Last Build Day (July 16th): 3 houses later :)

Susanne:
Today was our last build day...we built 3 homes in 5 days! The to-do was to finish the roof, clean the site and then get ready for all the dedication ceremonies which are always important for any Habitat build.

We started off with an early morning, and Chelsea and I accompanied Eric to the local market to buy house warming gifts for the family. The market was already bustling with lots of people at around 6:30 am. Fresh fish flopping around, plucked chickens hanging by their feet and fresh fruit in baskets on various ``intersections`` which are a good idea to remember to not get lost. The stands have little pathways that are all covered by blue tarp, in places pretty low. Some stores have ceilings so low that one woman had to laugh as I went ducking through to the back of the store looking at some mats. We bought mats to sleep on, mosquito nets, blankets and brooms for all three families. Then it was onto the bus, but we had another occurrence: Nick was not well at all and wanted to go to the hospital to get a fever and chills checked out. Better safe than sorry. Chelsea accompany him to the local ``SOS`` hospital and I went on with the team, to the worksite. The gables were completed by the workers the day before and we were onto patching some of the spaces between the bricks by patching them smooth with cement, picking up bricks around the worksite and carrying green fiberglass roof tiles to the homes.
For lunch, we went to our habitual hammock hangout and shared lunch with the families and skilled workers which was really nice. During the lunch, it started pouring and we ended up getting back to the site and finishing preparations in the rain. It cooled things off nicely, but made for some soaking wet sneakers and shirts....well, everything pretty well got soaked. It is tradition to leave a coin from the building team`s country somewhere in the building which is a sign of future prosperity. We asked the home owners for permission and, after much search for Canadian coins in our backpacks, we came up with two loonies and a quarter which we cemented into an area above the front door of each house. It seemed to be very meaningful to the owners, which was nice to see.
The dedication ceremony included a ribbon cutting by a number of people by cutting a tiny bit of red ribbon with the homeowner cutting the very last piece, the presentation of a huge wooden key and all kinds of speeches. We presented the families with the gifts, gave a signed Canadian flag to the community elder and then started a number of speeches. Like in any build I have been a part of, this part of the habitat experience is always very meaningful. We all did fine until the mother of 5 children moving into the 3rd house, who had been the source of many laughs, hugs and kisses as she was just a ray of sunshine walking around the site with the most amazing laugh, until she started thanking us and started crying....in a good way....well, a few of us could not help but getting teary eyed as she was incredibly appreciative and one of the most positive people I have likely ever met. To know that these families were able to move from rental housing near a dumpsite which often flooded the homes and created unsanitary conditions...nice feeling, we have to say. We knew that we would get to see the site where the families were being relocated from on Saturday.

After speeches etc, we pulled out our box of toys and Chelsea and Michelle gave out one gift per child which ranged from stuffed animals (thanks, Glenda!) to water guns, balls, Frisbees and school supplies. The kids were soooo excited and it was like having a little party in the warm rain. This was followed by some dancing...we repeated our chicken dance, did the Cha Cha Slide to a blaring stereo in the van and then played music and basically had a street party with kids dancing, adults dancing and many videos and photos being taken. What a great way to finish the week.
Then came what is always difficult: the good bye. We finally managed to get into the van and started our way back to the city. What an amazing build this was! Unforgettable...

We had dinner at the Titanic restaurant again and then went to the night market for a bit.