Sunday 24 April 2011

Street boys helping to make bricks


Some of the street boys have been helping to make bricks, which are then used for further building work.

(1) They dig the soil and press it into molds.

(2) These "soft" bricks are then dried in the sun.

(3) Then they are stacked up in a kiln-shape, with a hole at the bottom for the fire. (4) When the kiln is complete (this one looks a bit amateurish and rough on top, but they are just children!), banana leaves are spread over the top, and wood is shoved into the hole at the bottom, set alight, and covered up - it can burn for two or three days.

(5) When the banana leaves catch fire, the bricks are cooked! Then - when it has cooled down - it can be dismantled and the bricks can be used.
It is good that the boys can actually make a contribution towards the work!








Thursday 14 April 2011

Street boys still scrabbling in the rubbish

Two little street boys in Kasese scrabble in a charred rubbish dump. I think this dump has been burnt at some time, and they are seeing if they can find scraps of charcoal which they are saving in a plastic shopping bag, to see if they can sell it for a few shillings. Better, I suppose, than doing what they so often have to do - search the dumps and skips for something to eat. Windows and doors: There is progress with installing steel doors and window shutters, which can be seen here. But these shutters are proving to be a good deal more expensive than the price originally quoted a year ago, £65 each. In fact they cost over £100. So I may have been over-optimistic in my last post, hoping that the £3,000 recently sent out will complete all the shutters and the internal doors too.

All contributions welcome! www.justgiving.com/kasesestreetkids is one way. Or contact us - chriscjenkin@aol.com.

Tuesday 5 April 2011

When will the Hostel be finished?

Several people have asked us recently, "When do you expect the Hostel to be completed?"

There is no answer except - "it depends entirely on how the money-raising goes."

The £3,000 sent out in March should pay for all the doors - internal and external - and window grilles.

We still have about £4,500 in UK, and when that is sent out - depending on Alan's inspection of progress, accounts, etc - it should allow all the electrics (including a large solar panel on the roof) to be installed, and a good deal of the plumbing, drainage etc.

The next item would be floors: at present the floor is earth, and once the under-floor pipes and cables are installed a concrete floor will be laid - and we have no price for that yet. But cement is expensive in Uganda for some reason.

The final big one is rendering of walls - inside and out. Expensive - but no estimates yet.

However I think we could defer that stage and get furnishings as soon as the floor is finished, so that we can invite the kids in. They don't need nicely plastered walls from the start!

Just to remind you what the building looks like: