We're Back!

Doubt there are many left out there to read this after a long absence of writing. Got a note of reminder/chastisement from Elizabeth this morning letting me know the last entry was April 23. Oh well--no excuse, except my month spent at home was probably not what anyone wanted to hear about.  Ron returned on May 16 (we were both scheduled to return), but I was delayed until May 31.  It was hard--he was miserable in the heat, no children yet returned, and concern for me. I knew it was difficult for him to be here alone, but he is the best foreman around in regards to our building projects, and he had to come back. Jenny allayed some of his concerns that I too was miserable when she said I was eating out every day at Neiman Marcus, Rothchilds, Javiers, Pascals etc. with family and friends.  It was also 70 degrees in Laguna, versus 100+ in India. However, we have been happy to be back together, and I'm just happy to be here.

The children returned on Sunday, for a return to school on Monday, June 1. We were so happy to see them back. They have returned with a variety of illnesses, wounds, and a few young children with a lot of tears. (How we are missing Dr. Karl Kirby and "nurse" Vickie Gibb.)  Life in the colonies may be fraught with conditions that are less than ideal, but mom or dad, or a loving grandparent or aunt or uncle, are hard to leave.  The children are very brave, as are the parents who seem so stoic, but are often seen out in the mango grove after leaving their child, sobbing all alone. It's touching, to say the least.  I will write more about the children next week and include a picture of them with their new black shoes and socks, which are now a requirement as part of the uniform. They look sharp!

The volunteers also arrived.  We have 14 here--4 men and 10 women.  They are darling, and working hard in this incredible heat.  The program, as designed by Amy Antonelli, and now being implemented by five coordinators is running so smoothly.  We feel lucky to be a part of the action with them.  More to come on this outstanding group of young people.

Today was an exciting day for the building process.  With an early morning puja and a huge increase in the numbers of workers, they began the around the clock task of pouring the 2nd story of the school floor.  It's so incredible to watch--like toys I remember where you wind them and everything begins to move.  The concrete is mixed on the ground--1 bag cement, 3 buckets of gravel and 2 of sand--in the big mixer.  A large bucket goes up and down which receives the newly mixed concrete and rises up to the top where the mixture is put into the dishes the women carry on their heads to be dumped at the appropriate spot. It's round and round--for 24 hours or more it will continue until the entire floor is poured.  They are all walking on tied rebar so they watch carefully not to fall as they carry their heavy loads.  The contractor told me there were about 80 people working on that job.  There are still others working on the guest hostel and the dining/kitchen block.  Progress is being made. 

Our new Reverse Osmosis  (RO) Plant is nearly completed, and the equipment will arrive this next week.  The  plant sits between the two hostels on a concrete platform that houses the pumps for the water tanks.  A small structure has been completed for the RO.  It got painted a couple of days ago--like everything in India, the yellows don't quite match but they are close.  We will be so happy to have clean water, and be able to do away with these big plastic bottles that clutter us up everywhere.  We did get a lot of painting done in the hallways and rooms, with some vivid new Indian colors on the walls!

More soon--hope somebody is still out there checking to see if the Hansons are still "Walking in the Sand."

Pictures:  1) Making concrete, 2) Parade of workers (mostly women) carrying concrete to dump, 3) Getting ready, 4) Guest hostel-entrance, 5) Dining block, 6) New RO plant between hostels