After completing all of our construction goals last week, we were so excited to finally have an opportunity to spend some time with the village children. We held a day camp for three days that got the children involved in various classes such as arts & crafts, sports, dance, english, hygiene & health, and computers. On the last day we held a closing ceremony where the children could present what they learned or the creation that they made in class. After a packed, fun-filled week and a half we were extremely sad to say goodbye.  

I'm excited to report that we have completed the huge construction projects that were planned for week one! From teaching us how to mix cement, weld, and stretch a fence with a pitchfork, the villagers helped us increase our efficiency by at least 50%. The fence was up and secured in no time! Some of the playground toys also needed to be re-secured with cement and other reinforcement. Once that was completed the area was flooded with children eager to explore and play. There's nothing more rewarding than seeing huge smiles on all of the children's faces.

After finishing up construction our entire team decided to do a little exploration, scaling up some of the surrounding mountains and venturing to some of the villagers houses to get a better idea of how they live and to hear their story.

We've made it to Day 3 of construction and so far so good! We've made an immense amount of progress with the playground reaching completion and the fence project steadily approaching its half-way point. We are overwhelmed with the amount of support we have received from the villagers, with many of them willing to pick up a shovel or a paint brush to help us reach our goal. Although we have made loads of progress I must admit that we have reached a few roadblocks along the way. In the beginning some of the villagers whose houses neighbored the school were concerned about the boundaries we were setting with the fences. After much negotiation we reached a consensus amongst the villagers as to what part of the land would be appropriated to either side.