February 17 Upstairs Floor Poured

Well, repairing a local bridge occupied Ron and Phil's time for the past couple of weeks.  Now that that's done (see complete story here), we can see the progress at the Hostel over the past month!

Today the floor on the upstairs of the lower level was poured.  We got to experience another first for us in Africa - pouring cement on upper level using a pump!  The pump truck arrived first, the cement truck was to come in the morning.  But TIA (This Is Africa) and the first load of cement didn't arrive until nearly 1pm.  Once it arrived, everyone was ready.

Cement truck backed up to the pump truck

Cement is pumped up through the arm and shoots out where directed

 To get a good view I climbed up to the floor of the upstairs on the upper level and looked down at the work on the upstairs of the lower level.  Just appreciate the risk I took for this blog - climbing a ladder in a long dress! 

Huge sections of the floor were poured in just a few short minutes.

Now step back a bit for a bigger picture view.

View of lower level upstairs from the upper level upstairs

Pivot to the right to look over the upper level upstairs where the floor is being readied for its own cement pouring one day soon.  This whole floor will all be covered in wood, then have a rebar mesh on top, and finally a layer of cement. 

Ron's standing on the balcony outside an upstairs bedroom

The sky was getting dark and threatened to storm.  Thankfully the rain didn't fall till the middle of the night and did very little damage... at least nothing that can't be covered over with tile.

See where part of the floor is not covered in wood?  In those sections you can see down to the ground level where it looks like a small forest is holding up the ceiling (or floor of the upstairs).  These sticks are standard construction supplies here.

Large sticks holding up the upstairs level like a small forest

Now meet the missionaries behind the project.  Phil works closely with construction foreman (Johanas) and orders supplies, Ron oversees the whole project, Scott is doing the administration details handing out money for supplies and paying salaries, and Jeff, our accountant, keeps track of how much money is being spent.  They all have had a lot to do with the UBAC Hostel construction and were all there to watch the cement get pumped.

Phil Falconer, Ron Z., Scott Pyles, Jeff Stoker