Phase 3 - The Final Phase
After another successful changeover the teams get ready for phase 3. We try and fail to get a group picture - where is Mayte?
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| The VMs of 23A - minus one! |
Julie is allocated to a Community Resource Project and their team will be constructing a new classroom at a school called Kjakou Sulo. Her fellow VMs are Raul and Louis - a great team! The school is in the indigenous region - just over an hour away from Fieldbase. On a map it is only 15km away, as the crow flies, but takes over a hour as the roads go up and down a few mountains! I am convinced there are no straight roads in Costa Rica - where are the Romans when you need them?
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| Raul, Louis and Julie -Alpha 3 VMs |
Their equipment is carried in a 4x4 and dropped off at the school but unfortunately the last 4km of is pretty steep and rocky and too dangerous for the bus - so its a lovely hike for the group, with their backpacks!
The group will be sleeping in some of the existing classrooms
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Classrooms on the left where the Volunteers and VMs sleep.
The hut on the right is a traditional building used for socializing |
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| Julie's "bedroom" - shared of course! |
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| This kitchen was built by the last Raleigh Group |
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| Cooking on gas - but no electricity so no lights! |
The group settles in and start the project. The ground where the new classroom is to be built needs cleaning/preparing, foundations dug, sand brought up from the river (I kid you not!), cement mixed by hand and foundations poured. The classroom is basically a concrete base with a wood framed structure. The wood has to be sorted, ends squared off, cut to size, etc.
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| Clearing the ground |
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| Mixing the concrete is back-breaking work |
The design and construction process is overseen by Don Raffa - he have been involved with Raleigh projects for many years and works really well with the volunteers.
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| Base is starting to take shape |
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| Selecting, and prepping the wood |
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| Raffa & Dulce cooking pancakes for the group |
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| Julie getting the "DIY" bug |
Luckily for me Raffa was making pancakes on one of the days I visited the group! I did help with mixing and pouring some concrete - it is really back breaking work - but hopefully I worked the pancakes off.
The PSV are really fun. We take treats for the volunteers (candy, fruit, marshmallows, etc) and some entertainment - this time a movie and karaoke songs - who doesn't like a good sing along!
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| Alpha 3 - Kjakou Sulo |
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| Its good to be together |
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| Splattered from above! |
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| Group's flags |
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| Amazing mural |
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| Job Well Done! |
