Two
British volunteers, recognised as recurrent latecomers, find
themselves sitting on a bench at a very unfriendly hour, no one else
around.
Slowly,
the rest started to trickle behind, whilst the early birds decided to use
this time fueling up on overly sweet coffee and savoury doughnuts,
which we don’t recommend if you’re about to undertake a 6km
cycle. By the end of the day, we realised that 6km was definitely not 6km! Just as we were about
to leave, as we should have expected, a bike broke down and we did
the ‘bike shuffle’. Finally, we left an hour and a half later
than planned. Those of us on bikes, looked on forlornly as the car
carrying the other volunteers sailed into the sunrise…
Cycling
on roads here is not as dandy as the UK. The lack of roads and
excessive potholes meant it was going to be a bumpy ride. All jokes
aside, fifteen minutes into the journey we encountered an accident
between a cyclist and a motorbike. There was a woman lying still in
the middle of the road, with concerned crowds looking on. Having
taught a first aid class in the previous week, one of the volunteers
bravely attended to the woman and gently comforted her, whilst
checking the extent of her injuries. Thankfully, there was no life
threatening injuries and the volunteer waited until the ambulance
arrived, making sure the lady was comfortable. She was taken away
with a broken leg and was shaken up but there was no indication that
she will be any less than fine.
After
the emotional events of the morning, our guide lifted the mood of the
cyclists by singing at the top of his lungs. We left the main road
and joined a very uneven dirt track which took us through
breathtaking scenery and what can only be described as ‘Mud Hut
City’. Cries of ‘nassara’ and ‘le blanc’ followed us as we
cycled through the villages.
We
arrived at the nutritional garden, slightly sweatier than before, to
be greeted by some of the biggest papayas we had ever seen. We were
given a tour of the garden and taught about the plants, and were
delighted to learn that the peanuts that we had grown to love, grow
on bushes!
 |
| Digging the foundations of the Pigpen |
Construction
of the pig sty then began. All volunteers had a go at digging the
foundations but were quickly put to shame by the skills of the
professionals and the strength of the national volunteers. Building
was quick, but so was the increase in temperature. Soon all the
international volunteers had turned a slightly darker shade of pink.
In addition to helping out, each volunteer laid a commemorative
brick. Something the Brits took very seriously - see Instagram for
proof.
Lunch
proved a winner for all; we all ate unprecedented amounts of ‘riz
gras’ and cabbage. A group of curious local children that were
playing nearby, were invited to join us. This was eagerly accepted
and within minutes their plates were clean and neatly stacked.
After
lunch, work started again, however we were all feeling the strain of
the heat. We tried to persevere and two of the UK volunteers
successfully cemented a wall of the pig sty. As the afternoon wore
on, we retreated to the shade and indulged ourselves with fresh
papaya, leaving our faces tinged slightly orange - table manners had
gone clear out the window!
 |
| Hard at work, clearing the ground |
One
of the team suffered heatstroke and thus began the ‘car shuffle’,
to try to find room for her as she was unable to cycle. Thankfully,
there was someone near by with a pickup truck and she was able to go
in there. One of the cyclists kindly decided to accompany the volunteer suffering, so that she was not alone. And then there were four... No incidents were
encountered on the way back and the 45 minute uphill battle was made
slightly better by the live concert given by our guide.
All
in all, it was a brilliant and fulfilling day and definitely worth
the achy muscles and blinding headaches we subsequently suffered for
the next couple of days.
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