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Diary - Saturday, January 11, 2003
The time has flown by here and I see by the date that we are almost
half way through the first month of this New Year. Needless to say,
we have been continuously occupied since I last sent off an update
of our activities. Foremost is that we have finally cleared all
of our goods through customs with only a couple of minor breakages,
so we are impressed to say the least. Consequently we are on our
way to opening the center on the 20th of this month. This is, in
a way, hard to believe as it has indeed been quite a long and sometimes
arduous path to this place we are now approaching. However, we are
very proud of our efforts and we have to take this opportunity once
again to thank all of you who have contributed in so many ways to
the success we have experienced so far. This really is a great concept
unfolding and be sure that many people will benefit from this energy
we are expending. As I mentioned before, we had hoped to do a grand
opening with the president and certain officials however we have
had to delay this because of time constraints and some communication
difficulties we have experienced with the local development committee.
We still plan to have a more formal opening ceremony however at
this point it will probably be in a month or so.
We have begun to cook our own food now, which is a real treat, and
soon we will be bringing in a local woman we know to orientate her
to the appliances and teach her some different cooking skills so
that when the first volunteers arrive she will be able to offer
up some great meals. Actually there is quite a wonderful selection
of food here and apart from lettuce most things are available. Pat
has established a pretty extensive garden and soon we will have
lots of lettuce to work into our salads. :-) Lately we have been
enjoying fresh fruit juice, as there are oodles of pineapple and
mangoes at the moment. Certainly one of the perks of being here
is the fresh, tree ripened fruit that is seasonal and it seems always
available.The guys are still working on laying out tiles for the terraces and walkways and we have just started the construction of a compost making station on the south west side of the property so there is always something on the go here it seems. Trying to get things finished is sometimes like a dog chasing its tail, you get so close and yet never quite there. We appreciate the lessons in developing patience and dropping our expectations of how things are supposed to be. Anyhow, we continue to progress and we are looking forward to the continued evolution of this baby we have conceived. Tuesday, January 14, 2003 It's
a clear but once again quite windy morning, I have my coffee in
hand and will be heading out to continue with my painting project
in the clinic soon. As usual, there are a lot of last minute details
to complete with any building project and this one is no exception.
We are hoping to mount all the light fixtures in the clinic over
the next day or so, that's if I get the painting done. :-) There
are still some bits of furniture to order, but other than that we
are set to go. All is looking good and coming together nicely. It
will, as much as I hate to say, be nice to have a bit of a regular
schedule in the clinic, as seeing patients and trying to focus on
other jobs needing attention is not ideal.We are planning to head into town tomorrow or the day after to do our shopping run. Trips to town are generally pretty frantic, as we make sure that we have a full agenda of things to do. Also town is a busy place and usually several degrees warmer than out here at the coast, so we always feel relieved to get back into the sea breezes that are such a constant companion for us here in Jambiani. I have enclosed some pictures with this update. They are generally of the accommodation, however there is a couple of the clinic as well, so I hope they give you a bit of an idea of how things are progressing.  Pat
continues to tend to her gardening and is planting all sorts of
things. It will look great when it has had a few months to mature
and the breezes have backed off a bit. Actually, the sea breezes
are always stronger at this time of the year as the monsoon changes
direction. In another week or so they will back off to a gentler
state and then it will get quite calm. In March/April, we anticipate
the onset of a wetter period of time, however it really is not much
of an issue in Jambiani, as we only get about one week of rain.
It's actually a very pleasant change for us and we appreciate all
the different cloud patterns and colors that accompany this period.Anyhow, I think it's time to get on with the painting, so until the next time, both Pat and I wish you all the very best and hope that you are all well and enjoying life to the fullest.  |