Deaf Church Construction Update

August 23rd

 In the week I have been here, the rain has held off during the days. The carpenters have made a lot of progress on the roof. Here are pictures from Saturday August 23 and Saturday August 30th. The final picture is inside the church showing the bracing that is holding the trusses up as they are constructed. If you click on the picture they get bigger.

August 23

The rafters were built one at a time and in place. They started by nailing two long boards together to make the rafter. These are supported from the floor by temporary supports (last picture). Then more long boards are made and a large triangle with a center brace is made. When the all of the big triangles are finished they added more vertical bracing. Then the horizontal boards on the outside were added. The roofing will be nailed to these horizontal boards. Yesterday and today they finished the block work at the front and started the fascia boards. It looks like they will be able to finish the roofing next week. Then we will see how much money is left for doors and windows.

The block work is pretty good. The width of the front and back of the building are close to the same. Length of the two sides are a little different.

August 30

They made a small error when digging the foundation. The building is 17 meters long instead of the 15 meters in the architects design. This has allowed them to build four raised seating areas rather than the three in the design. In spite of extra 13% of building the construction is staying under the estimate.

August 30

After the roof, the next phase is to construct doors and windows. During construction they decided to make the windows larger. The eight 1200 mm by 1200 mm windows became 1200 by 1500 and the two windows at the front are up to 1200 by 2000. Almost 4 square meters of windows have been added. They will use locally made aluminum casement windows. The window maker will make windows to fit each opening. All the openings are square by sight. I measured a few and they only vary by a centimeter or two. There are several window making shops within a kilometer of the church. I am sure John has his favorite he works with. The windows and doors phase is the least expensive of all the phases. It and the final phase are the most likely to run over-budget.

The final phase, Finishing, is the most costly and the least will defined. This will include adding the Altar (was originally in the first phase,Substructure. Was moved because the design was disagree upon), electrical, plumbing, plastering the walls inside and outside, painting, installing fans and lighting. There is not an electrical or lighting design. These were put in as lump sum costs estimates. I am not sure how the building committee plans on handling the electrical and altar design. The plumbing only included the cost to install a sink and a toilet with a lump sum for connection. I do not know if it will be enough to build a soak away and to connect to the Cathedral water system.

The Copenhagen Deaf Church held a fundraiser this week. They had a bake sale, flea market, fashion show and other things. It looked like great fun and I would love to have some of the food at the bake sale. I hope to work with the Building Committee on some of the details of the electrical and altar designs in the next two weeks I am here. My work with the Demsa Health Centre is mostly complete and my water program work schedule is not heavy. We will continue to put together the parts we need to get the compressor functional and hope to test it on a couple local broken boreholes before I leave.

Getting Ready to Return to Nigeria

On Tuesday morning August 19th, I will depart on the first leg of my longer than usual journey to Nigeria. Previously, I have flown Delta, KLM, Air France and Lufthansa to and from Nigeria. The flights have always arrived in the early evening and only once have I been able to catch a flight Abuja down to Yola the same day as I arrived in Abuja. This trip I am flying United to Washington D.C., Dulles Airport. Staying overnight and flying Ethiopian Airlines Wednesday to arrive Thurday morning in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After a short layover I fly on to Abuja. The plan was to catch the late afternoon flight to Yola. However, it turns out that the late flight is scheduled to leave at 2:20 pm. I have less than 2 hours to go through immigration and customs and get my luggage over to the Domestic part of the terminal. Normally, this would be adequate. I have read that immigration is doing health checks on incoming passengers to check for Ebola symptoms. Customs may be curious about the over-sized box I am bringing with me.  It contains a DrawTite trailer hitch (It is called a tow bar in many parts of the world).

Global Health Ministries provided a trailer mounted air compressor to be y\used for cleaning a re-developing boreholes (drilled water wells). However, the Toyota Hilux truck they bought for the Pump Repair Team does not have a hitch. During my last trip we spent many hours trying to find a tow bar in Yola. Unlike Minnesota nobody have a boat that they trailer. There are no camping trailers and no trailer parks. There is no market for tow bars. We found that Toyota South Africa lists a tow bar as an accessory on its internet site but there is no information about the size or capacity.

We emailed and called the Abuja Toyota dealers and the Abuja Toyota parts distribution center and got no responses. A staff member of the Health Services Board visiting Abuja went to the dealer and they told him that they did not carry tow bars but it is "probably" available in Lagos. If it is available they can have it shipped to Abuja and we would have to drive to Abuja and they would install it. After over 4 months of looking, phoning, and emailing we gave up and I bought one over the internet from Etrailer. The first one that arrived was bent. The second only had a couple minor paint chips but it was poorly packaged. It was just in an over-sized box and have ripped through the box in several places. Adequate packaging for shipping on a truck but not for a plane trip. I wrapped it in bubble wrap and cardboard and packed it into the box with three layers of cardboard, foam panels and 7 small toy soccer balls as cushioning.

It will cost me an extra $200 to get it on the plane. United Airlines has told me that they will not check it through to Abuja because my layover in DC is more than 10 hours. I will have to get it at the United baggage in DC and see it Ethiopian Airlines will take it Tuesday evening for my Wednesday morning flight. If they take my luggage I will catch the Metro over to my son's house. If they do not take it, I get to spend a night in Dulles Airport with a trailer hitch.

I have brought along a torque wrench and the required sockets to install the tow bar on the Hilux. After it is installed I will be giving trailer driving and backing lessons and we will be testing the compressor on a couple of poorly functioning boreholes. It will not be hard to find a poorly functioning borehole. The majority of them were not properly installed, developed and need to be cleaned out.

My primary reason for this trip is to represent Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry during the final design of the Demsa Health Centre Upgrade and Renovations. In the picture below the building on the right is the outpatient building. It will get a new higher roof, upgraded electrical system, new plumbing, and ceiling fans. The building on the right have an addition added to it and will have wards for males and female patients, a maternity suite with two birthing rooms, and a surgical suite. The costs of the renovations and upgrades are going to be over a quarter million dollars. The funding is coming from the Minneapolis Area Synod Nigeria Health Care Campaign. They have a goal of $450,000 to of which Mount Calvary Lutheran of Excelsior has matched the first $200,000 that the synod has raised. This fund will go to several Health Care projects. These projects include the Demsa renovations, renovations and expansion of medical dispensaries, the Malaria prevention and treatment rpogram, expanding the Community Based Public Health Program, and funding the Water and Sanitation/Hygiene (WASH) Program. Most of my time on my last nine trips has been with developing the capability of the LCCN to operate its WASH Program. The compressor and trailer hitch are parts of that program.

 The other major project I will be working on while in Nigeria will be the construction of the LCCN's first church for the Deaf. Construction started just before my last trip. The foundation, floors and walls are complete. I will be making a wire transfer of $9,360 to the Deaf Church Construction account before I leave.  Along with what they have in their bank account, they should be enough to construct the roof. So far over $20,000 has been raised for this project from the United States and Denmark. I have coordinated grants totally $7,000 from the Mill Neck Foundation, the Mount Calvary Foundation, and the Evangelical Lutheran Deaf Association. Bread of Life Deaf Church has made two contributions and First Lutheran Church of Crystal had made two contributions. One member of Mount Calvary has donated $2,000 and a family donated $500. A Dioconal Minister who has traveled to Nigeria many times has raised $1,000 through her sales of products purchased from Women of Hope of Jos, Nigeria.  I have even had one ELCA Pastor donate. Most most of my brothers, sister, cousins in-laws, friend of relatives and a few Facebook friends have donated.

I will be updating this blog with pictures and other stories over the next month.

Always Smile, Caroline. LCCN Deaf Centre End of Term, March 4th.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Today was a double celebration. First was to celebrate Caroline. Caroline was killed in a traffic accident in Denmark. Her grandparents are members at the Deaf Church in Copenhagen, Denmark. They held the funeral services at her grandparents church. Money was contributed in her memory and the family sent it to Nigeria for the LCCN Deaf Centre to use it as they wished. They decided to buy sports uniforms with the money and school supplies. The shirts had Caroline's picture on the front with "Always Smile". The back says LCCN Deaf Centre.  The children were very happy to have sports uniforms like the kids at the Cathedral Academy. 

When most of the kids had shown up the went out to the open area and the teacher lead them through some stretching exercises and then they tossed a ball around the circle, then each tossed it high into the air and tried to catch it. The little kids did not toss it very high. 

  

Pastor Ruth got her sports uniform on and joined the fun with a little volley ball without the net.

After the sports time we were waiting for parents and other dignitaries to show up for the end of term celebration. A former teacher who had left to have her second baby came around the corner and the kids rushed her. Later, I learned that she is married to the present teacher. The baby is being held by another staff member while the kids surround their former teacher for a picture.

After the parents showed up we started the program. There had been some confusion on the dates of the program. It was scheduled for Saturday be too many people could not come. So it rescheduled for Friday. About half of the parents were able to make it. It started with a prayer and then they gave all the parents a copy of the story about Caroline and read it while it was translated into sign.

The children then sang a song about dedicated to Caroline.

The teacher addressed the parents and thanked them for forming a PTA and introduced the officers of the PTA. He encouraged them to participate with the school and their children's education.

(At this point a little disclaimer. I have not reviewed the videos of the parents speaking. I believe what I have written below is mostly accurate. I hope to put together a more accurate presentation after I return to the US and have access to a better computer for video editing and high speed internet.)

Next the parents were asked if they had any comments they wanted to make. Several parents stood and thanked the teachers and the staff. They all said their children were communicating with them and with others better, they were studying hard and were eager to learn. Some of the comments included that their deaf children are learning more at the Deaf Centre than their hearing children are at the public schools. Also that these children have special talents that the teachers have brought out in the. One father, who is Muslim said that his child has more problems than his deafness. That the doctors told him that his would not be able to learn, would probably not be able to walk and play. But he has blossomed. He is communicating, running and playing with his deaf friends. He is even learning to read and some writing. It was inspirational to hear what a difference this deaf school is making in these children's lives. One parent is a Pastor and evangelist that was sent to Yola to start a Four Square Church. His son got sick and lost his hearing over a short period of time. He is so thankful that the LCCN had created the Deaf Centre and his son is now the one the communicates the most with whoever comes over to their house.

Farah James with Pastor Ruth

One non-parent was in attendance and also spoke on how with her work in the community she has gotten to know many of the Deaf and the children attending the Centre are prospering more than other children. She said that all of these children are Special. They have special talents and qualities that other children and the hearing public will never understand.  (They are Special Children, Not Special Needs Children. That was my interpretation.) Farah James is the director of a local HIV/Aids program, Spring of Hope and has recently been recognized as a leader in the field. She reminded me that I had missed her support group, Spring of Hope HIV/AIDS Support group meeting last Saturday. Their next meeting is after I leave.

After the parents made their comments, I was suppose to interview the parents and ask them if the school was having any positive affects on their children. But they had answered all my questions in their comments. So instead I thank them for their comments and encouraged them to continue to be part of their children's educations and to support the Deaf Centre and its mission to help all Deaf People. I also said a word or two about the reality of funding for programs like the LCCN Deaf Centre and other charitable programs. That funding was being cut back in the US and Denmark. That more programs will require higher matching funds from parents. The more the parents support the Centre the more successful the Centre can be in seeking funds from other sources. The Deaf Centre is a mud block building from the 1950's or earlier. It some structural issues and it is located next to the pit latrine of the public school next door. I hope that it replacement and relocation will be the next project after the Church project is finished.

The Patron of the LCCN Deaf Centre and the Cathedral Deaf Church, Mrs. Bidil Lautrai wife of former Bishop William Lautrai spoke next,  about Caroline and how the Deaf Church in Denmark will be happy that Caroline is being honored here today. She also encouraged the parents to support the Deaf Centre and the Deaf Church project. She also challenged the Vicar of the Cathedral Church to show more financial support for the Centre and the Church project. It was good that the Vicar was in attendance to hear about the good work the Centre was doing for the children. The Deaf Centre for years was just that building out behind the Cathedral on the Mission Compound.

Finally, we had closing prayers. The Vicar Rev. Thiophilus Shadrach said a prayer followed by a prayer from one of the Muslim parents. The schools has about half Christian and half Muslim children.

Pastor Ruth Ulea with the supplies purchased with the money left
over after the sports uniforms were purchased. 

I am writing this on after the Sunday Service. There were 25 people in attendance at the Deaf Service under the tin roof on the patio of the Deaf Centre. At the end of the service most of us walked over the the Specialty Hospital to visit one of the young ladies father who is seriously ill. On the way back as we walked down the street with everyone signing a boy yelled out to us that his little brother who was hiding behind him was deaf and attended the Jada Special School. School is out and the children are on break until after Easter. We stopped and Pastor Ruth asked him his name. He clung to his brother's leg and did not respond. He was either frightened by all the attention or he has not learned any sign. Pastor Ruth said there are over a thousand students Jada and they do not have enough teachers or even enough food to feed the children. The school is free but unless you already have some signing ability you cannot learn. She had hoped things would improve since the Governor's First Wife is deaf. But she has not been able to improve things there. The Governors Second Wife is a doctor and has been put in charge of HIV/AIDS funding. Still the best programs are operated by local and national charities like Farah's program.

Click to support Jay with your donation and by sharing.

Now if you have read to here and you appreciate the work I am doing and wonder how you can help. It is simple, help me by clicking and donating to the Deaf Church Walls Fund. We are trying to raise $5,000 from small individual donations. It is really going slow. This fund is just to build the block walls of the Deaf Church. Just as important as donations are so is SHARING. When you donate you can help to multiply that donation by clicking the Facebook or Tweeter or other sharing  buttons. Tell your friends that you have donated and that they too can help the Deaf see the Word of God. Please Donate and Share. At the current rate we will be in the rainy season before we reach our goal.

Blessing of the Foundation, Cathedral Deaf Church, March 26th

Below is a short video of the Deaf Sunday Service from March 30th at the LCCN Deaf Centre, in the LCCN Mission Quarters, Jimeta, Nigeria, The video is only bits and pieces of the service. It took two hours to upload this 5 minute video. I hope you enjoy it. 

Click to go to Go Fund Me

Bishop Amos starting the Blessing Ceremon

The above video is a four minute version of the 25 to 30 minute Blessing of the foundation for the Cathedral Deaf Church. It is as big as the blogger would allow. I will put the 8 minute version up on U-Tube when I go to the internet cafe. (I went to the internet cafe and the 8 minute video is too large for them. They have a limit of 150MB and it is over 200.)

Children in blue are students at the LCCN Deaf Centre

This was a formal ceremony officiated by Bishop Amos Yakubu of the Yola Dioceses. It was mostly in Hausa so I did not understand what was being spoken. I am told the blessing is to pray that the foundation will build a strong and fruitful church. Also that the congregation will find the funds to complete the church. Many churches take several years to build once the foundation is started. They will build until they run out of money. Then save money until they can build the next part of the church.

Pastor Ruth in trench as Bishop gives his remarks.

The ceremony opened with a prayer and a hymn. There were several readings from what I am calling the book. I believe it is a book that has the blessings and prayers to be offered on most occasions. The ceremony was started outside the foundation and after a while the Bishop got into the trench and continued reading from the book, read some scripture and prayed. Then he laid the first concrete block. Reitred Bishop William Lautai laid the second block to form the corner. Bishop Lautai was instrumental in convincing the Cathedral and the Diocese to build the church. His wife is a former Danish missionary and is helping to coordinate the funds from Denmark. Pastor Ruth then laid the third block.

Mr Yakubu Bulama givng remarks.
My house is in the back left.

After a final prayer and the Lord's Prayer. Bishop Amos gave a short informal address and asked Mr. Yakubu Bulama to also say a few words. Yakubu Bulama is the Secretary of the Cathedral Deaf Church Building Committee but he is not a member of the Cathedral Church. He is also the Water Program Coordinator for the Health Services Board, the LCCN Projects Coordinator (volunteer position), and too many other volunteer assignments to name. He spoke on how he thought the Deaf Church would help the Deaf Community of not only Jimeta and Yola but of all of Adamawa State and Northeast Nigeria. He also slipped in a pitch to the Cathedral and the Bishop that the Cathedral and the Dioceses at some point should help financially.

After Mr. Bulama spoke Bishop Lautai spoke a little more briefly and more direct to my camera. Thanking the supports in American and Denmark for their support of the Deaf in Jimeta and this project. After the informal speeches some Malta and Maltina beverages were given out and my bag of M&M with peanuts was consumed.

Retired Bishop William Lautai remarks.

By the end of the day the Engineer and Mason has laid out all of the corners. The next step in the process will be to start the support columns and continue the foundation blocks.

Currently, they have enough money to continue another week or two of construction. There is a money transfer from Denmark in the process. When it is received they will be able to continue working and complete the foundation, wall columns, bring the foundation blocks up to floor level, fill the foundation and complete the floors. Work will then stop until they receive more money to build the walls.

Pastor Ruth giving out the last of the M&M's.

There are three ways you can contribute to the building of the walls. You can mail a check to Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 301 County Road 18, Excelsior, MN 55331. Be sure to write Deaf Church Fund in the Memo line. 

The second way is to click the link below and contribute online with Go Fund Me.

Go Fund Me, Deaf Church Walls or click on the picture below.

The third way is for those in Denmark.
Man kan støtte byggeriet gennem Mission Afrika på dette nummer: 5061 1060018 og øremærke gaven Døves Kirke konto 2114. DER ER BRUG FOR DIN HJÆLP.

Beyond contributions you can help by praying for completion of the church, sharing this posting on your Facebook page or Twitter account, of just email it to all of your friends.

Click to go to Go Fund Me

Corner Block have been laid on march 27th,

LCCN Deaf Church Foundation and Wall Construction

Note: I will be adding photos and video as the project proceeds to this blog entry.

Click on picture to do the the donation site.

/Right click to open in new tab or window

Update March 31st.

The video above was added March 31st. It is of the March 30th, Sunday Service at the LCCN Deaf Centre, near where the new church is being built. The video shows small portions of most parts of the service. I was late coming over from the Cathedral service and arrived during the last Scripture reading. After the service two teachers from the public school came over with a young deaf boy. He is a student at the public school but they cannot teach him. He does not seem to know sign.

As of today they are almost finished with the foundation. They have two small sections left to pour. This is Pastor Ruth in her office. The masons made a couple errors at the back of the building. They did not include the exterior part of the columns one is in the wrong place. Based on my old draft plans the office wall is off by a meter. The exterior column sections can be added easily. The column that is in the wrong place may be close enough. She will have a smaller office, larger lobby and large utility room outside the toilet room. We still do not have final drawings.

NW Corner of LCCN Mission Quarters, Jimeta

Front and Back View of the Chruch

The construction of the Cathedral Deaf Church is started with the digging of the foundation trenches and the pouring of the spread footings for the walls. On Wdnesday March 26th they will have the formal dedication of the foundation by the Bishop of the Yola Dicocese. Then masons will start the block work.

When money which has been collected in Denmark is transferred to Nigeria we will have enough funds to complete the substructure of foundations and floors. Work will stop at that point until enough money is collected to bring the mason back to erect the walls. We are working in the United States and Denmark to raise the money for the walls. In Denmark you can follow these instructions: Man kan støtte byggeriet gennem Mission Afrika på dette nummer: 5061 1060018 og øremærke gaven Døves Kirke konto 2114. DER ER BRUG FOR DIN HJÆLP.

In most countries you can use your debit or credit card at the Go Fund Me site.

.Go Fund Me, Deaf Church Wall Construction Link

Digging the trenches for the foundation 20 March 2014

I started a Go Fund Me site with a goal of $5,000 for individuals to donate part of the money needed for building the walls.

My home church, Mount Calvary Lutheran Church, 301 County Road 19, Excelsior, MN 55331 has agreed to accept, accumulate and disperse donations for this project. Write Deaf Church in the memo line of your check and mail it today.

Footings for Block Foundation poured 21 March 2014

I have requests to two small foundation for grants for the other $5,000. If the foundation gives the maximum and Go Fund Me reaches its goal we will have enough to finish the walls and have some left over to fund the roof. The rains are expected to start in April with small showers infrequent showers. (March 26 rain update, we had heavy dusty winds followed by a very light rain. There was enough to drop temperature and dust.) The Boabob tree here in the Mission Quarter has started to leaf out. This is usually an indication that the rains are coming. These early rains usually have more wind than rain. By July there will be rains almost daily.

If we can get the funds for the walls in April and start a campaign to fund the roof we have a chance to have the roof on before the worst part of the rainy season.


If you want to help this project send you tax deductible donation to:

Concrete and mortar mixing area. 

 Mount Calvary Lutheran Church,
301 County Road 19, Excelsior, MN, 55331
write Deaf Church Fund in the Memo line.

If you would rather use Go Fund Me you can click on graphic below. They take Visa and Mastercard.

Click on picture to do the the donation site.

/Right click to open in new tab or window

If you want to set up a lemonade stand and raise money for the Deaf Church. Go for it. All efforts will be appreciated.

A concrete block is only $0.67. We will need 3,300 for the walls. A bag of Portland Cement is $12 we will need 110 bags. We will need five truck loads of sand, one truck of gravel, re-bar, wood for forms, nails stirrups and a lot of manual labor.

If do donate then please hit one of the share buttons below and tell your friends that you have donated and you encourage them to also.

If you cannot donate at this time please hit one of the share buttons below and keep this posting traveling around the internet.

Tour of the House

This post is a tour of the house I live in at the LCCN Jimeta Mission Quarters. Today is Sunday morning. My breakfast did not stay down so I decided to skip church and nibble on bread and sip tea for a while. Probably the anti-malarial pill on an empty stomach. It is suppose to be taken 1 hour before eating but that upsets my stomach too much. I may have taken too long to shower, shave and fix breakfast this morning after taking the pill and then ate too fast.

Click on Pictures to Enlarge.

The house is an old mud brick mission house built in the 1950's. There used to be two big Neem trees shading the front of the house. They were getting rotten and the roots were breaking up the porch. The Neem trees to the back of the house shade it in the afternoon. The back bedroom stays a little cooler than the front room.

 I am the only one that stays in the house for any period of time. Occasionally, it has been used by people when there is a convention at the Cathedral. People coming from far away and cannot afford a hotel room sleep on mats and mattresses around the compound. This last year it has been used for a monthly meeting a team from the Community Based Public Health Program.

In 2010 I purchased tool kits to work on pumps for the Water Program. One of there tool kits was stolen out of the house. I small child was caught taking a broken pump cylinder out of the house through a broken window. The tool kit was too big to fit through the bars on the windows. Someone with a key took the kit out the front door.

The house is connected to the same power as the church. Whenever, the National Power Holding Company  (NEPA is the old name but everyone still uses it) provides power to this section of town I have power. When the church is holding a service and their big Perkins Diesel Generator is on I have power. When these are out I have a switch that disconnects the house from the Church and connects it to the generator. I just have to carry it outside, check the oil and fill the fuel tank.

I have made two major purchases to make my stay here more comfortable. The little generator and the little refrigerator. The generator is big enough to run the lights, ceiling fans, my computer, charge a cell phone or two and most important run the refrigerator. It is a Parsun 1900DX, 900watt, 220VAC 50 hz. I noticed that the Parsun 1900
DX and the 2900DX had the same gasoline motor. I figured the 1900DX would be easier on the motor and last longer. So far this year I have only run the gen for 3 hours. I was working on reviewing the first draft design of the proposed Deaf Church when the evening meeting at the Cathedral ended. I wanted to continue so I started the gen.

The refrigerator is a typical (2.2 cubic feet, 62 liter)counter top model
 . It is small but meets most of my needs. When running is uses only 80 watts. When starting the refrigerator after the compressor has not run for a while the generator bogs down for a second then recovers. I have been advised to install a larger starting capacitor on the compressor.

If you click on the pictures they get bigger. In the freezer section I have three 750 ml bottles of water. Behind the coffee cup filled with cold tea is a small loaf of bread. Bread in this heat only last a day or two before molding. Under the cold tea is leftovers from last night. Under the freezer are 500 ml sachets (bags) of water and a bottle of Schweppes' Bitter Lemon. On  the bottom is my two pounds of M&M's (unopened), a mango, some opened tomato paste, and more water. In the door is a Malta, some bottles of Nutri-C drink mixes, half a can of peach slices in grape juice. more water and a partial bottle of Schweepes'. The bottled water cost about 50 naira each when bought by the case. The sachets of water cost about 3.5 naira each when you buy a bag or 20. The sachets say 50cl. But I can almost put two into a 75 cl water bottle. The Schweepes' and Malta are my treats. I like them but they make me a little thirsty afterwards. The Nutri-C drink mixes are little packets of powder that is recommmended to be mixed with 250 ml of water. I use closer to 500 ml. If I want it cold right away I use a sachet from the fridge. Otherwise, I use the boiled filtered water and cool it in the fridge.

View from Kitchen

This is a view of the front room. The kitchen is to the rigjt out of the picture. The door leads to a hallway with the bathroom to right and the bedroom straight back. I have pulled the round table under the window and where I get a cross breeze from the back room. In previous years I had used the table for the computer. Then I used the same power plug for the refrigerator and the computer. The front room is in an L shape with and alcove on the left. The back part of room through the arch is where we store the tools, pipes, and other equipment for pump repair. The refrigerator is at the edge of the alcove with the coils next to the windows that seems to have the most air movement. In addition to the heat of the sun on the roof this rooms gets the heat from the refrigerator, my computer and the ceiling fan that always on when there is power.

My A/C

View from NE corner of room

Yesterday it got to 102 degrees F (39C) inside the front room. Higher outside. I took a small dish towel soaked it in water and put it over my face and shoulders and took a nap in the chair. It was much cooler under the towel. Bature air conditioning. Right now at 9:15 AM it is 92 in the front room. When in the house I spend the most time in the front room.

View from Front Room

The kitchen and bathroom looks like an addition to the original house on the northside. The sun is currently to the south so it gets a lot of solar heat. The sink it no longer connected to the drain to the outside. The counter top is rotted around the sink. I use the purple (might look blue in the picture) tub to do dishes. The gas burner is where I boil water for my tea and my oatmeal in a teapot and also where I make my one pot meals in a little aluminum pan shown in the wash tub. I repaired the small electric oven but it 1200 watts. I have not tried using it with only the bottom element at 600 watts with my 900 watt generator. I would have to turn off all the lights. The tall aluminium cylinder is an old water filter. Three ceramic filters are in the top section. When I boil water I use it first for tea and oatmeal then I fill a thermos with hot water for later cups of tea. The remaining water I let cool then pour into the top. The water is filtered down to the bottom. I use this water for mixing with Nutri-C drink mix, rinsing food, cleaning my hands, and rinsing dishes (I will use the hot water from the kettle if it is still hot to rinse dishes also.)

The pantry and cupboard is the cleanest place in the kitchen.
This is where I prepare my meals.
The food in the top (pantry) is about three weeks worth of canned foods, rice, milk powder, and oatmeal. I have one can of Salmon. Cans of makeral in tomato sauce, sardines in tomato sauce, tuna in sunflower oil, hotdogs in brine, baked beans, fruit cocktail in fruit juice. Tonight's planned meal is beans and weanies with the rest of the tomato paste from last nights meal. If I feel better I will walk out and buy some onions to add in. I may start with a little boiled rice and then add in the beans and hotdogs. I live a simple life. I forgot my spices. Curry powder, thyme, salt, sliced dried ginger, dried peppers. I also will by the local version of ramon noodles.

The little light on top of the old broken refrigerator is my power indicator light. You can see the power disconnect switch behind the light. If the power is out and I am on the generator this light will come on when the power returns. Before added this light I would have to notice that there was lights on in the other house in the compound. The light is on in the picture from the front room of the kitchen.

Next is the hallway between the front room and the bedroom. There is a wardrobe. When it is over 100 degrees,  I wish I could step through it to Narnia. I keep my shirts and pants in the wardrobe and drawing equipment, foot powder and other small items on the shelves. The little bookcase is from my two pairs of shoes and my airport bag of meds, toothpaste and toothbrush.

The bathroom is to the right off to the hallway. The water is not connected to the house. The two barrels are where I store my water. The first barrel does not have a top. That is for washing, showering, The second barrel has a top on it. That is the water I use for boiling water. When I fill the barrels of water I add a touch of bleach to the boiling water barrel. The green bucket is my shower bucket I dip water from the washing barrel into the green bucket. I step into the shower and use a tin cup with a hole in it to pour water over my head. The hole just happens to be in the cup. If you hold the cup wrong the tiny stream of water flows into your face. The purple bucket in front of the barrel is the toilet flushing bucket. When I wash my hands the water goes into this bucket. When the dish water get dirty it goes in this bucket. When I wash some socks of underwear in the green bucket the dirty water and rinse water goes in the toilet flushing bucket.

The bedroom is in the back of the house to the west. On the left there used to be a bed with no mattresses. Now there are the two mattresses that I used to have on my bed. On top in my large bag where I keep my underwear, socks, medical supplies, chargers and other stuff. I live out of the bag and the wardrobe.

That is the tour of my house. It is livable for short stays and not in the rainy season. The roof leaks a little. A bad leak is into the kitchen mud brick wall which is expanding. It will not last many more rainy seasons without some fix. There is a committee looking at the future of the Mission Quarter. They want to turn it into a source of income for the LCCN. I think a guest house with some kitchenette rooms for visitors like me would be a good idea. I designed one on my 2011 trip. The bottom floor was the offices and warehouse for the Water and Sanitation Program, a Classroom, a water testing room, a pump repair room and a warehouse for pumps and pipes. The top floor was a guest house with two kitchenette rooms, a restaurant, and a patio on the west side where pumps can be mounted that go down into the warehouse where the pump cylinders are in barrels of water. Pump repairmen can be trained under controlled conditions. That was my dream of a West Africa Pump Repair Training Center. Maybe I should crowd source the $200,000 it would cost to build.


It is now 10:30. The rest of my oatmeal seems to be staying down. I guess it was just the pill. The English service is still going on. Hope it was not a combined service or I will loose power soon. The Hausa service will keep my power on for another 2 hours.
 My third cup of tea went into the refrigerator. It will need another hour to get cold.

Pastor Ruth and a public school teacher who had studied sign with Ruth came by after their service was over. Ruth brought over a bag a mangos. The are mostly green so they will last a few days. I have one ripe one in my fridge. I showed her my concept of how we can change the Deaf Church design so she can have an entrance into the sanctuary from behind the Altar.

I had a lot of problems posting this due the network going up and down. I also think my phone is overheated from the use of it as a hot spot. The room temperature is now 98F as we approach noon and 2 more hours to the heat of  the day.