Wednesday

I can’t believe it’s March. I think one day I’ll wake up and be 80. Today was similar to yesterday. We went to a few villages and dedicated a few wells and a school, which was a lot of fun. The first town we went has the problem of being right on the highway. DANIDA (the Danish development agency) is widening the highway and apparently they promised to build a new building for the primary school on the town’s side of the road so the kids wouldn’t have to cross a dangerous stretch of road, but they’ve backed out due to lack of funds. We’re going to go back to them to see what they can do (or if they’re contractually obligated).

We then went to two other villages to commemorate a school we’re building and three wells, which was great. There was a big ceremony with all these school-children and the local chiefs and we also began to plan what we’ll do next. The Kiphart’s church in Chicago and the families there have given extremely generously, as has a foundation which Dick Kiphart is on the board of and they hope to continue this. We’re hoping to raise another fifty to eighty thousand dollars to spend on several projects, including completion (and expansion) of the school and the water project. I feel a bit bad for them, because every village we go to has great need of something and it can be overwhelming. This has something I’ve struggled with as well—you don’t want to say no to anyone, but you can’t do everything. Tomorrow we’ll get some time to sit down and plan things out and set some priorities.

Ok, enough for now.

It's now Thursday afternoon and I'm in town. I couldn't travel with the Kiphart's today because there was only one car, but it's no big deal, as they're going to places I've been to already and it gives me a chance to take care of a few things in town. But trading an air-conditioned government pick-up for a tro-tro sucks!