Today at JJ Haven we began another hard day of work at 6:30 sharp. The painting crew started by sanding the walls and making them smooth for another coat of paint in the girl’s room. They proceeded to finish rolling the last coat on and looked to their next goal. Miss Erasmus entrusted Jazmin with the leadership duties while she went for more paint supplies. Jazmin did a good job keeping her team on task. After finishing the girls room, they started the cutting-in on the boy’s room. Mr Osborne’s table group got off to a bit of a slow start on their next few tables as they had to wait for most of the wood to be delivered. To make the most of their time, they measured and cut the last bit of remaining wood they had and drilled the holes. The crew also finished sanding and varnishing the two tables constructed the previous day. With their spare time, they looked to help other groups with their projects.

The Gazebo group moved quickly to finish the roof on the gazebo. They set the goal of finishing their first gazebo before lunch and worked well together to complete it. After a large lunch, they looked to dig the holes for the next gazebo. The group made sure to double check the alignment of each hole and then went about digging them. Due to the compacted African dirt, It took the group about 3 hours to dig four holes 60 cm deep. The group then put up the posts and lined them up perfectly. The last work of the day involved racing individual scoops of concrete approximately 100 metres up a hill to secure the posts in place.

Following hard day of work, the group was rewarded with a braai prepared sponsored by St. Stephen’s but prepared by Neels (Molly’s husband), his son-in-law Eugene, and Peter.  The braai was an amazing experience as all of the kids and the tour students had an opportunity to bond and spend quality time together. There was lots of music, dancing and the atmosphere energetic and warm. The night ended with a reflective debrief that was led by the students. We discussed the positive experiences we have had with the children of JJ Haven and how much they have touched our lives.

– Jack Hogarth and Lachlan Meagher