Day 2: Panels, Posts, and Puppies

Day two on the build site brought a little bit of everything: a lot of cement, some very heavy timber posts, nearly an entire ceiling — and, of course, plenty of puppy distractions.

We picked up right where we left off yesterday at the Educational Learning Center in Namulomulo Village, once again splitting into two groups to tackle different parts of the project.

Inside, Kaji continued leading the crew working on the ceiling. After spending yesterday measuring, cutting, and installing the wooden supports, the team began lifting the large ceiling panels into place. Each panel had to be measured, adjusted, and carefully secured overhead — definitely one of those jobs that looks much easier until you’re standing on a ladder trying to hold a giant sheet above your head. By the end of the day, all but two panels were installed.

Outside, Suli led the veranda crew as we turned yesterday’s three-foot-deep holes into something that finally started to look like a structure. There was a LOT of concrete mixing. We mixed batch after batch by hand, loaded it into wheelbarrows, and moved it across the site as each of the remaining five timber posts was carried over, lowered into place, leveled, braced, and cemented into the ground.

One of the posts decided to make things slightly more interesting when it split while being cut. Instead of scrapping it, the team worked together to reinforce and repair it with rebar before getting it into place. It slowed us down for a bit, but somehow we’re still ahead of schedule.

By the time all six posts were standing, it was incredibly satisfying to step back and finally see the outline of the veranda beginning to take shape. Two days ago, it was just an open patch of ground. Now there’s a clear footprint of the space that will eventually give the children here more room to learn, study, and gather.

And then there were the puppies. There are several dogs around the build site, including a litter of tiny black-and-tan puppies that have been providing a fairly constant threat to productivity since we arrived.

One of the dogs apparently decided I was his person. He spent much of the day following me around the site, curling up nearby while we worked and looking at me with the kind of face that makes rational decision-making very difficult. I started calling him Bula — a word you hear constantly in Fiji that can mean hello or welcome and is closely tied to the idea of life. By the end of the day, he had completely won me over. So,  stay tuned on that one!

Tomorrow we’ll keep moving upward — finishing those last ceiling panels and continuing to build out the veranda now that all six posts are finally in place.

For now, though, day two can pretty accurately be summarized as panels, posts, and puppies. And I’m very happy with all three.

Day 1: A Welcome, a Worksite, and the First Beam

Today was the day we had been waiting for: our first day on the build site.

We started the morning in a way that made it immediately clear this week would be about much more than construction. Before picking up a single tool, we gathered with members of the community for a traditional welcome led by the village headman. He blessed our team and welcomed us into the community with a kava ceremony. Each of us was also given a sulu to wear — a meaningful gesture of welcome and respect as we began our time here.

From there, it was finally time to see the project we had traveled so far to work on.

Our build is centered around the community’s Educational Learning Center, a space used by local children and students. A previous Habitat team helped expand the space by working on a ramp, and this week our team is continuing that progress by building a new outdoor veranda alongside the center. The goal is to create more usable space for the students who gather here to learn.

Before we could start building outward, there was plenty of work to do both inside and outside.

We split into two groups. Inside the learning center, one team began preparing the structure for ceiling tiles. We started by carrying the large ceiling panels inside, then volunteers measured and cut pieces of timber and installed beams overhead that will eventually support the finished ceiling.

Outside, the rest of us began laying out the footprint of the new veranda. We measured and built the perimeter before tackling the most physically demanding job of the day: digging six holes, each approximately three feet deep, for the posts that will support the structure.

The ground required plenty of shoveling, scraping, measuring, readjusting, and climbing directly into the holes as they got deeper. By midday, there were six very noticeable piles of dirt — and a group of volunteers who had definitely earned lunch.

We paused for a meal together at the site before getting back to work, determined to see at least one piece of the veranda begin to rise before the day ended. And we did.

Just after lunch, the first large support post was lifted into place and secured into one of the holes we had spent the morning digging. It was only one beam, but after a day spent measuring lines, hauling materials, cutting wood, hammering overhead, and moving a whole lot of dirt, seeing that first post standing upright felt like a pretty satisfying way to end our first day.

Of course, I would be leaving out one very important detail if I didn’t mention our other worksite companions. Several tiny puppies spent part of the day wandering around the site, which meant productivity occasionally suffered for extremely understandable reasons. There are some distractions even the most dedicated Habitat volunteer cannot resist.

By the time we packed up, we were tired, dusty, and already able to see the beginnings of what this space will become.

Today gave us our first glimpse of what the week ahead will hold — hard work, a lot of teamwork, plenty of problem-solving, and the chance to build alongside a community that welcomed us so warmly from the moment we arrived.

One post is in the ground, five holes are waiting, and we’re just getting started.