Construction Day 4

After the half day yesterday, we were back for a full day on site!

And it was a day of hard work. We were working on building out and pouring concrete for the front and back stoops, but also bringing a huge amount of dirt into the house and tamping it down to be the base for the floor.

This last task was complicated by the fact that the large amount of dirt that was delivered earlier this week had lots of rocks, and then it quickly disappeared, leaving us scrounging a bit and having to move lots of rocks to bring the floor up to the correct level.

But we managed, and got it all done! Then dinner was a lovely dinner out on the town at a steak house in Estelí.

It is so hard to believe the week is drawing to a close, but tomorrow is our last day in Estelí!

Day 3 of construction

As you can see, we have made some real progress! What started with just 3 rows of block laid has now risen to be a full house with the gables going on!

We put on the last full row of brick this morning, which is a row that also requires a great deal of concrete to be poured in—quite a labor-intensive project when you have to mix by hand and haul it all up onto scaffolding!

But we got it done, and helped begin the process of building the gables on the front and back.

That was it for the day today, though, because this afternoon was a tour of a cigar factory. We were not prepared for the fumes from the fermentation process, but we learned so much about all that goes into making cigars! It was incredible to be able to watch these people sort amazing quantities of tobacco leaves and so quickly roll the cigars. Everything was by hand, because machines just can't do it.

Tomorrow we return to a full day of work!

Construction Day 2

What do you do when you've already put up the four lines planned for the day before lunch? Why, add on two more rows before calling it a day, of course!

Today the building was all on scaffolding, which didn't seem to slow us down. Instead, we worked together to exceed the expectations of Habitat! All while enjoying music featuring requests from all our team members, and dancing (while on the ground, of course, since dancing on the scaffolding is against the safety rules!).

Larry also made a friend with a young man who is also a juggler and card trick expert, so our afternoon break was a nice little show!

We continued to get some excellent help from Doña Marta's son and his girlfriend, including with sifting sand for the mortar and tying rebar. It is always a treat to be able to build with our family and get to know them!

Day 1 of Construction

Before we went to the worksite this morning, we went by a partner of Habitat Nicaragua. This is the organization that helps with some of the non-building activities, and stresses working with youth to help break cycles of violence and poverty. That space is also where we have lunch every day.

When we got to the site, we were greeted by a shade tent with chairs, hard hats and waist supports, and our masons!

Orientation

(Posted late because it didn't go through last night)

This morning, after an incredible breakfast spread, we had an orientation with the other teams in country, which included some excellent data. For instance, 48% of the people working in Nicaragua are underemployed. And the poverty line sits at $250/month!

Habitat Nicaragua does work that goes deeper than just building houses. They provide financial and economic training, and even participate in a micro-lending program for construction improvements. The benefit of these loans is that the recipients get assistance from engineers and architects to ensure that the improvements are quality.

From there we headed out to Estelí, stopping at the Revolution Plaza to hear about some political history and see the cathedral that was practically destroyed in the 1972 earthquake.

The drive was long, but featured some beautiful scenery as we traveled across the country.

Out hotel is beautiful and wonderfully calming. The sign declares that this is a stress-free zone, and that seems to be the case!

We had the opportunity to meet Marta, whose house we are helping to build. She has served as a soldier for the government, and had her daughter murdered in Guatemala and lost a grandchild to leukemia. She works for the local hospital as a phone operator and announcement-maker. But her health requires that her son and daughter-in-law live with her in her 24 sq-meter house. It was nice to meet her ahead of a workday.

We are actually building within the confines of her current wooden, ad-hoc structure. The family is crowded into what little space is left until construction is finished. But she owns a great deal of land to add on rooms as she can afford it.

Travel Day

We managed to make it through two planes and three countries to arrive in Nicaragua!

Once we checked into our beautiful hotel (check out the view from the back!) we had plenty of free time to relax, even getting some pool time in!

Dinner was delicious (may this continue all week), and tomorrow we move out to Estelí, our building location for the week.

Change in plans

The title of this blog is "First Trinity Builds Houses in El Salvador." And that was certainly the plan for this February, starting Saturday (2/17).

However, just a few weeks ago, plans changed. The US State Department changed the format and wording of its travel advisories, and reclassified several countries. El Salvador was one of the countries affected, and it wound up in the "Reconsider Travel" category. Nothing changed on the ground, it was simply a change in categories.

According to Habitat for Humanity policies, they cannot send teams to countries in this category. So El Salvador was a no-go. Luckily Nicaragua, which is a premiere destination for Thrivent Builds this year, had a slot open for our team!

Over the course of the next few days, the team agreed to switch destinations, and we found a way to change our travel plans. A huge thanks to Habitat, who not only helped us financially with the switch, but our wonderful coordinator Anna (who was working with other teams in the same situation!) was in constant contact and was a huge source of support.

So now we get to explore new territory. Nicaragua has a slightly different building program. They build the families extremely small houses (24 sq. meters), which serve as "starter" units for the family. It is a secure place to live while they save money for any additions they need, and they can add on as needed.

We will do our best to update as the week goes on--stay tuned!