Diary - Friday, Dec 15, 2006 

Greetings everyone and we hope this latest newsletter finds you all well and with the good energy. First of all, we would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of HABS and all the people who have benefited from your support over the years, to wish you a very peaceful and happy holiday season and may this upcoming New Year bring only good fortune your way each and every day. We are so grateful for your continued interest and encouragement as we enter our 9th year of active project work on Zanzibar.

We have more or less settled back into our so called regular routines now after a wonderful experience with the TWECS team.

The construction of the second floor of the school has just commenced as we had to wait for about three weeks for the concrete pad to harden sufficiently. The team is flying now and we are seeing dramatic changes daily as the walls start to take shape. I have to say, we are getting increasingly excited as this dream begins to materialize literally before our very eyes. This project promises to be one of the best yet and it's potential to help so many people is huge. Of course we also have high hopes that this school will contribute to the overall sustainability of all of our work here on Zanzibar, not only for now but for the future as well.

We are also looking forward to welcoming our next volunteers who will be arriving on Zanzibar in the first week of January. We have known Ed and Wanda Walker for several years now and we are delighted that they have dedicated almost two months of their time to come and help in Jambiani. Our initial contact was through the Oak Bay Kiwanis Club when we were invited to give a small presentation regarding our work in Jambiani and the rest, they say, is history. We are grateful for the regular support we have received from the club and of course for our friendship with Ed and Wanda that has endured since that first meeting.

Wanda is a retired nurse and I'm sure we'll be able to keep her pleasantly occupied with our almost daily wound care clinic. Ed is a retired engineer with some expertise in ICBM guidance systems so perhaps a tad over qualified for the position but I'm also certain he will fall into a number of areas where he'll be able to help out. We'll keep you posted as usual with regular updates during their stay with us.

Our spare time is pretty full now as we are starting to source out finishing materials for the school. For those of you who have built before you will know what this entails. Lining up plumbers and electricians, deciding on floor coverings, windows, doors, fixtures, etc. Fortunately we have had previous experience with this process not only in Canada but here as well so all seems to be coming along nicely at this point.

Here are some fairly recent photos of the school construction showing the form work and placement of re-bar prior to the pouring of the slab.

	Below are a few more photos after the slab had stabilized and they started to construct the second floor walls.
So, there's not too much else new to report at this time. Our focus for the next few months will be to ensure that the school construction is completed and with implementing the programs and activities that will be a part of this new project. It's exciting and we are totally focused on making sure this is a huge success for everyone involved. Christmas here for us is certainly less hectic than our North American counterpart. We have a very nice community of ex-pats and friends in Jambiani and we make an effort to have a communal gathering on Christmas day, usually accompanied by some good food and lots of conversation without the stress of buying gifts for everyone. As our good friends Christopher and Stephanie Curran recently said, we have so much abundance in our lives, we really don't need any more "stuff". Take good care of yourselves and we will be back with more news and stories in the New Year. All good to you and much love... all-ways!! Alastair and Pat