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August 01, 2006
Building a stronger home for Charles and James
1 August 2006 I went to visit Charles and James! We are moving forward with plans to plaster his home with cement, install a cement floor and veranda, and possibly paint the exterior. I went with one of the TASO Mbale counselors, Robert, and the driver, Enos. First, we stopped at the primary school to pick up Charles. He was not at school today, so his younger brother, Joseph, escorted us to their home. One of the teachers, Issa, came along to help assess costs of construction.
I was happy to see that they live on a decent piece of land, have three pigs, one dog, and a 4-room house. The house does not need to be rebuilt...this is good.
We began touring the home and estimating costs. Neighbor women with their babies in their arms, children, and some of Charles' brothers gathered around to listen and watch as Robert and Issa calculated the amount of cement and sand needed. James smiled when he saw me; he looked better than he did when I met him a couple weeks ago. James will start ARVs as soon as his TB subsides.
He is taking medicine for his TB now - I saw it in one of the rooms, neatly placed on a chair next to the jerry can of water and a bottle of Waterguard (water purifier). I saw other things in the house that exhibited the tremendous love Charles has for his brothers - six toothbrushes sticking out of the mud-brick walls, mosquito nets hanging above the two mattresses, neatly kept kitchen, clean dirt floors, and an Addungu (traditional Ugandan harp) lying next to the chair slash table. He is so responsible! Issa said Charles misses school often...he has too much work to do at home.
Charles finally arrived from the market and smiled wide when he saw us. We told him about the plans to cement his home and the poultry project. He reverted to dad mode and concentrated on the discussion of his home's repairs. James went straight to Charles' side, and he was welcomed with loving arms.
I gave Charles and his brothers one of the soccer balls...thanks Colin!
The estimates for the project were much higher than I expected. Cement is 18,000 Ush per bag, and we may need 30 bags, plus labor, plus sand to mix w/ cement for floor, plus transport of supplies, and maybe some paint. It will cost around $700 (the teacher's estimate was $1000). James needs to sleep on a cement floor - he is so vulnerable to bacteria and disease and living in a clean house is one way he can avoid contracting deadly opportunistic infections. Tomorrow, we will meet with the building engineer that is working on a project at TASO. We'll take him to the house so he can give us a more reasonable estimate. We will try to find ways to reduce the cost. The goal is to start construction before the weekend - it'll take about 3 or 4 days to complete.
On Thursday, we'll visit all of the families participating in the poultry project.
If you have time, send a Giant Eagle or Michael's gift card to Camp Sunrise :)
Posted by kmf23 at August 1, 2006 09:23 AM
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Comments
I love you kel!!! I am so proud of you~Maria
Posted by: Maria at August 11, 2006 05:00 PM
I love you kel!!! I am so proud of you~Maria
Posted by: Maria at August 11, 2006 05:00 PM
I love you kel!!!I am so proud of you!!~Maria
Posted by: Maria at August 11, 2006 12:24 AM
i'm doing my best to seek out donations for your new friends in uganda and the poultry project...3 wonderful people - Lorena, Mario, and Genarro gave money and i am leaving shortly to go around to the areas businesses to ask for their help. great pictures - love you
em
Posted by: emily at August 3, 2006 12:45 AM