talk. We talked about the importance of the fence; we also talked about new ways of working. These workers don’t take personal criticism well. It was also very hard to convey tone quickly through a translator. These workers are not committed to working hard. That day we did two small fences and I was pleased with their improved quality of work, but not their speed.
On Friday I ditched two of the salary workers for two previously mentioned contractors Meinudin and Saddam. I was expecting to complete one large fence that day. We completed three fences. This was a fantastic result! I also used ‘Pintu’ - pictured below. Pintu has a mental disability. The others often yell at him or hit him because his brain does not work as well as theirs. They will even hit him in front of me. I almost suggested that I should start hitting them because their brains do not work as well as mine.
Not bad for boy with a disability. He worked very hard for me that day.
Friday night I did not sleep again. At this point I was grumpy. On Saturday morning none of my workers arrived (salary or contractor), I was now feeling frustrated. I began by making the four remaining gates when I found some of the fence had been damaged by trespassers. I was now annoyed, and I stopped to repair the fence. While making repairs to the fence I slipped on some human mess and had to wipe it off shoes, gloves and trousers. I was now exceedingly angry.
The local people have been entering through a gap in the existing external fence to cut across the land, or in most cases poo. The plan was to fix the gap in time. I was steaming so I stormed over to the gap with all of my off cuts of barbed wire and some tools. I spent all of my anger on lifting heavy boulders and stones to block the gap. You can tell that this was built by a desperate and angry man!
This lizard was watching me make the angry wall.
A cow died last night. I do not know the cause of death but feel that it is important to finish the fence before I leave.
I did not work this afternoon and today was really wasted. I also have a bite mark on my side the size of a ten cent piece which I am not pleased about.
Katie, Dave and Di returned home to Michigan. Alan and Elsa finished work on Wednesday and left Thursday bound for Australia. Faith has left to travel Nepal. I am the last non-Indian volunteer here before the summer heat arrives (The food is also getting hotter as the westerners leave).
Alan and I had a few salary workers join our project to build the fence. In two days Alan and I wired two strong fences and a gate. The three local workers wired one fence and destroyed many of the concrete posts. I was left in a difficult situation because Alan had finished and I could not trust the quality of work from these other men. I also need to finish the project next week.
On Thursday I drew several fencing diagrams. I took the head of maintenance and the workers out to the fence posts they had destroyed for a talk. We talked about the importance of the fence; we also talked about new ways of working. These workers don’t take personal criticism well. It was also very hard to convey tone quickly through a translator. These workers are not committed to working hard. That day we did two small fences and I was pleased with their improved quality of work, but not their speed.
On Friday I ditched two of the salary workers for two previously mentioned contractors Meinudin and Saddam. I was expecting to complete one large fence that day. We completed three fences. This was a fantastic result! I also used ‘Pintu’ - pictured below. Pintu has a mental disability. The others often yell at him or hit him because his brain does not work as well as theirs. They will even hit him in front of me. I almost suggested that I should start hitting them because their brains do not work as well as mine.
Fence
Meinudin
Pintu
Pintu - 'Water Boy'
Not bad for boy with a disability. He worked very hard for me that day.
Friday night I did not sleep again. At this point I was grumpy. On Saturday morning none of my workers arrived (salary or contractor), I was now feeling frustrated. I began by making the four remaining gates when I found some of the fence had been damaged by trespassers. I was now annoyed, and I stopped to repair the fence. While making repairs to the fence I slipped on some human mess and had to wipe it off shoes, gloves and trousers. I was now exceedingly angry.
The local people have been entering through a gap in the existing external fence to cut across the land, or in most cases poo. The plan was to fix the gap in time. I was steaming so I stormed over to the gap with all of my off cuts of barbed wire and some tools. I spent all of my anger on lifting heavy boulders and stones to block the gap. You can tell that this was built by a desperate and angry man!
This lizard was watching me make the angry wall.
A cow died last night. I do not know the cause of death but feel that it is important to finish the fence before I leave.
I did not work this afternoon and today was really wasted. I also have a bite mark on my side the size of a ten cent piece which I am not pleased about.
Andrew - Know that I am Praying for you in the coming week - that you may sleep and find satisfaction in the work progress. Ecc 2: 24
ReplyDeleteAs Akka Swerna says "God knows"