The loads of sand are shoveled off the lorry into the street outside of the Vessel of Hope school in Kenya that we are working on improving.
We then bring the sand inside, bucket by bucket, where we can then mix it with water from the river and start the process of plastering classrooms so that they can be painted and become a more suitable environment for the students to learn.
Learning how to plaster “Kenyan style” is it’s own unique art form. You mix then flick the wet sand up onto the walls and ceiling. You smooth and pound the mixture into the dirt to make a floor.
You endlessly pound the stone walls to break apart what has deteriorated so that a newer, better foundation can be put into place.
As one volunteer put it… “It’s incredible, amazing! How the Kenyans take what little resources they have and turn it into something lasting and new. I’m so grateful to be able to help!”
I couldn’t have summed it up better myself. Their is nothing quite like being covered in dirt and beaming with the joy of accomplishing something for the greater good.
