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.