Thursday, Nov 27: Day 4 of Construction, Nothing Can Stop Us!

Once again, we arrived onsite nervous to see the damage the rain had done and motivated to get to work quickly! Considering all the time we had lost in the last two days we were still quite impressed with our progress on the latrine. We weren’t going to let a little bit of rain (or even A LOT of rain) stand in our way!

 

In the morning Todd, Scott, Sandra, Mr. Chen, and another hired worker lowered the four cement rings in place for the waste reservoir, while Cathy and Sarah worked inside the latrine plastering the walls and sealing the inside of the water basin with pure cement. 

We finished all the work that we could without literally working on top of one another before our last lunch break at ‘The Vine’. We figured we deserved a little celebration for our last day onsite and we tried a traditional Khmer dessert at the end of our meal, which consisted of coconut milk, mung beans, and tapioca pearls. Unfortunately the dessert was a celebration for some more than others; it certainly was quite different from what we would serve for a treat after dinner in North America!

We arrived back onsite after lunch and jumped back into action! Once again there were some nasty clouds off in the distance trying to get in our way. Mr. Chen and the other worker managed to get the roof of the latrine in place only moments before the rain started pouring down. Luckily, today we only had tasks inside the latrine to complete and we would be able to work through the rain. Cathy finished up plastering one of the inside walls, while I worked on sealing the last wall of the water basin. We proceeded to take turns working inside to finish plastering the walls since we could not all fit at once. Once the rain had let up a bit we mixed up another batch of mortar so that Mr. Chen could install the toilet and pour the floor inside of the latrine. We had to work late but we managed to get everything done by the end of the day. 

We are quite impressed with the work that we have been able to accomplish in Odong village over the last two weeks, which seem to have whizzed by so fast. Tonight we celebrate at a seaside restaurant called ‘The Sailing Club’ to enjoy some delicious food and fancy cocktails with Vy for our final evening in Kep.

Sarah Armstrong

DWC Team Leader

Cambodia, November 2014

Wednesday, Nov 26: Day 3 of Construction, Enough with the Rain Already!

When we were driving to work today we noticed quite a lot of water on the roads and it was obvious that it had rained near the worksite as well. We were quite concerned that we would have a lot of repairs to deal with, but when we drove up to the latrine it was in pretty good shape aside from the plaster having eroded off at the corners. Setbacks aside, we were quite determined to finish this latrine on time, and everyone was extra quick to get moving on construction today.

By mid-afternoon we had installed all the windows, finished laying the bricks and plastered more of the outside walls, and we also filled the foundation and built the water basin inside the latrine.

We were quite impressed with our pace and became more confident that we would be able to catch up by the end of the day when we felt the air cool and saw the dark clouds rolling in again. We all worked until the last moment possible and then scrambled to get things covered up or moved out of the rain. Once again, the rain had cut our day short.

We were starting to get worried that we would not be able to finish the latrine by the end of Thursday as scheduled, however, we were not going to leave unfinished business and were more than willing to work on Friday as well if necessary.

Sarah Armstrong
DWC Team Leader
Cambodia, November 2014

Tuesday, Nov 25: Day 2 of Construction - Rain, Rain Go Away!

Sandra, Cathy, and I were still laying bricks for the better part of the day while Todd and Scott did some dirty work and dug the hole for the waste reservoir. As the hole grew deeper and deeper groundwater seeped in and filled the bottom of the hole with mucky water.

At the first site one of the men from the family took on the messy job of getting into the hole to remove mud to make it an appropriate depth to accommodate the concrete rings that form the waste reservoir; since we had less help at this site, Scott ended up taking on this task. This waste reservoir also had a different configuration than the last; instead of having two shorter reservoirs, with the second one functioning as an overflow reservoir, we had one very deep reservoir with four rings stacked on top of each other. This meant that Scott was stuck in a seven-foot deep hole, knee deep in muddy water for the better part of the morning, what a trooper!

After lunch we were able to start working on plastering some of the outside walls and filling in the inside foundation of the latrine with soil. But, we didn’t manage to get very far along before some dark clouds accompanied with loud claps of thunder came rolling in. It wasn’t long before the rain came pouring down; we all worked quickly to cover up our work and to save the mortar and cement from getting soaked. We were especially concerned about all that plaster that had just been applied to the exterior of the building! We hung out for a while playing cards and hoping that the weather would pass so that we could get back to work, but the rain was coming down really hard!

Our workday was cut short and it seemed that the weather was following us back to Kep. We were planning on heading down to the crab market to eat at ‘Kimly’ once again, but by the time dinner rolled around, there was water rushing down the streets like a river. With this in mind, we decided to eat closer to home, plus Vy was planning on walking from her accommodations to meet us and she would have been soaked! We were going to eat downstairs at our hotel but we saw some umbrellas stacked in a corner; since the rain had let up a bit and we didn’t need a boat to get through the streets anymore we headed about five minutes away to grab some pizza. It was totally worth the little trek and we didn’t even get that wet! We were really crossing our fingers that the rain wasn’t so bad at the jobsite but we will have to wait until morning to see.

Sarah Armstrong
DWC Team Leader
Cambodia, November 2014

Thursday, Nov 20: Final Day of Week 1

We completed our first latrine today!

Sandra, Cathy, and I worked on plastering the inside of the latrine while Scott and Todd took on the dirty job of hauling the mud out of the pit and getting the cement rings in place for the waste reservoir. It was a long day but we managed to get everything done that we had set out to do.

There will still be some finishing work, such as installing the porcelain squat toilet, that will be completed the next day by our Bu’s - a job that is best left to the professionals. It was incredible to see what we had accomplished in four days that seemed to whiz by so fast! The family was very grateful for the latrine and for our help on the project; it was heartwarming to hear them say ‘akun’ at the end, but we felt equally grateful to have shared in the experience with them!

Sarah Armstrong

DWC Team Leader

Cambodia, November 2014

Wednesday, Nov 19: Day 3 of Hard Work

Today we finished plastering the outside of the latrine and smoothing out all of the plastered surfaces. While smoothing the plaster was the lightest of all the tasks, it certainly proved to be the most difficult for all of us; it seemed that just as everything was smooth and nearly perfect a small piece of rock was dragged through your work. Oh well, wax on, wax off!

Sandra also worked on sealing the inside of the water basin with cement. Tomorrow will be our last day at this site and we will be starting our next latrine in a new location on Monday. It’s hard to believe that we have gone from a pile of bricks to a beautifully constructed latrine in such a short time!

Sarah Armstrong

DWC Team Leader

Cambodia, November 2014

Tuesday, Nov 18: Day 2 of Construction

Today we continued laying the bricks for the outer walls and installed cinder block windows that would let light into the latrine while also providing ventilation. As the walls got higher, Cathy and I moved inside the latrine to lay the bricks for a water basin that will be used for showering.

By the end of the day we were able to begin the next phase of construction which was plastering the outside of the building, as always our Bu’s made the job look really easy, I’m sure we’ll get the hang of it soon enough! It’s amazing to see the progress so far; we are really starting to be proud of our work as things come along!

Sarah Armstrong
DWC Team Leader
Cambodia, November 2014