It was another day of hard labor in Uganda today and the group was busy continuing their work on the temporary brick shelter. They ran into a bit of a problem however: they ran out of branch beams for the structure of the shelter. The solution: enlist the help of community members to hack down thick tree limbs for the remaining support beams. Some members of the group joined an excursion into the woods to find proper sized branches that were necessary for the completion of the shelter, and the group was quite surprised when a young teenager from the village climbed up one tree with a machete, called “pangas” there, and simply chopped off a branch 10 inches in diameter. The group has been amazed by the resourcefulness of the community, which built them a much needed ladder in under five minutes out of nails and branches.

Some more members of the group learned to lay bricks today as well. Additionally, members of the group took a trip to the local stream to gather water, which was running low in the camp. They carried large yellow jugs to the stream and filled them, lugging them back with them to the camp. Needless to say, the group is feeling some aches and pains and are certainly moving at a slower clip than they were a few days ago.

This morning almost 30 community members were helping out at the construction site. It’s become evident that the groups presence in the community is motivating people to come out and help finish the construction. Some of the helpers are actually much more efficient and skilled with the tools at the site, and one member said that a villager might come up to her, take the tool out of her hand, and start doing the work 5 times better than her.

Tomorrow will be more of the same for the group, but on Sunday, the group will head to Jinja and take a trip kayaking down the Nile River. At night, Jackson, a young man from Kampala, has been cooking delicious meals for the group. Jamir, also from Kampala, has been helping the group do chores and keep the house in order. And Joseph has been making sure the group is safe and watching over the construction site.

Check back soon for more updates.