Day 5 of Work

Seriously, seriously, seriously, thank goodness it is Friday! The whole entire crew has been working so hard. I felt we all got a real boon in energy knowing we could just relax on the weekend and just enjoy each other's company.

One of the unforeseen difficulties that sprang up was that there we had many workers and only one cement mixer. This being said, everyone looked around and thought there were other little tasks we could do. When we finished with these tasks some of the volunteers went down to the other campus and finished pulling the weeds with phenomenal results. It truly is amazing how much better everything looks when you pay attention to detail!

What was really cool about today was that some of the workers from the high school and our little buddy, Matej, came over and pitched in.

Day 4 of Work

Everyone met at the 6-8 campus as we were going to start laying concrete. However, soon it became apparent that we were overstaffed as we needed to wait for the technical workers to take measurements of the school grounds before we laid the rebar and cement. In the meantime some of us started removing the sand surrounding the soccer field so we could lay the concrete as soon as possible. When we had finished that job, we decided to split the group. Me and a couple of the Bauorden volunteers stayed behind to help out with this task as Jessica and the others went to the 1-5 campus to start pulling weeds and getting that playground ready for the opening day. Later in the day everyone met back up at the 6-8 campus and we started mixing and laying the concrete.

Again, it was a joy that we had a couple of local volunteers wake up early and come out to work. Having these sorts friends in the community really makes all the volunteer work worthwhile.

Day 3 of Work

Day 3: We had completely cleaned up the entire playground and were ready to start laying the concrete. After a morning of painting/sealing the wood around the soccer field with some local and Bauorden volunteers, me and one volunteer started unloading two pallets of concrete and rebar from the truck while Jessica and a few other people used GPS units to measure the field. As we could go as far as we could go without a concrete mixer, we decided to break for the rest of the day.

Later in the afternoon I went to the municipality and informed my contact that we needed to clean the asphalt in the schoolyard so we could start laying concrete the next day. She then called the fire chief to send up a firetruck. Jessica and I met the firemen at the school. Meanwhile, I got a call from a Bauorden volunteer who had been held up at the Hungarian/Serbian border and came to Kratovo late. I had to hustle down to the bus station, bring the volunteer to his host family's residence, and then get back to the work site. Afterwards, the firemen drove Jessica and I back the center of town in the truck. Even though I'm a 29 year old man, I have to admit that that made my day.

Day 2 of Work

Oh, the 7:00 AM workday, how I have missed you! This is the pretty much the first day I've had to wake up this early since joining the Peace Corps. Not complaining.

Today was a continuation of yesterday: clearing out debris, garbage, weeds, and dirt. However, we also started putting some sealant on the wood surrounding the soccer field so it will last the community longer. In addition some of our community friends coming along and helping, so did three of our Peace Corps colleagues. Thanks Josh, Jennifer, & Kristen!

Day 1 of Work

We all met up at the 6-8 campus the next day at noon so the volunteers could sleep off the traveling from the day before. The first thing we needed to do was clean the playground so that we could lay the concrete later in the week. This meant we needed to remove all the garbage from the field, clear out all the asphalt and concrete debris, pull weeds, and shovel out the dirt on the perimeter so it would be level. Luckily, we got some help from some of the locals. Some members from the "host families", students from my and Jessica's ecological group, Volunteer Ecology Kratovo, our friend Mustafa from an NGO, RROMA, and even a worker from the school pitched in.

The mood of the day was very cheerful. Even after a long and hot work day, me and two of the Bauorden volunteers found the energy to have a wheelbarrow race. I came in 2nd place and had to pay my debt: a beer.

They're Here: Bauorden Welcome Dinner!!!

Poor, Jessica. She's a real trooper. Some of the volunteers came via airplane and some by bus... No problem with those logistics. Those coming by train... That's another story. Jessica waited for all the train delays and spent a total of 11 hours in the station! Meanwhile, I was back in Kratovo coordinating the welcome dinner with the host families and the cafe, Talisman, at which we were holding the dinner.

One by one Jessica put the volunteers on the bus and I received them when they got to Kratovo. As they stepped off the bus, my countenance turned to pure sunshine. Although I was feeling under pressure, when I saw their faces I knew that the prior four months' work was actually coming into fruition. I then got a taxi and rushed the first group to their host families' houses and started setting up the cafe while I waited for the next group.

Waiting...

So we got all the playground equipment installed at the 1-5 campus, we ordered all the materials (concrete, rebar, chain link fence) for the 6-8 campus, and now we're just waiting for our partner organization, Bauorden, to come help us do the work! They will be coming into Skopje on August 8th. In preparation for their arrival we have been busy finding "host families" for them.

The great thing about this project is that not only will Kratovo gain one new public park/playground and one renovated playground, but the economy will get a little boost as well. We have tried to purchase as much of the needed materials from local businesses as possible. In addition, we have arranged with Bauorden to provide some compensation to the host families. All in all, we estimate that as a result of this project approximately $3,850 will come into the local economy. This estimation doesn't include the incidentals the volunteers will be accruing either. As there is an unemployment rate hovering around 50% in Kratovo and the average salary is $250 per month, this project is a great help to the community. That is the money equivalent to the salary of 15.4 people for one month will come into the economy. On top of all of this, if Bauorden likes the work camp we are facilitating, they plan to come back for a couple more years.