Day 15 - Wednesday

Another busy day on site as we aimed to have all the footings cemented and ready to be built on by the end of the day plus a second coat of paint done in all the classrooms. Once again the local community turned out in force in order to ensure the projects run effectively and smoothly. However, there's a small issue with this in that there tends to be a lot of discuss/heated debate for quite a while before any decision is made due to a lack of project management. Once it is all cleared up and a direction is agreed on everyone quickly gets back to working flat out.

I forgot to mention that Mr Osbourne our resident wildlife expert whilst sat admiring the work spotted a snake. He mentioned this to one of the local guys who picked up a large stick and proceeded to chase the snake before battering it to death and then chopping it up with his machete! It was only our group that seemed at all amazed by this process as the locals seemed fairly nonchalant about the whole affair...

We again divided into working parties but today the students tended to gravitate towards the areas of work they felt best at. Jekin and Barney continued to work at a ferocious pace setting an outstanding example to others in cement mixing which was being used in the footings. This was matched by Rosie who took care in ensuring that the cement was properly mixed much to some of the boys dismay when they were happy with half a job, an ear bashing quickly followed and back to work they went. After mixing what seemed like enough cement to building a housing estate and with everyone worn out Dan Mallett pointed out that if anyone had asked he could've brought the cement mixer he has at home!!! Alongside the cement mixing we also moved approximately 150 bricks using a chain gang method to pass them down the line where they were placed ready for laying tomorrow.

The painting group did a very professional job in all the classrooms based on the locals desire to water the paint down so much it basically ran off the wall. Olly Clark led the way on the painting front and made sure that none of the paint went missing as he carried everywhere he went. There is now no more magnolia paint left in west Ghana so we have had to move to the slightly more garish green and blue for the remaining rooms which certainly provides a stimulating working environment. As well as competing against the very watery paint the students also had to deal with several hornet nests and numerous large spiders which lurked in the corners of the rooms.

Various groups of students continued to have surfing lessons throughout the day and some of them hired the boards at the end of the day to practise their skills further. Most impressive were Greg, Dan B and Cameron who seem to have the whole surfing thing mastered, with Greg even picking up some of the lingo by referring to things as "sweet".

A student organised quiz was the evening entertainment which proved challenging for all that took part including the quiz masters who had to write the questions without the aid of the Internet. However, Jamie, Stuart, Nathan, Alex and Harry did a fantastic job organising the quiz which allowed the teachers to prove themselves of superior intellect much to the students annoyance. Mr Abbott seemed to be attracting all sorts of wildlife...