Work site photos - The bunkhouse site

Yesterday afternoon and today, I’ve been working at a site where we are building temporary housing. It’s a joint project between many different groups, including All Hands. These are not meant to be permanent housing areas, just place where people who have lost their homes can stay for a while.

This is the sign for our bunkhouse work site

The building materials are not of high quality; we’ve found it a challenge to find beams and boards that are anywhere in the vicinity of straight. It’s not easy to put together something strong and safe with warped wood. The particular building my group is working on today is the only structure on the site where the floor is two different levels. Rather than even out the (very) rolling ground, it was decided to make a sort of bi-level building. The two levels are only one step’s difference, but it’s been a headache to work around. It’s been said a few times on site that this house is being made with LOTS of love, and a few loving mistakes.

This is the inside of one section of a bunkhouse

The units are SMALL. They are a little smaller than a small bedroom. Entire families will claim a single unit. It’s very tiny, but people here make the most of the tiny space.

This is the unit from the outside. Each unit has one door and one window on each side of it.

The area where we are working is near a bunch of little ramshackle houses. There are hundreds of children running around, and they love to say hi to us when we pass by. Some of them are absolutely adorable.

Some of the children who live near where we are working!

I tried to take some photos of the housing where they live, but only one really turned out well.

This is a house near where we are working. It's not a good representative of the ones we pass, but it shows you the sort of temporary feel that most of them have.

It’s very hot today, but there’s a nice breeze blowing. Everyone is really appreciative of the wind, because otherwise, the sun just BEATS down on you. Hydration is a MUST. We drink water constantly. Dehydration is a real danger, and something they are constantly trying to prevent.

This is a shot of the bunkhouse we're working on, with some of my team members and some local workers.

I’m off to lunch, with the crowing of the roosters and laughter of fellow volunteers as my background soundtrack.

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