Build Day One

Soostay all!

So build day one was an experience to remember. As you have read we were split into two groups for two different build tasks.
The Ag group, spearheaded by the never ending enthusiasm and power of Luke O'Brien, started the day with some very heavy lifting. The boys, with a little help from Bec, lifted and carted 16 solid concrete pillars to their resting places while the girls helped the monks and locals dig the holes for the pillars to sit in. This took up the majority of the morning and then we moved onto sandbagging just before lunch.
After lunch was very tedious; standing the pillars up, putting them down again and refilling the hole with sand and repeating several times. It is fair to say that at the end of the day there were some very tired faces and sore bodies as a result of all our hard work.
P.S - Luke was ready for round two by the time we arrived back at our hotel.


In the bike shed group, we first had to level out the dirt. While some people were doing that, others were carting rocks by using our hands and bags so that they were closer to the bike shed. When the dirt was all even we started to put the rocks down on top of the dirt. When half the bike shed floor was covered with rocks, we started to carry and drag bags of sand over to the bike shed to go on top of the rocks.
After moving the big pile of rocks and sand, the floor of the bike shed was covered. Now the floor needs to have cement covered over the sand. Even though some people ran out of water to drink, everyone still worked really hard :)

The evening consisted of very little. Everyone was keen to lay in air conditioned comfort, many opting for the wonderful massages on offer through our hotel. After dinner we made up our care packs for the orphanages and most then went straight to bed to rest at recoup for another day of hard labour today.

For those who aren't aware, all of the fundraising we did back home was funded all the materials for the complexes we are building over the next few days. The children, the monks and the villagers cannot thank us (students, teachers, parents and those who donated money) enough for all that we've done and are doing. It's an overwhelming feeling to know that we are changing lives with what we do.

It's time to sign off for another day and board the bus to take the very bumpy road (if you think the pot holes on the Murray Valley Highway, you should see these!) back down to the orphanage

Bec and Megan Cain