Day 12!

Day 12 was very eventful for all the boys, starting with the release of our ATARs at 1:30am this morning. Some chose to see it this morning, whilst others stayed up late to see it. One of us (Sarge), went the extra mile and stayed up all night, going on to struggle throughout the day and sleep through our evening Mandalorian sesh. The mood was uneasy and full of mixed emotions as we contemplated our futures.

Even though the morning was full of discussion and support for one another, there was work to be done and we ventured off to our second last day of work. Whilst the work was slow, consisting of passing concrete as workers put the finishing touches on the brickwork and cementing the floors – it gave us the opportunity to get to know both the workers who are helping us build the houses as well as the people we are building them for.

That afternoon the entire group gathered to try and teach at the local primary school. Whilst it was challenging at times due to the language barrier, it was an experience the boys will never forget as we taught maths, colours and parts of the body. As the lunch bell rang at the school, each one of us  was treated like a celebrity as hundreds of kids took out their pen and book and asked us to write down our names – and those who didn’t have a book asked us to write on their hand. It took almost 30 minutes for each of the kids to get our names down, creating a real buzz in the school yard.

The next part of the day, we drove 20 minutes to visit a children’s hostel we had been to earlier on the trip. The children all remembered us and we made our best attempts at remembering their non-western names. The kids gave us a tour of their houses and we were all a bit overwhelmed to witness 10 children looked after by 1 host-mother, all sharing a tiny room to sleep in and a few bits of furniture – yet we were offered the upmost hospitality as we were given tea and light food. Games in the yard and a great time followed.

All in all, today was a massive day that took every member of this trip on a rollercoaster of emotions, but at the end of the day it is all worth it to see the smiles on the kid’s faces!

James & Toby