The rest of Tuesday: Two work sites, one accident

Late this Tuesday morning we split up to work two sites. We had already installed a concrete block house at one site for a woman called Nico, who is married with two children. The walls are stable, but not secured. Today the objective for that site was to install the framing for the concrete roof that will tie those walls together securely.

Nico's House seems to consist of a shed (under the sloping roof), a tiny kitchen and a bedroom.

Rigo, an Esperanza technician on the framework to support the cement roof.

The second site belonged to a woman called America. The team assigned to that site worked on a concrete perimeter that defined the boundaries of the house. The perimeter was set into a trench. Today they did the prep work for pouring cement into the blocks to secure that wall. Later, a concrete floor will be poured within that perimeter to define the foundation of the home.

The dirt is contained by concrete block. The trench is where the perimeter wall is situated to frame the slab foundation. Concrete is poured into the perimeter wall to stabilize it. (Photo by Kelsy Barrow)

The day was almost routine and uneventful, except for the accident that ended our work at Nico's site. If you're going to pour a cement roof for a house, you need rebar. And if you're going to use rebar, you have to cut and bend it. There were primarily three people on the rebar team--Diego, a local and friend of Nico's family who operated the cutting and bending tool; Destrey Seiler, a veteran from prior years who measured the rebar; and Emily Gilbert,  a slender, five-foot-ten newcomer who tried her hand at bending. It's a task that requires upper body strength more appropriate for a manly man, and Emily was rising to the occasionand getting the knack of it when she slipped and fell. A few moments later, she noticed the blood streaming from the gash on her knee. It was not a small cut.

Within a minute, Anetta Schwientek, another veteran, had gauze over the wound. Klaus Schwientek, Anetta's husband, decided we were done for the day and would return early on Wednesday, to make up for lost time. We loaded into a van and headed for a clinic located within a half-mile of the Esperanza compound. In a little more than an hour, Emily was the recipient of a "get well" helium baloon, several Hawaii-styled leis, and an enormous, multi-colored lollipop.

  Emily, with balloon, leis, lollypop, and bandaged leg. flanked by Annette and Destrey.

And when we returned to the compound, we found a new element: volunteers had finally erected a longed-for addition to the facility: An Esperanza flag had joined the Mexican flag near the entrance and was fluttering in the wind.

The posada finally sports an Esperanza flag.

Tomorrow we return to the work sites to continue construction on the two homes.

Love,
Robert
Note: This blog is independent of any organization; errors, omissions, exaggerations and misinterpretations are solely the responsibility of the author.