Day ten

The last day of the house building project in Swaziland was suddenly upon us. We departed at eight for El Shaddai for the last time. This time we aimed to clear up the inside of the house as well as the building site. Last bits of snagging had to be done before we could say goodbye and draw a line under another successful Harrow charity project abroad.

The zinc was finally all fixed to the roof at 3 pm and the boys had plenty of time to play with the children. Ali had a chance to hand out the toddlers’ bags and they were awarded with sweets from Andrew before taking back the bags, to be kept safely for the new house.

A photo session in front of the house that the boys built was up next. Sprits were high but 24 very sad boys embarked on the mini buses to leave El Shaddai for the last time. The Harrow boys really got attached to the orphans and formed strong bonds with the unprivileged children. That said Charmain really is a godsend to these children and created a near normal life for all of them. The house was built in time as the deadline of August, set by the government, to provide adequate accommodation to the toddlers.

Back at the hotel, the boys were entertained by tribal dancers whilst having a last Swazi meal.

Day nine

A lovely sunny day was bestowed upon us and the view over the mountains, on our way to El Shaddai more significant than ever!

The house was standing, but the corrugated zinc had to be fixed to the roof and that was unfortunately…….a task for the men. They had to knock in a hundred nails each just to complete half of the roof. The boys were doing odd jobs such as filling the drain on the sides, finishing off the last row of the drain, assembling the bolts and washers and passing on zinc plates.

At 1pm the ladies from the orphanage brought us lunch which was delicious! It was cooked in a black pot and consisted of chicken, rice and crushed corn and beans. The carrot salad rounded of the very filling meal after which the boys were summoned to the church. Here the senior children entertained us with lovely songs and the Harrow boys had a chance to repay them with a version of “Forty years on". The young man in the picture, could not walk and doctors believed that he would never walk in his life. He, however, recovered fully, without surgery, and is one of the top five students in his school.

The boys had a chance to visit the children and it was obvious that they were all dressed in the clothes that we gave them. We decided to have a half day and after an endearing speech by the lady in charge of the orphanage, Charmain Coertzen, we departed for the hotel to go on a boat ride. After a relaxing trip on the Maguga Dam, we headed for the swimming pool where we enjoyed a well prepared barbeque. However, by 8.30 pm, most boys were off to bed and enjoying the comfort of their warm beds. The last day of the project was rapidly approaching.

Day eight

Today, we woke up with the sun beaming through the big windows in our chalets and by 8 am, the time that we usually depart; it was already 20 degrees Celsius. Mrs Jackson and I made yet another trip to Piggs Peak as the builders needed plastering equipment, the boys needed sun block, deodorant and lip balm and off course more food! We also found plastic push along scooters and on impulse bought 5 for the toddlers. This resulted in very happy little boys playing on these until sunset.

The hardest job of all was to execute the roofing. Unfortunately, this was a task for the men, as they had to be on top of the roof. A few boys were passing on tools to the men, some were still building the drain and others digging the trench to the drain or sifting sand for plastering and last but not least, the mixing team were mixing concrete and mortar for different tasks.

The boys were not all occupied fully and some spent lots of time with the orphaned toddlers and others admired the wood carvings of a local craftsman.

Day seven

We were promised a 28 degree day but instead we received a moderately cold start in the morning, a bit of wind, very thick mist and then finally, the sun managed to find its way through the clouds.

The trusses needed more reinforcement after which they were hoisted up one by one and fitted on the walls. This was a team effort as these structures are heavy and must be lifted quite high. Then the distance between them, as well as the alignment, had to be carefully measured before they could be fixed to the walls. Within a three hour spell, the house had a skeletal roof and the picture that we have all carried in our minds of the house, emerged as the day progressed.

Unfortunately, there was some very technical work still needed to be done which could only be carried out by the beaks and Mr Smith on top of the roof. We could finely say that the trusses were in place and fitted properly by sunset.

The drain was built by 4 pm and the three boys dedicated to this heavy duty task had a welcomed break. Cement, mortar and concrete mixing all carried on as the six days preceded today. Boys and workmen tackled the plastering of the inside walls and finished one room completely.

More trench digging was needed and this time it was aimed at connecting the trench to the drain. The boys involved came across massive rocks and had to remove this before proceeding.