I really didn’t know
what to expect when we arrived in Ecuador.
The country is beautiful as well as the people. I love the children, the smiles on their
faces and the warm greetings. We didn’t
have much in a way of the description of the project, all I knew for certain
was we were working on a Day Care center in Cachimuel, Ecuador.
The project consists of a complete remodel of the one of the
two day care buildings to increase the capacity. There are three classrooms, a kitchen and one
large room in the middle that serves as the cafeteria and general activity
room. All of the rooms are getting new
paint and the bare concrete floors will have tile flooring (including
grout). The kitchen requires an
expansion of the counter space and a new sink. In addition to washing all of
the windows, which are covered with years of grime and splattered with mortar
from stucco, we are also painting the exterior.
To top it off, Carol is doing a mural in the large room.
I spent the day in the kitchen. We formed up the extension of the counter and
then made concrete from scratch. Back in
my college days earning a Civil Engineering degree I only took one graduate
level course: Advanced Concrete
Design. Today was a lesson in
opposites. I hauled wheel barrels of
sand and rocks and about 150 pounds of cement for the mix. The sand was dumped on the floor and the
cement on top. Working closely with
Nicholas (maestro) a local resident and expert concrete finisher, we then
dumped the rocks in the middle, added water and stirred (Oh my achin’ back). And
to top it off, so to speak, we are working at an elevation of over 9,000 feet
with a view of Imbarbura—a 15,000 foot
volcano.
A view from our worksite of Imbabura Volcano
Each family is charged one dollar for each child per month to
attend the day care center, and for some that is a high hurdle. I feel blessed to be part of the mission
trip.
God's blessings to all of you,
Jim Cure
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