The Machine Is Worth A Thousand Shovels

The Dozer finally arrived!

It was a jubilant week for the project as the Dozer spent two full days levelling the compound area where the classrooms are to be built. This means that we can now set out the classrooms and start on the foundations. There was a lot of soil to shift, and with the relatively small machine, it took the operator two full days to complete the task. He was skilled and hardworking, although it appears that to get someone to do their job properly does require something of an incentive, so both days were spent sweet talking, buying lunch, drinks, and promising to dash him (tip) if the job is completed well. In the end he was very unhappy with our “charity” dash (~50% of his salary over the two days). However, the Chief asked him to do an extra couple of hours on his own plot in the bush behind the kindergarten where he wants to build a house, and for this he dashed him extremely well (tripling his earnings over the two days). So in the end everybody was happy. Although we still need to get a grader in to level the football pitch in time for sports season next month!

Elsewhere the drainage swales continued to take shape with a vehicle crossing added, and the site store and site fencing are in their infancy. We have been putting in place plans for the project, such as:-

• a site induction which will be given to everybody who comes to the site with a host of top tips and site rules to keep the site clean tidy and the people safe and happy
• health and safety systems which are somewhere between UK law, Ghana standard practice, and practical common sense
• a training plan for Lawrence, the trainee engineer who will be left holding the baby when my savings run out....

Here are some photo's. Please view by SET.