tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42050107288585472132024-03-13T16:36:43.306-07:00Phase II: Foyer House Renovation @ Kimbondo OrphanagePhase II will provide sanitary and dignified bathrooms and enhanced living space for 75 abandoned children in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo.Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-23968017815440854052018-09-01T14:15:00.003-07:002018-09-01T14:42:21.493-07:00La Maison Blanche: A Final Look After 21 Months and $62,000<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/Df2kNzwLQMc" target="_blank">The Final Foyer House Video</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And here you have it--the final (anticipated) post on this blog. Nearly two years in fundraising and construction and even longer in planning, our work (me, Madlen, Dean, Papa Bila and his construction staff, and the close to 200 of you reading this who have contributed amounts large and small) have done it. We've taken a dilapidated two bedroom/one (functioning) toilet stall house for 75 abandoned kids in the DR Congo and turned it into a light, airy, sanitary, more comfortable and spacious four bedroom/eight (functioning, dammit!) toilet stall home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I had grand plans of spending hours splicing together old video clips of the "before" and Dean's project-end footage. But ya know--if you're reading this, you know what it looked like before and have read the accounts of the day-to-day difficulties and discomforts these kids have faced.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Life is still hard for them (well, and for all of us, at some level). But your generosity and trust have provided greater comfort and safety, helped sustain dozens of families in a part of the world where employment is difficult to come by, sent a message of care and human decency around the world, and--I hope--provided you the joy of knowing that you were part of helping some young people in need.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thank you to everyone. The proverbial drop in the bucket and all.,.but we've made a significant difference here, one more stark than even Dean's concise and loving video can capture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Give yourself a slap of five. And remember:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. "Never for money; always for love."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2. And fuck fascism.</span><br />
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<a href="https://youtu.be/Df2kNzwLQMc" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Final Foyer House Video</span></a></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-64048383886755513532018-08-05T09:37:00.001-07:002018-08-05T09:37:40.190-07:00Long Overdue Update--Exciting Video Footage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">As anticipated, we've been a little quiet over the (Western Hemisphere) summer. Madlen had to spend a few months in Europe attending to personal issues. The work that could continue during her absence did continue. But mostly, we were in a holding pattern awaiting her return.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The latest video update, created by master cinematographer Dean Lindstrom, gives a clear insight into what is happening and what still, in an ideal world, might happen next. Dean created four brief clips that I compiled into 6:45 of fun. It's not meant as an overview of the whole two-year-long project, but it does give those of you who have invested thought, emotion, or money into this project a nice view of the current situation on the ground.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In overall summary, we have raised essentially the full $62,000 needed to accomplished what we'd dream of accomplishing, plus a bit more. A reminder of what your compassion and cash have accomplished:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Two brand new, clean, bright, airy bedrooms with toilets and showers, which allowed the ~80 children at Foyer House to sleep in four rooms instead of two.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The paving of a dirt walkway that had been responsible for infesting the bare feet of the kids with truly horrid mango worms.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The creation of an expansive patio area in front of the building (which plays home to Kimbondo's first cement ping pong table!).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The destruction of arguably Sub-Sahara Africa's most odiferous and least functional communal bathroom and its replacement with clean, bright, sanitary toilets and showers.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The major overhaul of the two aging bedrooms including the construction of lofts in each room. (Note: the second bedroom should be completed by the end of August.)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">A complete renovation of the hallways and the common area--light, bright, clean, lovely.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">With special help from our friends at Cinnamon Path Productions and Theater, the kids and staff now have a brand new industrial strength washing machine and are no longer washing 80 sets of clothes by hand. (The washing machine is housed in a purpose-built additional room.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I regret that I'm not able to see it in person, having moved on to Bolivia. But Dean's video updates and the regular slew of photos that Madlen send makes the difference clear. I'm proud of them, proud of the workers, proud of myself, and proud of all of you for transforming the living experience of dozens of lives--a number that will surely grow into the hundreds as the years go past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At this point, I feel like I've asked for a lot from others and am willing and able to fund the remaining touches (highlighted in the video) myself. That said, if anyone out there has wanted to donate and not done so or feels compelled to contribute a bit more, Lantern Projects can still accept your tax deductible donations and get that cash to Kinshasa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A final update should come in the next couple of months when the work is 100% completed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" target="_blank">Donate to Project #349</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You rule, kids.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-23852061234735651832018-05-26T08:15:00.007-07:002018-05-26T08:15:57.648-07:00May 26: Funding Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Man, we are getting close. We're not there. But we're close. And we're going to make it. But to make it, we still need folks to </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" target="_blank">DONATE HERE</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, a quick look at the money situation...Phase I last year (a new building with two large bedrooms) was completed at a cost of $28,000. Phase II-A this year (ripping apart the old bathroom and making it good) carried a price tag of a little less than $17,000, and that work is completed. Our final renovations at Kimbondo Orphanage will consist of a major overhaul of the two older bedrooms (with lofts, big windows, and other upgrades) *and* purchasing an industrial strength washing machine was estimated to be completable for $15,000. (One of the bedrooms has already been finished.) Thus, the entire eighteen month project, if completed, will cost about $60,000.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short, we're 97% funded. Another +/- $1,500 will bring this baby home and allow us to do all of the work that in our most crazily optimistic minutes we thought that we maybe could.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The most exciting recent news is that we have received the money needed to purchase an industrial strength washing machine for Foyer House. Up until this point, the residents and staff have washed 75 sets of clothes per day by hand. Earlier this year, Madlen elected to use some left over cement to add a small room to the back of the main building in hopes that she might someday find the resources to purchase and install a washing machine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enter Max Langert and Cinnamon Path Production Theater. On March 22nd, Max wrote to me: </span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">Hey! I've got a kind of crazy, spur-of-the-moment idea I wanted to throw at you (and it totally may not come together, so there's that caveat).</span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">I've put on a couple of variety benefit shows the last couple of years, getting performers together and donating some money to different causes (Autism Society, SAFE). I just basically got offered a free theater space in May to do another one if I can get something together.</span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">And I quickly thought... hmm, if I can get some music and comedy acts together in time, maybe we could do a show for the Kimbondo Orphanage.</span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">Would you have any objection to that? So it would be a modest thing with some mostly comedy stuff, but proceeds would go to the project. Set off any red flags? Is mid-May too late for the latest round of funding?</span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">A bit of a whimsical thought, but the offer from the theater is suddenly on the table, and I like project-managing stuff. (sorta)</span></div>
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<span class="_5yl5" style="font-family: inherit;">Let me know if you have any reaction, negative or positive. No pressure at all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I did, in fact have a reaction: "Oh, hell yeah! Mos def."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And Max went into hyper mode, lining up a slate of excellent local performers (which he enjoys doing) and firing up the PR machine (which he *hates* doing). But once the ball got rolling, we had reason to believe that a night of music, theater, and comedy might net us $500 - $1,000 toward purchasing the fifteen hundred dollar machine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In two direct payments, Max and Cinnamon Path Productions Theater added $1,415 to our account. Within the next couple of days, we also received two random and unexpected Austin-based online donations amounting to $300, which were almost certainly stemming from the benefit. Thus, Max's "crazy, spur-of-the-moment" idea on March 22nd has allowed Kimbondo to purchase the washing machine that will make 75 young lives (and the beleaguered staff's "older lives") easier, more comfortable, and more sanitary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And we are so much closer to completing the entire project, putting the final touches on what is poignantly known across the Kimbondo Orphanage compounds (which houses some 500 - 700 abandoned kids) as "The White House".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bravo, Max. Thank you performers. Thank you friends and anonymous folks who came out to support the kids of Kimbondo. I can only offer my continued assurance that the money is doing exactly what you are promised that it will do and that Madlen, the contractor Papa Bila, and our other friends on the ground in Kinshasa will continue to monitor the process carefully and make your money count.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen returns to Kinshasa in July. By that point, all work should be completed, save the renovation of the second old bedroom and the purchase and installation of the washing machine. Because we are so close to the goal, I've given the okay to purchase the supplies for the final touches, so that we can fend off the ever-possible spike in inflation and be ready to have the work 100% completed by August.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll close by posting some photos provided by Rene Renteria Photography of the "Washa for Kinshasa" benefit held last Saturday. I'm sorry that I can't match names with faces, as I was in far off Santa Cruz, Bolivia that night.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-87485928434309315872018-05-13T10:20:00.000-07:002018-05-22T11:52:42.639-07:00Benefit for Kimbondo Orphanage, Saturday, May 19--Austin, Texas<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" target="_blank">CLICK TO DONATE</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My good friend Max Langert and Cinnamon Path Productions Theater are staging a benefit to help this project. Entitled "A Washa for Kinshasa", the proceeds will go toward procuring an industrial strength washing machine. Currently, the battle to wash 80 sets of clothes a day by hand is...well, challenging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the details:</span><br />
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<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span class="aBn" data-term="goog_612158203" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(204, 204, 204); position: relative; top: -2px; z-index: 0;" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ" style="position: relative; top: 2px; z-index: -1;"><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">Saturday, May 19th 8pm – 10pm, $15 donation requested</span></span></span></div>
<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">Ground Floor Theatre</span></div>
<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a href="https://maps.google.com/?q=979+Springdale+Rd&entry=gmail&source=g"><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">979 Springdale Rd</span></a></div>
<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://www.groundfloortheatre.org&source=gmail&ust=1526310718320000&usg=AFQjCNGaeR-4RlMua3tydbY2wA38Tlyf0A" href="http://www.groundfloortheatre.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">www.groundfloortheatre.org</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;">(512) 827-9474</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Award-winning music, comedy & storytelling: a stellar lineup for a fantastic cause</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Featuring Jomo & The Possum Posse, Her Dinosaur and other special guests, including:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Ava Love Hanna</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Christine Hoang (with Leslie Lozano)</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Tristan Mercado</span></div>
<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Carlton Wilcoxson</span></div>
<div class="m_-8451087252104119619gmail-MsoNoSpacing" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="color: red;">Joey Zimmerman</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Help us pay for a new, industrial-strength washing machine for 75 abandoned children. Currently, the overworked staff oversees the HAND washing of 75 sets of clothes a day.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-66019820962558962072018-05-11T06:08:00.004-07:002018-05-11T06:08:47.149-07:00May 11 Fundraising Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Want to help us get over the top so that we can finish that final bedroom? </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tax Deductible Donations Here</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-25716139223562807932018-05-01T06:08:00.003-07:002018-05-01T06:08:54.152-07:00May 1, 2018: Supporting Labor on May Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">First and foremost, we remain +/- $5,000 short of the total we'll need to have completed *all* dreamed-of renovations to Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa. Your tax-deductible donations can still be sent to:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm">For the Kids at Kimbondo</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
(Please note that in the coming days, we will no longer be a front-page-featured initiative at Lantern Projects. We will continue to receive donations through this cite, but it would be helpful if you'd type a note indicating that your donation is meant for Kimbondo or "the Congo Toilet Project" or even just mentioning my name.)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the great collateral benefits of the construction at Kimbondo Orphanage has been that it has provided almost immeasurably needed work for Congolese people who struggle on a constant basis to feed themselves and their families. The poverty and lack of opportunity that permeates Kinshasa is at a level rarely surpassed or even matched in the modern world. Reliable estimates suggest that as many 500 to 1,000 people *a day* arrive in Kinshasa, such is the unrest and desperation in much of the country. Housing, jobs, and school desks exist for few of them and I--even in the comparatively secure and prosperous sectors of Kinshasa in which I lived--have numerous friends who regularly eat once a day and/or have to withdraw their children from schools for lack of funds. And these are the people who are regularly employed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The work at Kimbondo Orphanage won't act as more than a stopgap for those whom we employed. But in Kinshasa, a stopgap is often vital. Sadly, we know that this project provided the only employment this year for some of the men who worked to build this home for children and suspect that for others, the few hundred dollars earned likely resulted in a child staying in school, or covered a needed medical procedure. Significantly, this didn't involve handouts; the men worked incredibly hard for their pay. The "dignity of labor" is not simply a cliche from days gone by.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In a moment, I'll try to give a rough estimate of wages paid and number of workers. But first a few photographs of Papa Bila (our contractor and the man learning to play ping pong on one of the tables your money built!) and the men he's supervised. I had hoped to be able to attach names and provide a brief bio for some of these gentlemen, but Madlen is currently away in Europe and I wasn't able to accomplish this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen estimates that salaries amounted to about a third of the total cost of each of the building projects. That would mean that about $9,000 made its way into the hands of local workers as we building the second set of bedrooms last year, another $5,000 this year as we renovated the bathrooms and another $2,500 as we gave one of the old bedrooms an overhaul. And if we are able to raise the additional $5,000 we need to complete the work, that would mean another $1,500 - $2,000 buying food and school supplies for area families. That would mean about $20,000 directly into the local economy (plus the residual employment impact of some $35,000 worth of locally purchased supplies.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As mentioned, the numbers are hard to pinpoint. Some men worked for weeks on end, others were simply called in for an afternoon to help with a specific project. But a conservative estimate would say that somewhere in the area of 75 - 100 men earned at least a solid week's pay for their efforts. And if one person brings, say $100, into a homestead in Kinshasa, it can be safely assumed that it will touch the lives of 6/8/10/20 times as many people, as the extended family system is deeply entrenched in Congo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Adding to the "dignity" of the situation, Madlen reports that there has been an open air of pride and commitment to a great cause among the men who have worked to build a better life for these kids. They care; they are proud that their efforts are helping to provide a place for a discarded twelve year old to rest her head. They have worked strenuously and honorably--despite the challenges most of them face in their own lives--to ensure that an abandoned nine year old no longer has to wait an hour in the morning to use a foul toilet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Language (and, to a lesser extent, cultural) barriers prevented me from getting to know these men to any meaningful degree. But I admire them greatly and am paying silent homage to them today, on May Day.</span><br />
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-53387694923173215882018-04-17T13:34:00.001-07:002018-05-08T10:15:02.741-07:00April 17: Breaking Walls to Let the Sunshine In<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Usual first thing first...we still need +/-$6,000 to complete the Foyer House at Kimbondo Orphanage Renovation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">DONATE HERE</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So far:</span><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-size: large;">New bedrooms built? Check.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Bathrooms in new building? Check.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Paved the parasite-yielded dirt walkway? Check.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Remodeled the dining room and hallways? Check.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Constructed a laundry room and a storage room? Check.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Funded lofts and a major renovation of one of the two old bedrooms? Check?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Finished the old bedroom renovation and loft? Working on it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Funding for second bedroom renovation and lofts? <span style="color: red;">Still not funded.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Industrial strength washing machine. <span style="color: red;">Still not funded.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Help us and/or spread the word to others who might help us:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As for the bedroom renovation, Madlen has the funds and is overseeing the following:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">the installation of lofts, since ~20 kids are sharing each room</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">new floors and walls</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">installing huge air- and light-producing windows.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We'll update photos as the work develops. But I just received this incredibly cool slow-mo assault on the dingy old walls and a photo of the new windows that were just installed. I don't think it takes a lot of imagination to picture the difference this will make when the work is completed. And again--we hope to be able to do this with both bedrooms.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwyFkUfXRXTjkzDzi5e9AYBbw7j14yx0VZsPH5m2viS7sfmlDbtwxNiHXGQ7yG1ZMRs8TK28iDQ46Hvo1mVnw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the new windows...feel the light and smell the breeze!</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-49481725232874026812018-04-07T19:12:00.000-07:002018-05-06T08:21:52.495-07:00April 7: The Beginning of Phase II-B<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">First and foremost, the usual--we need your continued generosity. After fully funding the toilets and the dining hall renovations, we are now about $7,000 into funding the $14,000 that we'll need to renovate the old bedrooms and purchase an industrial-strength washing machine.</span><br />
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<a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectsafrica.htm#Congo" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Link to Donate to Project 349</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yep, those donations are US tax-deductible.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short, we've all accomplished a lot since this foggy notion first formed a year and a half ago. The 80 abandoned kids living in two incredibly cramped rooms and sharing a single (really foul) toilet stall are now living in four bedrooms--two of which are light and airy--and sharing three toilet stalls and, as of next week, sharing eight. Luxury living? Perhaps not. But across the whole Kimbondo compound--which houses close to 800 childred--our Foyer House is known as "La Maison Blanche"..."The White House".</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you've not done so, please take a few minutes to watch Dean's video tour of the work:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/udi302iLjMM">Video Tour of the Foyer House Projects</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this post, I'll summarize what's happened so far, including some before and after photos. Next time, I'll focus upon what more is to be done.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>From Phase I: January - March, 2017</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b>The Paved Walkway</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A paved walkway may not seem like a big deal. But given the relative dearth of shoes at Kimbondo, the kids spend a lot of time barefoot and the dirt pathway was exposing them to a handful of simply ghastly parasites. I have a couple of photographs and decided not to use them. But this is a huge, positive change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The pathway also extends into a large patio area:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWV6XuJVW6p9uAXI1frAXt-utHDHO3YxTpVi-J__O3l1zM_vrmq66XmTGV-khNJcm_C9DFxDwDOKg6_oDBKsN2N7wRcignq-mHVhVcV5bKpAlK01b5BscAB7rUO4bpvO-bFOJC1x5HoA/s1600/IMG-20180308-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHWV6XuJVW6p9uAXI1frAXt-utHDHO3YxTpVi-J__O3l1zM_vrmq66XmTGV-khNJcm_C9DFxDwDOKg6_oDBKsN2N7wRcignq-mHVhVcV5bKpAlK01b5BscAB7rUO4bpvO-bFOJC1x5HoA/s320/IMG-20180308-WA0001.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGg9VByVoubOxG4gwu9Vt0bJv6owO06wnwBLA2iFr2qPpeIu-ZKuID3BU9h2tFH0oh-HPyX2p6IVxB2bPRpM8W_f4ccMpbonzxdE3B1GVQjAWtcCyf_0WnYlS3spJVX4BWAgMoS_pxUSQ/s1600/IMG-20180308-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGg9VByVoubOxG4gwu9Vt0bJv6owO06wnwBLA2iFr2qPpeIu-ZKuID3BU9h2tFH0oh-HPyX2p6IVxB2bPRpM8W_f4ccMpbonzxdE3B1GVQjAWtcCyf_0WnYlS3spJVX4BWAgMoS_pxUSQ/s320/IMG-20180308-WA0000.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;"><b>The New Bedrooms</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">These were the focus of last year's $28,000 project. When Madlen first showed us around Foyer House, they were sleeping 75-80 children a night in two bedrooms. They were completed in less than two months time and with less than a 10% overrun from the initial budget projection.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_ZWYSRHAiUGfGx2SRT_FYxeDY2CG2cAJWjnherU8TsN-0LlEZ012LhKZPU6Vr9mZg0jIQpjETWviw5b2hqdYACUoMZJ4avDKWrFmUhizkQIR4j6ui83Wlc4qXwqfQ3RxZrd74BBkGO4/s1600/P1060148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="1600" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_ZWYSRHAiUGfGx2SRT_FYxeDY2CG2cAJWjnherU8TsN-0LlEZ012LhKZPU6Vr9mZg0jIQpjETWviw5b2hqdYACUoMZJ4avDKWrFmUhizkQIR4j6ui83Wlc4qXwqfQ3RxZrd74BBkGO4/s400/P1060148.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Believe it or not, this is the crowding situation *after* the two<br />
new bedrooms were added! Double the bodies to get a sense of<br />
the original situation</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Last year's phase of the project added these two bedrooms and also two small bathrooms.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpsnI13hZUSquYVyZEd1P2vjsJysDiJoyfqG_BLFtYTe-Sgj7ujaAr7i_DHdIaOKoVBZimarun5CRd4yAabBgrFwNxOW_uMgcH9rKm5RTOpxL7pFctl6xOeGBlvZFbDge4IPAUkZM6VQ/s1600/P1070737+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpsnI13hZUSquYVyZEd1P2vjsJysDiJoyfqG_BLFtYTe-Sgj7ujaAr7i_DHdIaOKoVBZimarun5CRd4yAabBgrFwNxOW_uMgcH9rKm5RTOpxL7pFctl6xOeGBlvZFbDge4IPAUkZM6VQ/s320/P1070737+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">From Phase II-A: January - April, 2018</b><br />
<b style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<b style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"> The Bathrooms </b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Before the completion of last year's phase of the project, the 75 residents were left to share a single working toilet stall in a miserably damp, airless, and dark bathroom. The plumbing was shot and the air hung heavy. Just as we committed to funding the bathroom renovations, raw sewage began to bubble up out of the ground, as the thirty year old septic tank finally lost the ability to hold its burden. The smell, which I am thankful to have missed, is said to have permeated the entire Foyer House compound. Three large trucks were required to remove the contents of the tanks and take it to be treated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">We are proud to announce that the residents of Foyer House at Kimbondo now have a new, bright, clean, and sanitary with beautifully tiled showers and six toilet stalls. We have turned this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9a4Px2MAjZB5Db88f4NRO0p4AlQW-6k87iezAxMj-zfwkAyYD8kMZ_ysGEyuQ7MW_WBmklD_5CCmhT1RBm7GSkKJR4EECk4NFZltKyeqtrki3NzMnY4-yL93jmmuKEv8SzTgl55Sw5TU/s1600/Old+Toilet+1.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="1600" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9a4Px2MAjZB5Db88f4NRO0p4AlQW-6k87iezAxMj-zfwkAyYD8kMZ_ysGEyuQ7MW_WBmklD_5CCmhT1RBm7GSkKJR4EECk4NFZltKyeqtrki3NzMnY4-yL93jmmuKEv8SzTgl55Sw5TU/s400/Old+Toilet+1.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTZSY4L7qX_pCPO5a74Y1cv87QRbtZLHryGyqRegRhZm8_CB8NlFg7HS278NYWsJIgZqkgLE6UMH_tYdoyeszQWSWTg9cKr1IicvrWknKI4-sf6LNjIBmvChDUySfILKTu9IiVUEAW4Y/s1600/Old+Toilet+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="570" data-original-width="1600" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtTZSY4L7qX_pCPO5a74Y1cv87QRbtZLHryGyqRegRhZm8_CB8NlFg7HS278NYWsJIgZqkgLE6UMH_tYdoyeszQWSWTg9cKr1IicvrWknKI4-sf6LNjIBmvChDUySfILKTu9IiVUEAW4Y/s400/Old+Toilet+2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Into this:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7pVDKYtxhdfKTxXGxYKrDOeI06u9RaiXHQSruYaK5hL-Q0qRJWWBPJSzIMY8ELfyh4fvmA21P3XXN7k8ya1tb0BnfBn9HmUgHJDETUMp-toKUKaoXISa8qhec1RMgqHiz9F307-SB0o/s1600/New+Toilet+2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="556" data-original-width="1600" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw7pVDKYtxhdfKTxXGxYKrDOeI06u9RaiXHQSruYaK5hL-Q0qRJWWBPJSzIMY8ELfyh4fvmA21P3XXN7k8ya1tb0BnfBn9HmUgHJDETUMp-toKUKaoXISa8qhec1RMgqHiz9F307-SB0o/s400/New+Toilet+2.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWvLG58s-PmFZ3-a2a05M9MAmi04LEoJqrY2GAxCEm-sZYMA_AUh9lp19udHQaTrm1cOVsJ3G_ndj6Ew779kkTtOwdjfP9HRjvTS0uVGR-gbhonY1ZoY92UBfKTk0HEKR1QcHoza-ZGc/s1600/IMG-20180326-WA0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1328" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWvLG58s-PmFZ3-a2a05M9MAmi04LEoJqrY2GAxCEm-sZYMA_AUh9lp19udHQaTrm1cOVsJ3G_ndj6Ew779kkTtOwdjfP9HRjvTS0uVGR-gbhonY1ZoY92UBfKTk0HEKR1QcHoza-ZGc/s400/IMG-20180326-WA0005.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I think it's hard to capture in a still photo--and the olfactory improvement cannot be at all--but it should be clear how much more pleasant the second pair of photos are. (It's not just a photographer's trick. The first pictures are dark because there was virtually no light, save a hundred watt bulb, in the old version.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: #38761d;">The Dining/Living Room and the Hallway</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, it wasn't part of the original Phase II-A plans, but Madlen and Dean made the on-the-ground call to perform an aesthetic upgrade to the remaining part of the house, namely the dining/living room spaces:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWU48eUlQKc7C2GmJfExSJVlvq0m9kYr6RCRX3pawDB6TgxWCWKgtmVmCGgxHJFVkCU3PiqoaDXKZoWWgHZnAZsAzzESRNpafXNXC8KPBFJE7car9j2Jtsxx7YQCWgKQVpJH9gBqV8pA/s1600/Old+Dining+Area.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="1600" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWU48eUlQKc7C2GmJfExSJVlvq0m9kYr6RCRX3pawDB6TgxWCWKgtmVmCGgxHJFVkCU3PiqoaDXKZoWWgHZnAZsAzzESRNpafXNXC8KPBFJE7car9j2Jtsxx7YQCWgKQVpJH9gBqV8pA/s400/Old+Dining+Area.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It used to look like this</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVumDDHEmOTc12LKcftChoNy8ByI2ShTSNswnaNeBpgT45Jz3XmEjsL8U3cgA7htEj0erRMmGOGFi9KZs-MhAz0ORp6M4tw28WICeb4bUZb7DIXp2sCTh473Mxv39W1P5GpXt6B3jmBOs/s1600/IMG-20180326-WA0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="1328" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVumDDHEmOTc12LKcftChoNy8ByI2ShTSNswnaNeBpgT45Jz3XmEjsL8U3cgA7htEj0erRMmGOGFi9KZs-MhAz0ORp6M4tw28WICeb4bUZb7DIXp2sCTh473Mxv39W1P5GpXt6B3jmBOs/s400/IMG-20180326-WA0014.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now it looks like this</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrpQb60l5_rMxJ5J0R-6TF4B9hjYgHLPYVf10tJUD9b7xFTS82LCnOxN7Nj6rZvCjxbcKgvjWmXhOxgX496_f-YnYHKLuEhLkO-VhEI7X5jtg3LSP8o6HHwH4GFBU5ehWahW-Mj7MpTQ/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrpQb60l5_rMxJ5J0R-6TF4B9hjYgHLPYVf10tJUD9b7xFTS82LCnOxN7Nj6rZvCjxbcKgvjWmXhOxgX496_f-YnYHKLuEhLkO-VhEI7X5jtg3LSP8o6HHwH4GFBU5ehWahW-Mj7MpTQ/s640/IMG-20180322-WA0005.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">So that the kids can do this</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">As for the hallway, the walk from the dining area to the bedrooms used to look like this:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6W-EAbZJx-baAE1BBpaXkomcSXiYrnhQ6dTl_SUUSqujLknKbSfqmjMdjnlkZj9e-JAtHX04K1RbjGpk5HWgIoWEHcyPMEJmjDTFLnReVuz7JXoSoqFEJsCsMvNWMWzUumkfXckdwGs/s1600/Old+Hallway.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="1600" height="143" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6W-EAbZJx-baAE1BBpaXkomcSXiYrnhQ6dTl_SUUSqujLknKbSfqmjMdjnlkZj9e-JAtHX04K1RbjGpk5HWgIoWEHcyPMEJmjDTFLnReVuz7JXoSoqFEJsCsMvNWMWzUumkfXckdwGs/s400/Old+Hallway.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil320MEwa63rpYRCFHKM4B0Do3daULbK6VTOyg4Il38cYL2eydWwrGqL5JKHCgdI8rs7H5f4Y6Jdl8ny5Sh2nP_ZArC-q2ldu8j0qzxy8wLXDTqrMUyE8YJKt_xvv_Xy5TMa0EEBrmjtI/s1600/New+Hallway.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="1600" height="137" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil320MEwa63rpYRCFHKM4B0Do3daULbK6VTOyg4Il38cYL2eydWwrGqL5JKHCgdI8rs7H5f4Y6Jdl8ny5Sh2nP_ZArC-q2ldu8j0qzxy8wLXDTqrMUyE8YJKt_xvv_Xy5TMa0EEBrmjtI/s400/New+Hallway.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">It now looks like this</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">With the $16,800 raised (an accounting for the money raised and spent is here: <a href="http://abedforeachchild.blogspot.com/2018/03/march-28-cost-overruns-that-we-are.html">Cost Overruns That We Are Proud Of</a>) we also added a rudimentary storage room and a room at the back that we hope will house an industrial-strength washing machine. Oh, and a </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkvf5-BoUS_5vSIx-072AD7YjTmA0If5CKRs1vqqjXz_apUe0OqJ7ikmpvqYF41etuFqOTj1fqrNyNTN5fCtd6mPlW28fQ1pjko2U8Eje2TKBnEw-ah3gpcRyS2OPd0w0fvYjw7BC_sM/s1600/PingPong.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="557" data-original-width="1600" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkvf5-BoUS_5vSIx-072AD7YjTmA0If5CKRs1vqqjXz_apUe0OqJ7ikmpvqYF41etuFqOTj1fqrNyNTN5fCtd6mPlW28fQ1pjko2U8Eje2TKBnEw-ah3gpcRyS2OPd0w0fvYjw7BC_sM/s400/PingPong.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">concrete ping pong table</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Word is that the ping pong table is a major hit. At about $100 a pop, I just might spring for a few more out of pocket.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>So, What Now? (April - July?, 2018)</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-size: large;"><b>Phase II-B--The Old Bedrooms</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Phase II-B came in at $16,800. We have one more major undertaking (and a modest bonus addition) that we still hope to add. We finished the first round of fundraising with roughly $7,000 leftover. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In order to fully renovate the old bedrooms (including beautifully tiled floors and walls and lofts that will house more beds), we'd need to lay out an anticipated $6,500 each, for a total of $13,000. Given that we have enough in pocket for one of these bedrooms, three days ago, I gave Madlen the green light to complete one of them before she leaves Congo for three months. If we have the rest of the money (or something close to it by July), we'll do the same with the remaining bedroom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Furthering Madlen's reputation as one of the more action oriented people I've ever encountered, the "green light" from *three* stinkin' days ago has already yielded this:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42Vi91Gi3-mEXHqXmdbyMQL_qwtzdaU4dw7pV-RbNLcaxHO8N-JZcaWNd1ZyE0q7k3FEDtDzSSNuX0AW6SUat5Wr3GsFgnXtyRqONhgLOT_IKenwbV_9glEIwmYJ4XxIT2RLiiM02V5U/s1600/Lofts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh42Vi91Gi3-mEXHqXmdbyMQL_qwtzdaU4dw7pV-RbNLcaxHO8N-JZcaWNd1ZyE0q7k3FEDtDzSSNuX0AW6SUat5Wr3GsFgnXtyRqONhgLOT_IKenwbV_9glEIwmYJ4XxIT2RLiiM02V5U/s400/Lofts.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Amazing...someone needs to write a book about this woman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and the bonus addition? An industrial strength washing machine. Currently, the overworked staff washes 75 sets of clothes each day by hand. There are better uses for their time. Projected cost: $1,000 - $1,500.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, Phase II-B, which will finish the complete makeover of Foyer House at Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo will run between $14,000 and $15,000. We have already raised $8,000. We have another $7,000 to go.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The new (and final) thermometer will make its appearance in the coming days.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-74784675681670831712018-04-01T15:24:00.001-07:002018-04-02T09:03:36.314-07:00April 1: A Video Tour of the New Foyer House at Kimbondo Orphanage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">A million and six rounds of applause for Dean for filming this so nicely. I was overwhelmed to watch this today and (predictably) have so much to say about it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But for now--for once--I'm going to let someone else do the talking. Or something else...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyibG-ay2W_MMxRxtyETl4wQ-cglrVJHAhpcOn4AoEyzlQrRn5GssgnLUFyOKCGRmCH900xlF-b5eW58ujmQ8fY2G_Ejq1q-s7eV1K_tvRUQxgvJ6NadR1t6QnNEn9oQxELuVYIxYQHPA/s1600/DSC_0120+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1072" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyibG-ay2W_MMxRxtyETl4wQ-cglrVJHAhpcOn4AoEyzlQrRn5GssgnLUFyOKCGRmCH900xlF-b5eW58ujmQ8fY2G_Ejq1q-s7eV1K_tvRUQxgvJ6NadR1t6QnNEn9oQxELuVYIxYQHPA/s400/DSC_0120+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/udi302iLjMM">A Video Tour of What Your Money Has Accomplished</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still lots to do--we have two bedrooms to renovate and will have to get back on the fundraising train soon. But for now, we can all step back and appreciate that we've done something good.</span><br />
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-46199126737035101652018-03-28T17:03:00.000-07:002018-03-28T17:05:11.394-07:00March 28: Cost Overruns That We Are Proud Of<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">As always, I'd be a fool not to begin with the donation link. We'll be continuing to accept donations for the foreseeable future, though the exact link will change on April 1st.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm">Donate Here</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With any sort of construction project, cost overruns are the major fear. A quick web search can yield any number of warplanes that cost a few billion dollars more than anticipated. Boston's infamous "Big Dig" was slated to cost $2.8 billion, but came in a half decade late at $14 billion (and $22 billion including interest paid). When we undertook the first Kimbondo building project a year ago, I was skeptical that we could really build two brand new bedrooms, two small bathrooms, and a sprawling outdoor patio for the original estimate of ~$25,000. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In fact, Madlen and crew were able to get all the work done in less than two months (and with a few additional flourishes) for $27,000--despite the rampant inflation and non-existent infrastructure of the Congo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In our current Phase II Projects, we have run into a couple of unexpected costs. But we are very proudly giving a transparent accounting of virtually every dollar spent. (I say "virtually" as the type of accounting that we aim for in the United States isn't quite possible in a place like Kinshasa.) I'll start by inserting the spreadsheet I was sent today from Dean and Madlen which indicates all expenditures incurred to date (now that the bathroom part of Phase II has been funded) and indicates where the overruns occurred.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpVaUEdbQ9SvzHRLWDKFI0uS6wKMfUckW73G4sOEBPozvOs7No9qPFOpGh97tBCJ9X9h_E83jVA_x2XdPfmIHksBnNbnyNcvj9cHCEhCrxTGmp94rJyg07OZcnzvTTJ_ylH4LHiY7cuw/s1600/Overruns.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="1164" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpVaUEdbQ9SvzHRLWDKFI0uS6wKMfUckW73G4sOEBPozvOs7No9qPFOpGh97tBCJ9X9h_E83jVA_x2XdPfmIHksBnNbnyNcvj9cHCEhCrxTGmp94rJyg07OZcnzvTTJ_ylH4LHiY7cuw/s400/Overruns.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our initial estimate was ~$12,500. You'll see that the final cost was $16,733, or about $4,000 more than we anticipated. These overruns can be loosely divided into two major categories--ones incurred by choice and ones foisted upon us. We'll get the Foists out of the way, since no one really likes to contend with Foists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is one major and a couple minor areas of Foist. The major one is that we had not anticipated the costs of removing (safely and environmentally soundly) over two decades' accumulation of sewage. As often noted, the septic tanks had been overflowing. It turns out that three trucks (@ $380 each) had to be hired to transport the sewage from the premises and for each truckload an additional $120 was needed to treat it. Not much to be done about this $1,500 expenditure. The minor unaccounted for costs included between $300 - $400 related to purchasing and installing doors and $350 to pay the local project manager, a Congolese man named Papa Biya. This man has been a miracle worker at Kimbondo for years and was also the primary doer behind the first project. I am no authority in the matter, but I am very convinced that this is a very, very fair additional payment for all that he's done.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The rest of the cost overruns were of choice and were the result of on-the-ground decisions made by Madlen and Dean. From today's email from Dean:</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">The additional costs result from the wall tiling and floor tiling of the dining/living room, the wall tiling and floor tiling of the hallway, the construction of the back porch, the construction of the laundry/clothes storage room on the back of the house, and the costs involved in removing the old sewage. In addition, since we had the workers and materials there, we are constructing a cement ping pong table in the front of the house that will provide recreation for kids not only in Foyer, but also the other houses in the orphanage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short, the decision was made to add the following to the initial part of Phase II:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">the wall and floor tiling of the house's dining room/living room (which have apparently made a huge differences in terms of aesthetics and sanitation)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">the building of a back porch (which involved roofing sheets and electrical wiring)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">the addition of a clothes storage and laundry room (which will, we hope, soon house an industrial-strength washing machine, eliminating the need to wash 75 sets of clothes by hand).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">the construction of a cement ping pong table!</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The bottom line is that we ran into about $2,500 more in costs than we'd expected, and added about $2,500 in additions to the original plans. (Some of this is offset by Price Rebel Madlen getting a major discount on the tiles that we used). I'm not able to see it myself this time, of course, but I have complete faith in the decision making of Dean and Madlen. Once more from Dean:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1f497d; font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">I know that this has gone beyond the original toilet project, but the result has been an almost new looking house that is very functional and has such a nice feel to it, both with looks and smell!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And adding to the poignancy, Madlen reports that Foyer House is now known across the 700+ resident compound as "La Maison Blanche"--"The White House". I know, right?...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, here's where we stand:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">The bathrooms (and the add-on projects--laundry room, renovated dining area, back porch, and ping pong tables) will end up costing ~$16,700. I am waiting for confirmation, but it's my understanding that this work will all be completed within the next week to ten days.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Thus far, we have raised $18,651. </span><b><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Thus, the first part of Phase II has been fully funded. It's done. Thank you.</span></b></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">We are currently sitting on a surplus of ~$2,000. I know of an additional $1,000 that has been pledged, plus a few other sources of anticipated revenue that will likely add up to at least another $1,000. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The second part of Phase II involves dramatically renovating the older Foyer House bedrooms. While these two bedrooms are functional, they are worn down and still very crowded (despite now housing 40 between them instead of 75 a year ago).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Madlen is proposing two versions. One would introduce light- and -air-producing windows and a general overhaul of the room as it exists. She's giving a six thousand dollar estimate. We are already a third of the way to covering that expenditure, and as noted above I have reason to feel confident that another third of it is essentially secured. If worst comes to worst, I'm committed to making up the difference with money left by Bob and Gay. The old bedrooms will at least get a nice upgrade.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">But the dream?--Doing all of the above and also installing lofts, essentially doubling the number of beds available and increasing the living space. The price tag to that looks like an additional $6,000. This may be beyond our means. But maybe not. We are about to embark on a final round of aggressive (oh, that sounds wrong--make it "assertive" fundraising) to see if we can entice some new donors and procure additional help from the old ones.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll use these photos again--and provide much more info about Phase IIB--in a later update. But it seems appropriate to close by providing an indication of how cramped the older Foyer House bedrooms are. Mind you, these kids are more than simple "victims". They laugh and love and enjoy life, despite the hard hands they've been dealt. But space and resources are scarce and Madlen is very clear how much it would mean to them to enjoy a bit more comfort.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguknFS8OK4HQ1mbUGB8eMAjfUvB53GPmJuhw8xV4Tk5_2fCFzfTXjNGX9TIaCBdn9uqJcjuBWADxfRj7zwvTvAnTZBc1jwzoNoLbcIB3E_SgOYLg78XJc5-BdgJld1ONAALRELmc_F8qU/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="810" data-original-width="1080" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguknFS8OK4HQ1mbUGB8eMAjfUvB53GPmJuhw8xV4Tk5_2fCFzfTXjNGX9TIaCBdn9uqJcjuBWADxfRj7zwvTvAnTZBc1jwzoNoLbcIB3E_SgOYLg78XJc5-BdgJld1ONAALRELmc_F8qU/s400/IMG-20180322-WA0007.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZbBzGDH0pBzdVsRxkLYlsPedT8LYjXAyQvHGXFfvzWzIqQ9bAGGMdAFe8E_ldVJaCPPfOAqIYYyQffDBhphVFoE6k70x62IlgYfCIwu97sj_88A1OKIieYnzkWJzdlm1HzrlcOSHsGA/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZbBzGDH0pBzdVsRxkLYlsPedT8LYjXAyQvHGXFfvzWzIqQ9bAGGMdAFe8E_ldVJaCPPfOAqIYYyQffDBhphVFoE6k70x62IlgYfCIwu97sj_88A1OKIieYnzkWJzdlm1HzrlcOSHsGA/s640/IMG-20180322-WA0008.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We've made something good happen here. From Madlen, Papa Biya, Dean, and the workers on the ground, to close friends of ours of whose donations we are aware, to the dozens of other names behind generosity of which we are not specifically aware, I feel like we've formed a fleeting community of good will and resistance against some bad forces out there. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll close with David Byrne's most finely tuned words: "Never for money and always for love".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oh, and fuck fascism.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-11863114184028360572018-03-24T04:34:00.002-07:002018-03-24T04:38:54.125-07:00March 23: Moving to the Home Stretch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">As always, the donations URL up front:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm">DONATE HERE</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In between finishing up a hectic quarter where I am in Bolivia and preparing for a family trip to Macchu Picchu, I've struggled to keep up with the news from Kimbondo. But the general word from Madlen is that the work on the bathrooms is progressing at a good pace and that they could possibly be open for "business" within a couple of weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">To recap the general state of affairs, our last update from Lantern Projects had us at $14,578. I've also just received word that a donor from Ireland has sent $2,000 directly to Madlen in the Congo, meaning that our new total is...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLl4QaRHOeX5sU4F54AffwPv2UOQm7N5ddGDCkCR9ZkMQMzMxS_Fe704p_I10OVScy-OLRgASeu8AtCI85Ly6g9qSH_nNZoQXW6-sXoiPvizSWf1x8pKqHOAiCPKW4VIvWQCANZpqQwdg/s1600/8.+March+23.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="582" data-original-width="451" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLl4QaRHOeX5sU4F54AffwPv2UOQm7N5ddGDCkCR9ZkMQMzMxS_Fe704p_I10OVScy-OLRgASeu8AtCI85Ly6g9qSH_nNZoQXW6-sXoiPvizSWf1x8pKqHOAiCPKW4VIvWQCANZpqQwdg/s640/8.+March+23.PNG" width="494" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I could get ahead of myself and let on that I have reason to believe that the total is soon to top $20,000. A theater company in Austin is talking to us about putting on a benefit performance. And we also know of $3,000 that has been promised, but not yet received; so it's best not to count the proverbial chickens before the equally proverbially hatching.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen and Dean are promising a full financial accounting this weekend. We do know that there have been a few additional expenses, some incurred by choice, some foisted upon us. The choices involve an industrial strength washing machine and turning the dining hall from a dungeon into a palace. (I exaggerate here quite a bit, of course. But I was charmed to learn that the residents refer to last year's new bedrooms as "La Maison Blanche"--"The White House.") The foisting comes courtesy of the precarious nature of the Congolese franc and the unexpected (and unwelcome...and unpleasant, I'm sure) need to transport three huge truckloads of sewage accumulated over the decades to a place where it could be safely disposed of.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until I receive the financial accounting, I can only say that the bathrooms are safely funded and that we are able to move on to renovating the older sleeping quarters. That job is expected to cost about $12,000 if we do it as we want to do it, and about half that amount if we need to settle for something less grandiose (but still very useful).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Until then, I'll leave you with the latest photos, a series of Befores (on the left) and Afters (on the right).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEczrKmW_WBFUEq9sv4V3sfDoNm5iZw8bPOpZmsKoOeg1b0YX1JyLabrBBg38ZgEildDvDWtaHnBLPvaFXcUpAJVtWLwUaNN1Md3vXrfenkkD6wqpSGCYxYNxFV9xmYb0-WDJzadYaMI/s1600/Before+patio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="266" data-original-width="400" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEczrKmW_WBFUEq9sv4V3sfDoNm5iZw8bPOpZmsKoOeg1b0YX1JyLabrBBg38ZgEildDvDWtaHnBLPvaFXcUpAJVtWLwUaNN1Md3vXrfenkkD6wqpSGCYxYNxFV9xmYb0-WDJzadYaMI/s320/Before+patio.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzDpK91KWqDfMUv2j3oN7bwrCvXjVyEECa_AemrxniVuqm0vKXZibFJFnOHo44xtrcdvIqPGYZbQ6dztdaC-3JA1_ckSI42kCj7fQwGHxC5KBIz0wpaVyJ3D_VdLC27ijRzUijBuFLBM/s1600/IMG-20180308-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrzDpK91KWqDfMUv2j3oN7bwrCvXjVyEECa_AemrxniVuqm0vKXZibFJFnOHo44xtrcdvIqPGYZbQ6dztdaC-3JA1_ckSI42kCj7fQwGHxC5KBIz0wpaVyJ3D_VdLC27ijRzUijBuFLBM/s200/IMG-20180308-WA0000.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">These first two show some work completed using last year's funds. The area around Foyer House consisted of dirt. In and of itself, this wasn't a problem, but as most Kimbondo residents don't wear shoes regularly, this let to a horrible parasite entering the feet of many residents. The new patio protects against this and also gives the kids a more comfortable area to sit, to study to play.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCa1Sb8v7AClUS3Ow_UoqAgZm9zx-XB4ag0A1b80LWB8IckwzjYIOEpyYK74obl2O6cWDIbcoq80au65cB5IxRTCF15SQpMJbe_Tjw6NJ8-a_-njHw9Xm6fddyPMwtTh_QoK49r3XTAjo/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCa1Sb8v7AClUS3Ow_UoqAgZm9zx-XB4ag0A1b80LWB8IckwzjYIOEpyYK74obl2O6cWDIbcoq80au65cB5IxRTCF15SQpMJbe_Tjw6NJ8-a_-njHw9Xm6fddyPMwtTh_QoK49r3XTAjo/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0010.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNfjucTfx-UU6d9zsPHIO-ynWIx425DmeDyFNfKTQubC-5ipQhvUoI2-5EspDOiJehtdOtVM-GGwIwA6NVrIr7JKkA848VpH0GEHPg_wn0uezWwYmDlOGfZyvO6JTN6qWArk36XG3G58/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFNfjucTfx-UU6d9zsPHIO-ynWIx425DmeDyFNfKTQubC-5ipQhvUoI2-5EspDOiJehtdOtVM-GGwIwA6NVrIr7JKkA848VpH0GEHPg_wn0uezWwYmDlOGfZyvO6JTN6qWArk36XG3G58/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0011.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Still waiting on the sink installation. But it should be clear that once</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> that happens and the final touches are completed, this will be a lot</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> more pleasant.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG71c3mQlQ1WUfQJgW8-EeysNpVC13OnkMQSIgtDoNPblbgZJUuFWmGT2CEAlIyZwgoqcX_AJ66a9YH0mBpMg4jvXWCFF-DMn1CHqEVlVgmHlvD1f7zeHFYiPhGPQJ4HV1ST4j3NkFkzU/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG71c3mQlQ1WUfQJgW8-EeysNpVC13OnkMQSIgtDoNPblbgZJUuFWmGT2CEAlIyZwgoqcX_AJ66a9YH0mBpMg4jvXWCFF-DMn1CHqEVlVgmHlvD1f7zeHFYiPhGPQJ4HV1ST4j3NkFkzU/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0012.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_00aNTPH3vcFBpW-yn1UqXwVuEo2AH-RYJliEfc7ONxevE7_Bv3W4WUHDSll7MiNve2PtHT_u9HWTGj8v3Wwx_1w4kNYi5tpeWfGjdvj7bg0Hmk8BNPrbaOBT-nFOg2lVty6UoM5TGk/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc_00aNTPH3vcFBpW-yn1UqXwVuEo2AH-RYJliEfc7ONxevE7_Bv3W4WUHDSll7MiNve2PtHT_u9HWTGj8v3Wwx_1w4kNYi5tpeWfGjdvj7bg0Hmk8BNPrbaOBT-nFOg2lVty6UoM5TGk/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0013.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Old shower area and new. Hoping to have the pipes for the showers</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> installed by the first of the month.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqt5loIs3VYPBtYmTAtpUbJxO8mzG-Ym_rSimiHUjuinv6D-Kxtcmiv6RaxlV-hmcaw7s9SlLTNabKtfWi_xnayXDvTv-Syc1i4PGT5nvYVzx62FnrzkZ2MMKKxNTln_FzP3606mYEWY/s1600/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqt5loIs3VYPBtYmTAtpUbJxO8mzG-Ym_rSimiHUjuinv6D-Kxtcmiv6RaxlV-hmcaw7s9SlLTNabKtfWi_xnayXDvTv-Syc1i4PGT5nvYVzx62FnrzkZ2MMKKxNTln_FzP3606mYEWY/s320/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnVxgVYdSWcTkSvsp7zG_7ViUAUGsYEdwOgFch4aDnLFDZJohfxFZxIBMIFRubRZ9fcY29lIbh83e-JpQMuv0d0v0v83WQI7Q4GHcym9hPIhnDCpveMYnUB-Obi7NCi8zpAqIi0kni8w/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnVxgVYdSWcTkSvsp7zG_7ViUAUGsYEdwOgFch4aDnLFDZJohfxFZxIBMIFRubRZ9fcY29lIbh83e-JpQMuv0d0v0v83WQI7Q4GHcym9hPIhnDCpveMYnUB-Obi7NCi8zpAqIi0kni8w/s320/IMG-20180322-WA0014.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The toilets a month ago and the toilets today. 'nuff said.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJ-E1uwJWNwgxEfNah5v-HFTDIn3_NNMv4Z2hWdtvCa7zOHFntwKk1XgE7WV053W0nYsCCVfvNfpeuUE0RDEqrYQ1YDa9bNh4KCol_jg9gTZbUYSD6cbiAgdNrgQLTNxgK7-lJUTcCNQ/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJ-E1uwJWNwgxEfNah5v-HFTDIn3_NNMv4Z2hWdtvCa7zOHFntwKk1XgE7WV053W0nYsCCVfvNfpeuUE0RDEqrYQ1YDa9bNh4KCol_jg9gTZbUYSD6cbiAgdNrgQLTNxgK7-lJUTcCNQ/s200/IMG-20180322-WA0004.jpg" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zPKLKHpMlwNovwjUqAX4LohLiD5VMW9_Z3h4tE8hwm0ihYL1zqC6FCiWLDnyyCeI411n5joDLtfmxWOcMf52CEuVoCZqNZU4mUsC_9k-n_n2ahbdAxaNyWtcTyit5AKsus3rmhDhSf0/s1600/IMG-20180322-WA0005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6zPKLKHpMlwNovwjUqAX4LohLiD5VMW9_Z3h4tE8hwm0ihYL1zqC6FCiWLDnyyCeI411n5joDLtfmxWOcMf52CEuVoCZqNZU4mUsC_9k-n_n2ahbdAxaNyWtcTyit5AKsus3rmhDhSf0/s200/IMG-20180322-WA0005.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">No before here. But the dining hall was long a crumbling black </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> cement floor and the walls hadn't been painted since...well, in a</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> bloody long time. It not only looks much nicer and (I'm told)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> now boasts a fresh, clean smell, but in between meal times is</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> converted into a sanitary and comfortable study area.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">We'll have the updated financial report to you as quickly as we can and, ideally, some new photographs of the, even more ideally, fully-functional new bathrooms. We will also be providing a look at the work yet to be funded--the renovation of the old bedrooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-20340377043243160902018-03-17T07:14:00.001-07:002018-03-17T11:06:32.881-07:00March 17: And on to the Bedrooms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Guess it makes sense to start with the URL for making a donation, right?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm">Donate Here</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We're happy to announce that our confidence was well-placed and we have raised enough money to cover the bathroom renovations at Foyer House at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo. As many of you know, +/-75 young people have been sharing two toilets stalls and living amidst pools of overflowing sewage. Project manager Madlen took a leap of faith and borrowed the money to get started on the project and it the progress has been quick and efficient. The latest project is that the bathrooms--six new toilet stalls, big windows, attractive tiling, modern sinks and showers--may be open for business by the first of April. (And the sewage pools--they are already a grim memory from the past.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Let's have a look at a couple of before and after shots:</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBvnU3mXCDZ-w9RzT34ka6vKzotsoDvye48L1eV7EYRlihBTQf1uVmNZKxIFN_fbOoHV0Zq6ymKONGvAZ-4jVuG1XRr-dffOlMiVlepz1uvNGEeYGxJJuPFO3REMKhJbUVjk2MRa8P0I/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBvnU3mXCDZ-w9RzT34ka6vKzotsoDvye48L1eV7EYRlihBTQf1uVmNZKxIFN_fbOoHV0Zq6ymKONGvAZ-4jVuG1XRr-dffOlMiVlepz1uvNGEeYGxJJuPFO3REMKhJbUVjk2MRa8P0I/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0010.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXy7c2YH2GplIC4ZC8U0GlUgDN0hnndUp9xndf_hkzTCyXCBYqUv6ahL6AUE69rivDYTJ5z3qtSqXfLO2FvW1tzV3DqEr7nY9kC0p2-NQus75Yu2enP3vDig2oK-wZMkElDbvlTLga0k/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXy7c2YH2GplIC4ZC8U0GlUgDN0hnndUp9xndf_hkzTCyXCBYqUv6ahL6AUE69rivDYTJ5z3qtSqXfLO2FvW1tzV3DqEr7nY9kC0p2-NQus75Yu2enP3vDig2oK-wZMkElDbvlTLga0k/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0011.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGz0LeB2MNfxNal1kaqsV8l9oYV1Yh5B_ys22Qx2XmadRLPgA6v9p4VOESr4KNkRu84RYlTL1RlVm0C5ti94XOaJHIMPICcOc95WuxkhIs8Rf9C1Dgys-PKlji4gMPAsxyyYRjeQDOn8/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIGz0LeB2MNfxNal1kaqsV8l9oYV1Yh5B_ys22Qx2XmadRLPgA6v9p4VOESr4KNkRu84RYlTL1RlVm0C5ti94XOaJHIMPICcOc95WuxkhIs8Rf9C1Dgys-PKlji4gMPAsxyyYRjeQDOn8/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0012.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lG_dbKeMVI1eoBSTSnEjs1QIXNYgZHi9XDNqKp8UbIX_Wt-1GVEsRNTRPsoYgy8Ime8fG30o3ReKssmgJM8Y_p9TfRj_-9NTFO53E3VEtyLS5r82sR6bJiSv50PldfQPvGjy_mN5wEI/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0013.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-lG_dbKeMVI1eoBSTSnEjs1QIXNYgZHi9XDNqKp8UbIX_Wt-1GVEsRNTRPsoYgy8Ime8fG30o3ReKssmgJM8Y_p9TfRj_-9NTFO53E3VEtyLS5r82sR6bJiSv50PldfQPvGjy_mN5wEI/s320/IMG-20180309-WA0013.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">(Note not just the floors and tiling, but also the air and light that the larger windows will provide. Oh, and the plumbing works. And the olfactory effects should be taken as a given.)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Using the money that we have raised so far, we've decided that we can afford a related add-on to "Phase I"--the construction of a small annex that will house an industrial-strength washing machine. We think that will run about $1,200, which will leave the funds raised so far essentially exhausted. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljfd3LQ8EXDVD2KkZOeOzrOVPNHXkn8TbT3YgwUQEnViohWrJq5LlgWfjQnLkVNk6WBI1hato9GL7rsmdKsG3bwYrbcYG6V7g0gOO52z25IO3zHeo1DwXoSiusggLFdKFgpGyOH7nsls/s1600/IMG-20180309-WA0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgljfd3LQ8EXDVD2KkZOeOzrOVPNHXkn8TbT3YgwUQEnViohWrJq5LlgWfjQnLkVNk6WBI1hato9GL7rsmdKsG3bwYrbcYG6V7g0gOO52z25IO3zHeo1DwXoSiusggLFdKFgpGyOH7nsls/s400/IMG-20180309-WA0009.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A washing machine will go here</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">So, it's on to Phase II. Foyer House currently has 40 young people sharing the two older bedrooms. They are crowded, run-down, and starved for air and light. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5uRWb6LR33-TT4VChNfW90ojwOlfV4IjLcHESvq8R2q8k-vuW4mD-x4itVvRKAkhUkfza6JDv4ZNHvLvdAMaWYiAlZQQfoTYmFJZhgUzhDkB9iqmsfgsxJ_KTwXL5q3Xjo8Qd1MrWTE/s1600/Original+Foyer+Bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit5uRWb6LR33-TT4VChNfW90ojwOlfV4IjLcHESvq8R2q8k-vuW4mD-x4itVvRKAkhUkfza6JDv4ZNHvLvdAMaWYiAlZQQfoTYmFJZhgUzhDkB9iqmsfgsxJ_KTwXL5q3Xjo8Qd1MrWTE/s400/Original+Foyer+Bedroom.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Old Bedrooms; Sleep ~20</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">For about $6,000 - $7,000 we can add huge air- and light-producing windows and ceiling fans and give the bedrooms a major structural and cosmetic makeover. For double that, we can add lofts, which will create new beds and free up a lot of space. More details to come.</span></div>
Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-41519374652768967512018-03-05T10:58:00.001-08:002018-03-05T11:03:21.986-08:00March 5: Some Early Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The ever-present reminder: Donations are accepted here:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span id="goog_1584506981"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_1584506982"></span><a href="http://www.lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm">Toilets and Showers for Kimbondo</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Confident that support would start rolling in when our fundraiser officially opened, we okayed some spending of funds and commencement of work before we had actually gathered any money. With $1,800 received over the first weekend (and--not quite a spoiler alert, but a hint--strong reason to be confident that this dollar amount is soon to grow dramatically), our confidence served us well.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In order to combat the ever-looming threat of inflation in the D.R. Congo, Madlen did some massive purchasing of materials and hired work crews to get started. Here's a few looks at the situation on the ground:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wevY2lvMvDcSb86_a8379kNNOhkSU1h5aSpQkLF09PErx6F4IqWKH7QVIjaLk8Twn6KkIL16lmIvuZdMDNNLiG01oNkqBu1kwhENWqNYAFjIQfVDGCXO_XOjlScIzDJenj5S4yMcEOo/s1600/Broken+Septic+Tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4wevY2lvMvDcSb86_a8379kNNOhkSU1h5aSpQkLF09PErx6F4IqWKH7QVIjaLk8Twn6KkIL16lmIvuZdMDNNLiG01oNkqBu1kwhENWqNYAFjIQfVDGCXO_XOjlScIzDJenj5S4yMcEOo/s400/Broken+Septic+Tank.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yeah, this is raw sewage.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ko4FAhgWHF2y28GGjqIKYhGabxYQyoeGYvsWiC1fTBXIWB9y428Ro-BFEGuMO0wfeEg8ErTJpOaFrWAuxzCVCFSK82KSvkLG-u45QLGNe7VyEMPDTFLlrxpmI6dqiQET3f-WYyOgCE/s1600/Broken+Toilets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ4ko4FAhgWHF2y28GGjqIKYhGabxYQyoeGYvsWiC1fTBXIWB9y428Ro-BFEGuMO0wfeEg8ErTJpOaFrWAuxzCVCFSK82KSvkLG-u45QLGNe7VyEMPDTFLlrxpmI6dqiQET3f-WYyOgCE/s400/Broken+Toilets.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this used to be a toilet.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUND1dJQeBrj9xEjzr_f7hlI9Qw9Avc_nGUSOGtLjhck1SCQY-1I3dRDxa2l_sbQR26vy_V9MrW8ZvWmXhTnDLEgOH3Be9QLAbBemPwQ1pZiLYme9vjNPg6QWlvvvuoS8iXn19Ky3jcUw/s1600/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUND1dJQeBrj9xEjzr_f7hlI9Qw9Avc_nGUSOGtLjhck1SCQY-1I3dRDxa2l_sbQR26vy_V9MrW8ZvWmXhTnDLEgOH3Be9QLAbBemPwQ1pZiLYme9vjNPg6QWlvvvuoS8iXn19Ky3jcUw/s400/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is how you attack decrepit bathroom plumbing.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztg6pLtcfeNuJwmrptrifD13sEN2QY5zEuD7ovGXXCrXyHMj6Ur8iSVrR8iwtTeY2weJSll41dC4QFnbCftwPCZFPo9dVEqUcYlf2xCGBPCT951R9diIIL_L3pmOMeF33CPf7kMX2IUQ/s1600/IMG-20180206-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztg6pLtcfeNuJwmrptrifD13sEN2QY5zEuD7ovGXXCrXyHMj6Ur8iSVrR8iwtTeY2weJSll41dC4QFnbCftwPCZFPo9dVEqUcYlf2xCGBPCT951R9diIIL_L3pmOMeF33CPf7kMX2IUQ/s400/IMG-20180206-WA0001.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is the first shipment of cement that will make it all better.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIg6J5O4sVjexyr1sWc6EiSM_vR3ogtRLOdJ-ZIieBsbf9BRVVkvi3sOz9uLvSIgDuPVOKWSMZzZyp_6hkN8dU5gp85EeRn80PwWr8WAHXd4qvs4pdyeOUT50exzaJoQu14Y5Eo0OtXQ/s1600/Septic+Tank+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGIg6J5O4sVjexyr1sWc6EiSM_vR3ogtRLOdJ-ZIieBsbf9BRVVkvi3sOz9uLvSIgDuPVOKWSMZzZyp_6hkN8dU5gp85EeRn80PwWr8WAHXd4qvs4pdyeOUT50exzaJoQu14Y5Eo0OtXQ/s400/Septic+Tank+1.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And this is the beginnings of a new septic tank.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-kf-a9mcGjnM2YHFQ2MjJm1gGc-AyWBMq_Z1xmcvOOujlfylz_SGiRXUNITMPuBRhdLuqvPjHRL5lyJSJjKUdixScoVmH25o0jNdUYrdlDgTDCcfOJR1oR1OsPq3sbmELwoF9ZIHSt8/s1600/Septic+Tank+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9-kf-a9mcGjnM2YHFQ2MjJm1gGc-AyWBMq_Z1xmcvOOujlfylz_SGiRXUNITMPuBRhdLuqvPjHRL5lyJSJjKUdixScoVmH25o0jNdUYrdlDgTDCcfOJR1oR1OsPq3sbmELwoF9ZIHSt8/s400/Septic+Tank+2.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">And here is a much later stage of a new septic tank.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And somehow Madlen and the workers got this far in about a week. We have a long way to go until this part of the project is funded (and much farther if we hope to be able to renovate the old living quarters). But our confidence has paid off and Madlen will continue borrowing money in Kinshasa to complete this bathroom ASAP, feeling certain that we'll be able to raise the money to repay the loan.</span><br />
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-41437654685558205312018-03-02T12:56:00.000-08:002018-03-02T13:00:31.965-08:00March 2: Let the Fundraising Begin!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Alright, my friends...We need about $12,000 for an *emergency* bathroom renovation for 75 abandoned kids at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa. (And, kismet willing, another $12,000 to greatly enhance a very crowded and fairly dank pair of sleeping quarters.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Our friends at Lantern Projects will be accepting your donations (which are US tax-deductible) and safely transmitting them to Madlen in Kinshasa. You can donate here:</span><br />
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<a href="http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm"><span style="font-size: x-large;">http://lanternprojects.org/projectd.htm</span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If you want to know why you should have faith in this project, please pore over the earlier blog entries to learn how we brought an even more daunting $27,000 building project in *at budget* last year. The D.R. Congo is not an easy place to make this sort of thing happen, but we know the right person.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Last time, ~120 donors gave us $27,000 with donations ranging from a few dollars to a couple thousand. This time around, $4 will buy us a KG of nails, $22 will buy us a half-ton of sand (!), $60 will buy us one of six toilet stalls, $150 will pay for the electricians' labor, and $1,100 will buy us a truckload of gravel.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1eQsz5agAaxxROWYWc2AtjvBPtdEjlFHTNPK_90Xd_Xzh_AAHR5OH1ykFufCPiYpxqcbu-dRdH-9hmye5sxauD0lbOhiYHfYxNCsdkpvIWGurPIFEmfrpDRnaMHhc87Mp6mCHd0dP14/s1600/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="810" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR1eQsz5agAaxxROWYWc2AtjvBPtdEjlFHTNPK_90Xd_Xzh_AAHR5OH1ykFufCPiYpxqcbu-dRdH-9hmye5sxauD0lbOhiYHfYxNCsdkpvIWGurPIFEmfrpDRnaMHhc87Mp6mCHd0dP14/s640/IMG-20180206-WA0003.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The sad state of the bathroom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Thanks for your consideration. I have pre-wired Madlen some of the money so that she can get started and beat the ever-present force of inflation that the D.R. Congo is facing.</span></div>
Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-31945313683471374832018-02-24T18:28:00.000-08:002018-02-24T18:28:44.938-08:00A Look at the Toilets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Beginning on Thursday, March 1st, we will be able to start accepting your donations to continue our renovation of the Foyer House bathrooms at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The situation is currently pretty grim, with 75 abandoned kids sharing two functioning toilet stalls (the ones that we built in the new wing last year). The plumbing in the old bathroom has collapsed completely and the sewage is literally bubbling upon onto the ground, creating a health and olfactory crisis.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For ~$12,000, we can install a new septic tank, replace all the old pipes, and fully renovate the toilets, sinks, and shower facilities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Below is a look at the situation as of a year ago. Know, however, that the situation has deteriorated and that the single toilet stall identified as functioning at the point no longer is.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwjdAlIlcD-K3TMyUqrmVxOYzx1QIw7B0UmOfDdKhal88sZQe1CvjnCjEjNV1Kw4BPpJmM6EbQovszCBbl3NA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If we are able to make this happen--and we are cautiously optimistic that (with your help) we can do so--the next step would be to modernize the old sleeping quarters at Foyer House. More on that half of Phase II soon.</span></div>
Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-10290454535475770132018-02-11T09:13:00.003-08:002018-02-11T09:16:08.689-08:00We're Baaaaaccccckkkkk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">After a stunningly successful Phase I (in which we turned two bedrooms for 75 abandoned children in Kinshasa into four bedrooms for 75 abandoned children in Kinshasa), Dean, Madlen, and Robert (and we hope *you*) are set to embark upon Phase II.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before divulging the nature of that new project, here's a look back at what was accomplished last year:</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Kni6oUa6PUE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kni6oUa6PUE?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Phase II involves two separate projects.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The first is the most vital and involves ripping up the decrepit plumbing in the old Foyer House bathroom. Before we built the additional rooms and added 2 toilet stalls in that structure, the 75 residents were sharing a single functioning toilet. In the year that's past, even that one is unusable. Sewage is bubbling out of the ground and the smell is said to border on the unbearable. The second video at the bottom of the final blog post for Phase I shows the state of the bathroom (as of a year ago), as well as a prototype as to what the remodeled version will look like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://abedforeachchild.blogspot.com/2017/04/project-completion-video-look.html">The Old Bathroom--and What It Could Be</a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />Nothing is cheap in Kinshasa--one of the poorest cities in the world, yet cruelly one of the most expensive. But our source on the ground Madlen has worked with a local architect and contractor to create the cost estimate below. Estimates are, of course, only estimates; but we note with pride that last year's even more imposing project came in essentially at budget. To give these kids a functional and dignified bathroom, we will need to raise $10,000.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTE2XazIpzhO4a5veFaRBcOciwZPjC816VqnfY5nffPXU2inSDM6XnoP5GlpzCRhii1ZmIlcVUNfb2rcZsuH8xrucf556GV6XHrDBe3SovBmyE2tEvcj3R6m35F91X1ZcksqbNtjUlBhM/s1600/Toilet+Cost+Estimate.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="635" data-original-width="1061" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTE2XazIpzhO4a5veFaRBcOciwZPjC816VqnfY5nffPXU2inSDM6XnoP5GlpzCRhii1ZmIlcVUNfb2rcZsuH8xrucf556GV6XHrDBe3SovBmyE2tEvcj3R6m35F91X1ZcksqbNtjUlBhM/s400/Toilet+Cost+Estimate.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In an act of faith in our ability to raise these funds, Madlen has already begun advanced purchase of some of the needed items (as inflation is rife in the D.R. Congo) and hired workers to do some of the preparatory work. A couple of recent photos give at least some sense of the current state of affairs.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HrD7kAVq1c9RewqhtzTdlCMHtJFwrQeKxhPRRwaN9Og_q2vKQpSaNyOgM33nusI6R5ceFb9OV_woF8d2rVxXIeFkcqiMR9PSKmjxTsZV6THkNCBVOWsBYlRgWabyCDLDeLjvkaLjFdo/s1600/Broken+Septic+Tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HrD7kAVq1c9RewqhtzTdlCMHtJFwrQeKxhPRRwaN9Og_q2vKQpSaNyOgM33nusI6R5ceFb9OV_woF8d2rVxXIeFkcqiMR9PSKmjxTsZV6THkNCBVOWsBYlRgWabyCDLDeLjvkaLjFdo/s320/Broken+Septic+Tank.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhw5J8OsDGx7GNyMNWCAWQ32Bp-QSXKHRE09_c7Wh8OF5tiq6sZOgrJPFRQJj55WKcvD4fudjS8rETU06Gby0LpG3D5jdV5klJq9_7YNxga7yyFJWJjVL2WpL8Qle4PMD3OoLOfBr9N6I/s1600/Broken+Toilets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhw5J8OsDGx7GNyMNWCAWQ32Bp-QSXKHRE09_c7Wh8OF5tiq6sZOgrJPFRQJj55WKcvD4fudjS8rETU06Gby0LpG3D5jdV5klJq9_7YNxga7yyFJWJjVL2WpL8Qle4PMD3OoLOfBr9N6I/s320/Broken+Toilets.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And, yes--that is an overflowing septic tank on the left. This is a fairly massive (and unpleasant) undertaking. Madlen's architect has created the image below as a model for what it could look like:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6k2SW7HzGCy4x7snncG2pm1kjQJR9MQxJha-V87JXaAbr2vRcyJ0z18SdQU0IQdwEtqnUNig3GTG36kNCcJC27qebmBtP67UFD26MTSr_h7H8lBetDItC0698ErTAYoONsCLC8Ho_ag/s1600/New+Toilet+Prototype.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="1207" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_6k2SW7HzGCy4x7snncG2pm1kjQJR9MQxJha-V87JXaAbr2vRcyJ0z18SdQU0IQdwEtqnUNig3GTG36kNCcJC27qebmBtP67UFD26MTSr_h7H8lBetDItC0698ErTAYoONsCLC8Ho_ag/s400/New+Toilet+Prototype.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Assuming that we can raise $10,000--and we *will* raise $10,000--this is our priority.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The second part of Phase II involves a massive renovation of the older Foyer House sleeping quarters. Now that the 75-80 kids are sharing four bedrooms instead of two, the overcrowding is less overwhelming. Still, the old rooms are terribly cramped and are designed to create as little light and airflow as possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen, the architect, and the contractor have drawn up plans and an estimate to build lofts into the high ceilings, which will create more beds and more floor space, as well as to replace the cement wall with light- and air-producing windows. As of this point, I have not seen the blueprints nor the computer-generated prototype. But from my on-the-ground experience last year, I can juxtapose an old Foyer House bedroom (which, again, housed 40 kids each night):</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb2QZtPhI1f0kIU5yxudhi0pQMNrod5PMObDYwIe9scgWezSW4FUCwTrvF4NsOwjDfU15JoDHcL10Xp5LTrpos5jMmCDahMk3hyvQmLKMIkTM1bi83yNWPWLJ-tBaLdOag9O6A9uZBdk/s1600/Original+Foyer+Bedroom.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="640" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBb2QZtPhI1f0kIU5yxudhi0pQMNrod5PMObDYwIe9scgWezSW4FUCwTrvF4NsOwjDfU15JoDHcL10Xp5LTrpos5jMmCDahMk3hyvQmLKMIkTM1bi83yNWPWLJ-tBaLdOag9O6A9uZBdk/s400/Original+Foyer+Bedroom.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">with one of the new rooms that we built last year:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdjTA8I2iN1S2bAwVdJLt5tBmp4cFz-87UzjqdYTLeBx2OmjGhjPYD3WZw29pn1IN95NCEWVWFVA_Oyeut1da2MdKF7HebAZPMSPvSddohggtZClqjeSAmjLZ6mFWbryOqZyKom-woXY/s1600/New+Foyer+Room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHdjTA8I2iN1S2bAwVdJLt5tBmp4cFz-87UzjqdYTLeBx2OmjGhjPYD3WZw29pn1IN95NCEWVWFVA_Oyeut1da2MdKF7HebAZPMSPvSddohggtZClqjeSAmjLZ6mFWbryOqZyKom-woXY/s400/New+Foyer+Room.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The renovated room won't look exactly like this--but the difference in terms of light and air flow should be evident.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The cost estimate for this second part of Phase II:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2eH72wOPaQ8Y51TV3EHANOXkiSanaSu4jtsEeUYowrSinsTejNWKpwoaqIaAaeYpL_0kyXhB3OPsj2xQpkmAzeDRGlsF-mN78EudvsGqmcQHcexLjXm9iztCERTzw7XrRcxREXLrXxw/s1600/Loft+Estimate.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="780" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio2eH72wOPaQ8Y51TV3EHANOXkiSanaSu4jtsEeUYowrSinsTejNWKpwoaqIaAaeYpL_0kyXhB3OPsj2xQpkmAzeDRGlsF-mN78EudvsGqmcQHcexLjXm9iztCERTzw7XrRcxREXLrXxw/s400/Loft+Estimate.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As was true last time, we are partnering with <a href="http://lanternprojects.org/">Lantern Projects</a>, which will allow for secure and efficient collection and transfer of funds, as well as the ability to offer tax-deductible status for all donations from US taxpayers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The fundraising will begin on March 1st. Stay tuned for updates.</span></div>
Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-16889002799410625662017-04-02T02:44:00.001-07:002017-04-20T06:50:05.414-07:00Project Completion: A Video Look<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">More accurately, there is still some work to be done. The outdoor tiling is not in place and the dirt road (provider of a vicious form of parasite to the bare feet of the children) is still awaiting its paving. And there are, I'm sure, some other minor matters to contend with.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But the Grand Opening was held on Sunday, March 26th and the kids are now sleeping in their new beds. And it makes a huge difference...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Still to come? Once we get this part fully completed and can provide a clear financial accounting, we may pass the hat once more for two related projects:<br /><br />* The more affordable one will be some heavy plumbing work. For the past year, the 80 children have shared a single toilet stall. The new addition has added two more. With another ~$5,000 we could redo the plumbing in the main building and have all six original building stalls working.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">* The more pie-in-the-sky idea would be to add lofts and huge windows to the two old rooms, which would provide much more space, air, and light. This one would be more expensive, and as my time in Congo is running short, it might be harder to fund.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But then again...maybe we can do both. Given that we started fundraising on November 1, work started on January 2nd, and the kids had a new home before April, I'm starting to think that the unlikely is more than possible in this case.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll leave you with a video look at how the project unfolded:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kni6oUa6PUE">Foyer House Extension Grand Opening</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nxSgB4OTH1TXbcuI8XlSuO4xhaeIbDJnwQ6CKD1vPP99HycDEZxHiYtIF3vFWB0XrrjewVsW_VT3_EMLPICDRhjSZGUQejXsIfcQnvPFD1G3vhY5sA-PrcO97_dKZKQw8UcdsqRrIpU/s1600/Foyer+Opening+Film+Screenshot.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4nxSgB4OTH1TXbcuI8XlSuO4xhaeIbDJnwQ6CKD1vPP99HycDEZxHiYtIF3vFWB0XrrjewVsW_VT3_EMLPICDRhjSZGUQejXsIfcQnvPFD1G3vhY5sA-PrcO97_dKZKQw8UcdsqRrIpU/s400/Foyer+Opening+Film+Screenshot.JPG" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And what's next? Well, maybe--just maybe--toilets...We'll be in touch if we try to tackle this one.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyoCbP9CcSSNAJsHEuoGKIRA8N_nfTtqy-WgSkLVnvZiVnqgIJ9dd07E3JAqGuBeXu0krD536dFUQlaAK7h' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-75768240203398514082017-03-15T05:26:00.000-07:002017-03-15T05:27:53.935-07:00A Video Look at the Project<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">The limits to my documentary film making skills are revealed...But here's at least a quick look at the state of affairs.</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Rd_g06BKs"><b>PROJECT UPDATE</b></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph5DOyN_ak6sV4ugSSU7FK6n6_FY3H4YvVveMIy-TvlMgqBxqnjZP2a9NQixVSgOxXq-1tPJQ3scC8BuLcDhkBnFpRcvDEdnGMOzLMfZhpfYopyDZf5MrkZZ_dUv0MNHbELIx1s5jhGU/s1600/DSC_0010+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiph5DOyN_ak6sV4ugSSU7FK6n6_FY3H4YvVveMIy-TvlMgqBxqnjZP2a9NQixVSgOxXq-1tPJQ3scC8BuLcDhkBnFpRcvDEdnGMOzLMfZhpfYopyDZf5MrkZZ_dUv0MNHbELIx1s5jhGU/s400/DSC_0010+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-68506064881109323212017-03-14T05:53:00.002-07:002017-03-14T05:53:17.306-07:00March 12: Two Weeks Till Opening!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">The fundraising began on November 1st and the first materials--some forty tons of cement, sand, and gravel--were purchased just before Christmas. Actual construction--the mixing of said cement, sand, and gravel--began on January 2nd.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As of March 12th, the basic structure is in place. The rooms are electrically wired and the plumber arrives in the week to come. The grand opening is set for Sunday, March 26th.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short, ten weeks and approximately $27,000 dollars has turned this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeJCNuJ_xsJEPA1C_bAP6zc7jwdNZNlCO0ukui5IfWIkJ8AOjC5cZ_rdNKR6gs-lij4l2tcK7sbNPkZBLp2Wn_AD8X-ti5qEAMXcaVHxTjWjlUfRI5Y6nkdU-Gcmf9lpU5UWG3SXuL6I/s1600/P1060168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeJCNuJ_xsJEPA1C_bAP6zc7jwdNZNlCO0ukui5IfWIkJ8AOjC5cZ_rdNKR6gs-lij4l2tcK7sbNPkZBLp2Wn_AD8X-ti5qEAMXcaVHxTjWjlUfRI5Y6nkdU-Gcmf9lpU5UWG3SXuL6I/s400/P1060168.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">into this:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYL4S7zaoUXVruwj6GlI-h2k_gITLMSi5cc20QQZj2krburM8IIv20DEL1LwkFHNYnvghkSzTvdGrlEVhl1SP_IdHaABxDRk4GpoOUgKtJ2S_aeMUdPdDgfrQFXp8crHlDjsWlepoBn0/s1600/P1070684+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYL4S7zaoUXVruwj6GlI-h2k_gITLMSi5cc20QQZj2krburM8IIv20DEL1LwkFHNYnvghkSzTvdGrlEVhl1SP_IdHaABxDRk4GpoOUgKtJ2S_aeMUdPdDgfrQFXp8crHlDjsWlepoBn0/s400/P1070684+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The grand opening will be on Sunday, March 26th. Though it's likely that some details will remain uncompleted by that date--the paving of the driveway, the touch-up painting, and the beautification efforts on the veranda, the young people will be living more comfortable lives. Your money did good things.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Next? Well, once this is completed and a full accounting of where the money was spent is undertaken, we may try to fund some plumbing upgrades on the original building. (At this point, only one of the six toilet stalls is functional.) And, if we wish to dream big, the existing bedrooms could be renovated with lofts and light- and air-creating windows. And maybe these plans are too grandiose. We'll see. But if it stops at this two-bedroom extension, we'll all done something that will make a tangible difference for 75 kids today and for their successors in the generation(s) to come.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My documentary film-making skills are in full bloom here, as I take you through the project to date, along with a quasi-English interview with a resident and the rap stylings of Antoine, Kimbondo's most accomplished pre-adolescent rapper:</span></div>
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<a href="https://youtu.be/U7Rd_g06BKs"><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Work To Date</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll leave you with the photos from the March 12th visit:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVQYXd2qExk96gSwrpAjt-2vTjk2TnaFYrqAU-1rYdSfTGKj68lT1rm1_sGRiCgW1ZzbcFrNmZsrXlVgyShcOXWe8LwihQbyhjsZehJf7V7htNjy_ltnBPIG-sZAVPYGXBAt-bH1XH5Y/s1600/DSC_0007+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcVQYXd2qExk96gSwrpAjt-2vTjk2TnaFYrqAU-1rYdSfTGKj68lT1rm1_sGRiCgW1ZzbcFrNmZsrXlVgyShcOXWe8LwihQbyhjsZehJf7V7htNjy_ltnBPIG-sZAVPYGXBAt-bH1XH5Y/s200/DSC_0007+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ChHLx2nQCe9e1-nu2eCiAqN5L_3aFioUu34LyW3uUi0546aYaDIaTYLPBwS2liuiARUiMMEolZK2pyjuP6d49sg7OTofd9Oc359bXkHK34WTqi4TpC9Ib5BOAkhZfSYYDfljfg_sTBI/s1600/DSC_0005+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3ChHLx2nQCe9e1-nu2eCiAqN5L_3aFioUu34LyW3uUi0546aYaDIaTYLPBwS2liuiARUiMMEolZK2pyjuP6d49sg7OTofd9Oc359bXkHK34WTqi4TpC9Ib5BOAkhZfSYYDfljfg_sTBI/s200/DSC_0005+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The girls' room from the outside</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJu8kaf8-gimaGQEDfHnRW_AxylRnu-3n9nrl0x-zN9w_zgmx6CNpaizXm_gHdNBQ4TSmyy8h68FMRf9xaFVCR4JxaMFVijXd2BKTmTH3WME6jOGakX2jQY-zVeDuGFoDfcS6cSQ4qNI/s1600/DSC_0009+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: x-large;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimJu8kaf8-gimaGQEDfHnRW_AxylRnu-3n9nrl0x-zN9w_zgmx6CNpaizXm_gHdNBQ4TSmyy8h68FMRf9xaFVCR4JxaMFVijXd2BKTmTH3WME6jOGakX2jQY-zVeDuGFoDfcS6cSQ4qNI/s400/DSC_0009+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And from the inside</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06fHQLJBt63139tWvLDRlMxju9YdydLlZq-IiSoAwhYPBJLa4nlI-paB_yr4jgvbFUWZ8zCbwzN-eG96u5T-i8OIGnKfPjrst7_rtCKiKqmPmMJbAAMi1Ld5Byaa6EEz3YqajmEvykGQ/s1600/DSC_0021+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06fHQLJBt63139tWvLDRlMxju9YdydLlZq-IiSoAwhYPBJLa4nlI-paB_yr4jgvbFUWZ8zCbwzN-eG96u5T-i8OIGnKfPjrst7_rtCKiKqmPmMJbAAMi1Ld5Byaa6EEz3YqajmEvykGQ/s400/DSC_0021+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the boys' room</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjZSLyvdYzKQBdipy0Cawe_o6cXX5LCvb_KXvXnezIq35u0hyphenhyphenT4p6Hud8SyTx7J8IVGUJ_HROZjUyZWU-AyHk-6nMCi543nUoFp8I28S4vqcvdC5Tryk_4DTPUIMOGSY12QS2XU-cwDk/s1600/DSC_0010+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjZSLyvdYzKQBdipy0Cawe_o6cXX5LCvb_KXvXnezIq35u0hyphenhyphenT4p6Hud8SyTx7J8IVGUJ_HROZjUyZWU-AyHk-6nMCi543nUoFp8I28S4vqcvdC5Tryk_4DTPUIMOGSY12QS2XU-cwDk/s200/DSC_0010+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jZ1CE8Sm6B32krzqeJeKaMBJFTHHjreJr0o0nAK_5z0b2_Ng5UYr4uxlsxrKVggnOoc7GNq3PZ0r30xUXdSC2c6g6-W6tKXghvK73RVQyGUs-PggasYrjRi5ieq0KpYJXyzteryEjhA/s1600/DSC_0014+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jZ1CE8Sm6B32krzqeJeKaMBJFTHHjreJr0o0nAK_5z0b2_Ng5UYr4uxlsxrKVggnOoc7GNq3PZ0r30xUXdSC2c6g6-W6tKXghvK73RVQyGUs-PggasYrjRi5ieq0KpYJXyzteryEjhA/s200/DSC_0014+copy.jpg" width="200" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Hard at work on the exterior</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7R04ZIKAvMm6iQrzhKFlZfCtRB9_Sbv783QcYjK27La740QAD87JJ5Ihe9CUcFflrML2r72eZI-f3czw0KNZlkKkRLIOfMwMqkY5A-JFUzs-r1dvTOMWC5x7n8dmq7yvunZDvNr9rfI/s1600/P1070677+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7R04ZIKAvMm6iQrzhKFlZfCtRB9_Sbv783QcYjK27La740QAD87JJ5Ihe9CUcFflrML2r72eZI-f3czw0KNZlkKkRLIOfMwMqkY5A-JFUzs-r1dvTOMWC5x7n8dmq7yvunZDvNr9rfI/s400/P1070677+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And a little rest afterwards</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And finally, an introduction to a few of the current and future residents...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TIDZAXtSXBhn6eh3iyqRe4RSYMu1XkThgO0u0HdgrEzOBodNwqRiKtYIHdkEc7RGpfbDCD0ApW_RpmGI1yuGhMnnU1XdeYuWc2f9W1FxlH-RhXhAQxWULmx5wApUKQHp7WZGVoedCqE/s1600/DSC_0016+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2TIDZAXtSXBhn6eh3iyqRe4RSYMu1XkThgO0u0HdgrEzOBodNwqRiKtYIHdkEc7RGpfbDCD0ApW_RpmGI1yuGhMnnU1XdeYuWc2f9W1FxlH-RhXhAQxWULmx5wApUKQHp7WZGVoedCqE/s400/DSC_0016+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbIGPq4RHa__zqg_NQnWRiiBNGEMrVlEo8afn3zrj9SYvdA5Eq7gxNmOu_AUE-NOAqRIZeoil84nvGWpI3JgBbfhQUgXrk3od1MkiBB5U-p2hSUq6RdttVHOB6GYs5RrPoV6aJs7wslo/s1600/P1070675+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwbIGPq4RHa__zqg_NQnWRiiBNGEMrVlEo8afn3zrj9SYvdA5Eq7gxNmOu_AUE-NOAqRIZeoil84nvGWpI3JgBbfhQUgXrk3od1MkiBB5U-p2hSUq6RdttVHOB6GYs5RrPoV6aJs7wslo/s400/P1070675+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGJpKcR90MS7NSg5xvEBENYy0wglCYE_asHa409hng7OP_BcmgzD0dpfnI_3OHejVh3dI1xPyzmzdFcOCvOvDvwcufHF5YNlu5ne6h8K6xoKhiqL6BXYZuKqOI4Xi8PZxBjAjjJ8s4Mg/s1600/P1070690+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbGJpKcR90MS7NSg5xvEBENYy0wglCYE_asHa409hng7OP_BcmgzD0dpfnI_3OHejVh3dI1xPyzmzdFcOCvOvDvwcufHF5YNlu5ne6h8K6xoKhiqL6BXYZuKqOI4Xi8PZxBjAjjJ8s4Mg/s400/P1070690+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-6133423326373726842017-02-28T17:55:00.002-08:002017-02-28T17:55:53.480-08:00February 28: Opening Date Celebration Scheduled!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen reports great confidence that on Sunday, March 25, the new building will be blessed (it is a Catholic-Church sponsored institution, after all) and the children will move in. Laughter and good times will be had by all.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The latest photo evidence:</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cVT52FUlxLzgoxXqnRipghn76eC0rQk5t0b-_jOKzQkCH067WUd7zl7z_Fg6WKds7vZGOZp6rJJK2X-9msaKZvorxKpd5bKsf6R88Acs5uJsuo_eQmVxRsPaphcHFsMn0OxhBbKB7og/s1600/Feb28-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5cVT52FUlxLzgoxXqnRipghn76eC0rQk5t0b-_jOKzQkCH067WUd7zl7z_Fg6WKds7vZGOZp6rJJK2X-9msaKZvorxKpd5bKsf6R88Acs5uJsuo_eQmVxRsPaphcHFsMn0OxhBbKB7og/s400/Feb28-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Looks sturdy from the outside</span></td></tr>
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<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0o8KANLTPgr8JC2KlFw1V4B_pp7pEazQjPb6onw7Tgg4n2pud1Ce2OZphq7aGOUbnw2Ey0S9YgDF_OIxXveNipZjn9kj3TjMM2PC5OTgoG_VkbmgGRJKW-2MKthd3FrXZhkZ-iR9hLk/s1600/Feb28-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0o8KANLTPgr8JC2KlFw1V4B_pp7pEazQjPb6onw7Tgg4n2pud1Ce2OZphq7aGOUbnw2Ey0S9YgDF_OIxXveNipZjn9kj3TjMM2PC5OTgoG_VkbmgGRJKW-2MKthd3FrXZhkZ-iR9hLk/s640/Feb28-5.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ceiling in place<br /></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowf-2KPTSuZGGq6JdXVrjiihxSHHty8Q1Yru5uEitSfjlCULqQ5ZEiI0Y_fCidjRCwS1udhmUQqZHa3PiWTFaGP1WE18usFse-Bb6bvV_5Wy_d5ngATgXSJ9mYcBcTYDdj42NrfJ24-8/s1600/Feb28-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowf-2KPTSuZGGq6JdXVrjiihxSHHty8Q1Yru5uEitSfjlCULqQ5ZEiI0Y_fCidjRCwS1udhmUQqZHa3PiWTFaGP1WE18usFse-Bb6bvV_5Wy_d5ngATgXSJ9mYcBcTYDdj42NrfJ24-8/s640/Feb28-4.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Installing the bunks<br /></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa4QYapnxAUJEEUJmQOiKBPQbkkAe_s2F9CtCP5CwxcVs3XLIwfTZXfXgGQ5VsqyGAXYnF9E2rtoiN0Td5OTkt6eKfFJpYpvAJuD9_CRE0uQqBr-XXYIL8kzd4MRDl-n6xTub2bCN19k/s1600/Feb28-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfa4QYapnxAUJEEUJmQOiKBPQbkkAe_s2F9CtCP5CwxcVs3XLIwfTZXfXgGQ5VsqyGAXYnF9E2rtoiN0Td5OTkt6eKfFJpYpvAJuD9_CRE0uQqBr-XXYIL8kzd4MRDl-n6xTub2bCN19k/s400/Feb28-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Impromptu study area<br /></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGATmb0zFCLH3-OCZoU16HL8_9wm2XmJPQkZFB-c56NI4ih-KlfJ2oTSdrOwtCYeqcYKNDg8DNJKNoDCTnmUlJd7pZeURUGeCVbp6HNanPwlh6goI86YXJv1ClMg3Rrpl9JguQLPFMYg/s1600/Feb28-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGATmb0zFCLH3-OCZoU16HL8_9wm2XmJPQkZFB-c56NI4ih-KlfJ2oTSdrOwtCYeqcYKNDg8DNJKNoDCTnmUlJd7pZeURUGeCVbp6HNanPwlh6goI86YXJv1ClMg3Rrpl9JguQLPFMYg/s640/Feb28-3.jpg" width="474" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tiles for the bathroom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so far, it seems set to happen within the budget. Crazy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm planning to get out there the weekend after next. More then.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-4054297494942469232017-02-14T21:10:00.001-08:002017-02-14T21:11:35.562-08:00February 14: Astounding Progress<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_sbELP16ncHANQWA83NNsNAikVetxMr-xHsWgsID7aYKOqLAR_A2ZX21GDABs7P40Y3W4soxFTCo9qly8GXFzeNJTvdn0AxY4n7HitpvkbXd2Xh1F5qky-6Hozy9wzfzkRFPku39OCk/s1600/IMG-20170214-WA0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_sbELP16ncHANQWA83NNsNAikVetxMr-xHsWgsID7aYKOqLAR_A2ZX21GDABs7P40Y3W4soxFTCo9qly8GXFzeNJTvdn0AxY4n7HitpvkbXd2Xh1F5qky-6Hozy9wzfzkRFPku39OCk/s640/IMG-20170214-WA0000.jpg" width="473" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">February 14</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildmDjPZDOxPi8I5SsdcE5lDEcC9Wi257bVUJr2vOfM7sKh6wjkzDMYDiSMbD7kOzwBHe2i2SHx7-WnYW1iHJQsGaiVB-dI2dN34K4zzgbcuPxuya28XPVj_BFKWE8nz4PrsFEhYh3UKw/s1600/Feb+11+Progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEildmDjPZDOxPi8I5SsdcE5lDEcC9Wi257bVUJr2vOfM7sKh6wjkzDMYDiSMbD7kOzwBHe2i2SHx7-WnYW1iHJQsGaiVB-dI2dN34K4zzgbcuPxuya28XPVj_BFKWE8nz4PrsFEhYh3UKw/s400/Feb+11+Progress.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">February 11</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39854f32nW2Gd8wDEh-0UB0qNGRIpj0NKcJsLn6e28LD4miJc6ffIGuOKVnGQ48HV5egxJM9DXSgtWPwnZrcIE0x_h0RStAeipCGPgN849FBRO29ZhePT0vshdszCkxn-EFtHLKF58OY/s1600/DSC_0070+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj39854f32nW2Gd8wDEh-0UB0qNGRIpj0NKcJsLn6e28LD4miJc6ffIGuOKVnGQ48HV5egxJM9DXSgtWPwnZrcIE0x_h0RStAeipCGPgN849FBRO29ZhePT0vshdszCkxn-EFtHLKF58OY/s400/DSC_0070+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">January 16</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCg_i4gaJ0rUdmeqjzwc_c2srYasndSTGHJyjfG04DnwYay7iV_qraC9yH2ca1TJqUf_a0avbaKXcd95r_RIg1X2BC4HRVfIyle8kHHtmOnamtj2SLEkQOhAnGpguL1kT8qSLeXOMGHo/s1600/DSC_0012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCg_i4gaJ0rUdmeqjzwc_c2srYasndSTGHJyjfG04DnwYay7iV_qraC9yH2ca1TJqUf_a0avbaKXcd95r_RIg1X2BC4HRVfIyle8kHHtmOnamtj2SLEkQOhAnGpguL1kT8qSLeXOMGHo/s400/DSC_0012.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">December 14</span></td></tr>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-475697665048099352017-02-03T11:27:00.000-08:002017-02-03T11:34:47.950-08:00February 3: The Faces of Kimbondo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Just a few shots of some of the Kimbondo residents from our last visit out there. Mostly, the residents are children, though there is also housing for disabled adults.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUxmqfcjydA3_YxmMZmDNVvF54shKiMqpR_nAG8eRGfgpZA3j534uY_7iBpwCC67LIh6vQT3HdXUQZULa-l7EQO7zdCnYyzTk7wSlxyGryhlUmsoFJtiLk4-R3veereZEza8ALOoHslg/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHUxmqfcjydA3_YxmMZmDNVvF54shKiMqpR_nAG8eRGfgpZA3j534uY_7iBpwCC67LIh6vQT3HdXUQZULa-l7EQO7zdCnYyzTk7wSlxyGryhlUmsoFJtiLk4-R3veereZEza8ALOoHslg/s400/DSC_0078.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EoYT9f8YYbxpiOJ68EGcabuiYhyphenhyphenY4bJp846L4lValheFoFkuvaEkkcMEG9kUCrwMDc0sU89e3h-Fp3GoYL1hWW1Mae4w0LO1VJe_JOxhMhEo4rX_-SLkPg0vOIS6sM63gUKadt1tpZc/s1600/DSC_0088+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EoYT9f8YYbxpiOJ68EGcabuiYhyphenhyphenY4bJp846L4lValheFoFkuvaEkkcMEG9kUCrwMDc0sU89e3h-Fp3GoYL1hWW1Mae4w0LO1VJe_JOxhMhEo4rX_-SLkPg0vOIS6sM63gUKadt1tpZc/s400/DSC_0088+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP57fHslKgm_pwNI5UQO7kMIJjvzJxBPcbCZsijxHv4w76IElFia99CDPvkM2ofxm5OLQ4VROIRbN3jf0SCaExHA57NlaQxxy4PRz611hZX-R3Bkv46BZ5efGdjoDKgakqQ51bON4W8Y/s1600/DSC_0092+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUP57fHslKgm_pwNI5UQO7kMIJjvzJxBPcbCZsijxHv4w76IElFia99CDPvkM2ofxm5OLQ4VROIRbN3jf0SCaExHA57NlaQxxy4PRz611hZX-R3Bkv46BZ5efGdjoDKgakqQ51bON4W8Y/s400/DSC_0092+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER8tyg92JrBIkWtwnoMic7of-GbiCcqCFI2iyFxg5A-068wviI3eEXUfS2tMwaiFXpdKhDDKsht0r1M1uqzBYmcWuFwCiHDzE4Uh8jBcq5du58ZJzP4-yCTN4X61bHY2R6uDK7R0JSY8/s1600/DSC_0103+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgER8tyg92JrBIkWtwnoMic7of-GbiCcqCFI2iyFxg5A-068wviI3eEXUfS2tMwaiFXpdKhDDKsht0r1M1uqzBYmcWuFwCiHDzE4Uh8jBcq5du58ZJzP4-yCTN4X61bHY2R6uDK7R0JSY8/s320/DSC_0103+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A young man earning a little pocket money.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H2C-ZCbia29rj-WqBUnkRop_my5sFcufwef6gUkBl5M8YKt6BD1_XUK9qsEheM9pt265qKeAQ4lIN5XoHL7KMp3m3_FKBGAq1YKGZzTqBRWW31iAixBluB8XKT5TN3v7SN4EejcLnpw/s1600/DSC_0114+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9H2C-ZCbia29rj-WqBUnkRop_my5sFcufwef6gUkBl5M8YKt6BD1_XUK9qsEheM9pt265qKeAQ4lIN5XoHL7KMp3m3_FKBGAq1YKGZzTqBRWW31iAixBluB8XKT5TN3v7SN4EejcLnpw/s200/DSC_0114+copy.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dean and his army</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHUS4D_Bq8l5Fc3pTESPD8NqyPlh0nGxk-lKtFt8_ms91jctQqo3eD_NZyEIbjr1HgOMqp8w5n4D_Ebm9FZj0nWlQzVWQpqJCp2VgJvmg7icDtOqF-DhH32DVwLa1_GzopLT_ODCAgf0/s1600/DSC_0120+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHUS4D_Bq8l5Fc3pTESPD8NqyPlh0nGxk-lKtFt8_ms91jctQqo3eD_NZyEIbjr1HgOMqp8w5n4D_Ebm9FZj0nWlQzVWQpqJCp2VgJvmg7icDtOqF-DhH32DVwLa1_GzopLT_ODCAgf0/s320/DSC_0120+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"> <img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnssdBPieZt2kr5ag5q-nO6fiX-SSTQrWMLrj7UvyidH5eLiyeR52N-DkpkpGyrwzI7ZjLb5CEv2t1kCdjGXaDiXA52sYdYBdi65W_7EzvcdsEsHAPtgQGTtENi6zJkAQSVPG6wsXYTaU/s200/DSC_0139.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="133" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Vencure was born with<br />
webbed<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> fingers on both hands. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Thanks to </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">a kind local sur-</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">geon, two are </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">now separated.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegDoSCM94lHoncvhWaZelOy8UuRffn2XAnKBc4t_7R8SDr5bA1PPnMJ-afQPcsj0tQGMRh7rZ0v0gKX3wVwABUY64mVE53-SjEXNRuW0-j9hPMAjRAGpnNho9B_1lorbMS7S94gCe18k/s1600/DSC_0122+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhegDoSCM94lHoncvhWaZelOy8UuRffn2XAnKBc4t_7R8SDr5bA1PPnMJ-afQPcsj0tQGMRh7rZ0v0gKX3wVwABUY64mVE53-SjEXNRuW0-j9hPMAjRAGpnNho9B_1lorbMS7S94gCe18k/s400/DSC_0122+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A remarkably charismatic young man<br />named Dieu Merci (Thanks to God</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxlVak-12IJ957YkS3am8rEc3iLSRHuAqDW5WrQN6WfgAI0RrLbxZvIuf6fIM7r5CR38V8-AlDXH7PutzxLgY6E3BC1NoYpc382i75tM34uIsg3N0CEA-yZjKQZA0qEPCdKKt8C2tS88/s1600/DSC_0140+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBxlVak-12IJ957YkS3am8rEc3iLSRHuAqDW5WrQN6WfgAI0RrLbxZvIuf6fIM7r5CR38V8-AlDXH7PutzxLgY6E3BC1NoYpc382i75tM34uIsg3N0CEA-yZjKQZA0qEPCdKKt8C2tS88/s400/DSC_0140+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many of the children of Kimbondo are severely disabled; in fact this is often <br />the reason for their abandonment. It's hard not to judge, but life is very difficult here. <br />Parents often cannot feed their fully-abled kids.</span></td></tr>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-27276991045565268622017-01-31T13:17:00.000-08:002017-01-31T21:34:57.840-08:00January 31: An Imprecise Attempt at Financial Transparency<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">So, I'll be honest here: accounting very every last franc for a project like this is tricky. All materials and salaries are paid for in cash. The value of the franc has been erratic, but on the downtrend. January 1 saw the annual seemingly random jacking up of prices. And, we are in the D.R. Congo, where corruption is so embedded in the upper echelons of power, that many toward the bottom simply have no choice but to survive by whatever means necessary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As an example, we lost three bags of cement--valued at about $35. Someone walked off with them. That's not nice, of course; but a family probably ate for a week. It's going to happen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">All disclaimers aside, we are very pleased to report that we seem remarkably on budget at this point. As the structure for the roof goes in place this week, all accounts indicate that we are not only meeting the early timeline expectations, but that we are staying largely within the budget. Below are some details about the process to date.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">First of all, our initial budget projection called for the raising of around $25,000. Here is an estimate of costs, as formalized on October 22nd.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unsurprisingly, not all was accounted for. In particular, the delivery costs (not insubstantial when you're dealing with 140 *tons* of sand and gravel). And prices are erratic here. From time of projection to time of purchase, the price of cement went up a dollar a bag.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There are some mitigators, however, that have kept us on track. First of all, we exceeded our fundraising goal by close to 15% and raised a total of $28,450. We anticipated imprecision in the cost estimates and, as is true everywhere in the world, the reality is usually less favorable that the hopes that precede it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, a generous local donor contributed 120 bags of cement, which is valued at roughly $1,500.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, and most importantly, Madlen is overseeing this project. Madlen came to Kimbondo over half a decade ago and never left. At some point, perhaps we need to profile her, to tell her whole remarkable story. But most germane to this account is the recognition that her diligence, her commitment to the project, and her uber-competence have kept this endeavor on track--and, actually, made it all possible in the first place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Madlen noticed that three bags of cement were missing, she pursued the matter--not so much in hopes of uncovering the culprit, but more to send word that the materials were being strictly accounted for. There have been no disappearances since.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen knows how things get done here. So early on, she arranged a bonus payment to the foreman and the workers if a certain quota was met each week. The total extra cost likely hasn't exceeded a hundred or two dollars by this point and the result is that the construction is moving along at a faster than anticipated speed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen knows how things work in the Congo. Specifically, she knows that each January 1st, there is an annual inflation adjustment in commodities that occurs across the board. Cognizant of this, she purchased iron bars, cement, wood, and other high ticket items in the few days between the violent street protests of December 19 and the end of 2016. She estimates that she saved roughly 10% on her purchases.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And while formal book keeping here is a pipe dream, Madlen scrutinizes every purchase and every delivery, and keeps a notebook full of receipts. I won't bore anyone with these details, but here is a photo that represents her transparency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In no particular order, here are some updates on progress and updates, as of the time of my last visit on January 16th:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">With the outer walls largely built, the next steps involve the wood4 team coming in to build the structure for the roof and the pouring of the cement foundation. I am awaiting an update.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Roughly a week after the foundation is laid, the cement-based bunk beds can be installed.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Madlen has already purchased the brightly colored tiles for the rooms. As ceramic is fragile, their installation will be the final step in the process. Their estimated cost was $1,150. The actual price ran over by $100.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The major cost overrun has come in the form of the gravel and cement. The price of both has gone up for both--by roughly ten percent--and the overlooked delivery costs will run a few hundred dollars. However, the unexpected donation of 120 bags of cement more than compensates.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The materials for the doors (4 of them) and windows (12--large as to let in copious amounts of light and fresh air) are coming in at $1,750, including delivery. This is a $400 overrun.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The plumbing and electrical wiring were estimated at a total cost of about $1,150; the actual materials (despite being purchased before January 1) will be closer to $1,300.</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In short, there is some overrun. But give the difficulty of this project, we are very happy with how it is progressing. Given the additional $3,500 raised and the $1,500 cement donation, we feel very confident that we have what we need to complete the construction in a way that matches the images in our my hopeful of dreams. Madlen truly believes that the kids could be sleeping in their new beds sometime in March.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And if we do have some money left over? Oh, we have some ideas...fixing the toilets in the original Foyer House...creating lofts and adding large windows to the existing bedrooms...but I'll save those thoughts (and cost estimates) for another time.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-73019630513773123342017-01-17T04:17:00.000-08:002017-01-17T04:17:28.055-08:00January 18 Update: Toilet Problems<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">One of the major problems faced by Foyer House is the toilet situation. It's bad enough that the 75 or so residents share a single bathroom with six toilet stalls. It's almost unmanageable given that *five* are non-functional. They can be fixed; but that would involve a fairly major plumbing overhaul and in the interim would leave no toilet facilities in the building.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The A Bed for Each Child Project will be adding two toilet stalls to the new addition. (We'd have loved to add a couple more, but the building space is limited.) So, at very least, sometime in March (insh'allah, Zeus willing, Murphy's Law be damned) the kids will have three toilet stalls among them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few months ago, Kimbondo completed the modernization of the toilets in another building. (This orphanage is huge; they house at least 600 abandoned kids and it's hard to see demand declining in the D.R.C. for the immediate or intermediate future.) Here's a two minute look at the current Foyer House toilets and the recently remodeled ones--which will form the blueprint for "our" toilets...and maybe more.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwxgrvFQfJfFs9-K6bhoX4uZheHdcan_BMhaI3lKxZkeFjQ04frSvf96dRpoQKg8lZmArpE3yykMnByPvjlFg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You'll note that I added "and maybe more". Right now, we are focused on getting this ~$25,000 project completed on-budget and on-time. And so far, the prognosis is good. There's even a chance that, since we exceeding our fundraising goal by about $3,500, we may be able to do a little more, possibly take some steps toward renovating the existing Foyer House toilet facilities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen (our Everything on the ground at Kimbondo) estimates (ballpark-ily) that turning the awful old into the sparkly new at Foyer House might cost about $5,000 and could be completed in a month or so. And the residents could stand the disruption, as the two new toilets would be, as it were, open for "business".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just an idea...Frankly, if this thing gets built, we're happy with that. But if there's a bit of change left over, this might be the priority for the next step. We might have to do a little more fundraising. We'll let you know if that possibility arises.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4205010728858547213.post-66401370222255687492017-01-16T10:34:00.000-08:002017-01-17T05:08:57.501-08:00January 16 Update: This Sucker Actually Gettin' Built!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dean, Shiera, and I got back to Kinshasa about ten days ago and today Dean and I made it out to Kimbondo to check on the progress. As reminder, this is what we saw a month ago:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">About 800 of the 4,000 needed bricks had been made as of a month ago.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Madlen had promised quick progress. But wow...In just over a month, the project has gone from $25,000 in the bank and some piles of sand and gravel into this:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHSkFJPRxFSZ3CIz3lsEQkNzsN9VzpOXw3LBE6AuYNOLBeJczn9mM1iocpagXgOVFpeYTh9klPEalQCMRArzgWTkblbk5eRAHniVkDmWdE-h1An7NNML5R-a8MaiN2z87qIHYDXIv7ho/s1600/DSC_0070+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAHSkFJPRxFSZ3CIz3lsEQkNzsN9VzpOXw3LBE6AuYNOLBeJczn9mM1iocpagXgOVFpeYTh9klPEalQCMRArzgWTkblbk5eRAHniVkDmWdE-h1An7NNML5R-a8MaiN2z87qIHYDXIv7ho/s400/DSC_0070+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are the original blueprints:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyBK7f_oaQ1OP-w0YgqPzNrWGs0J8wAxPC2vAQ75IFOw-NHUPDdFpKJoY7gSDe-nbGWKhmsiWyMZr_D5H6-e1WtPbhrwG8qIQVWqgF_sfbdieBbFYdwRGK9tww2ono3cif0tYA_W4J64/s1600/Foyer+House%252C+New.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyBK7f_oaQ1OP-w0YgqPzNrWGs0J8wAxPC2vAQ75IFOw-NHUPDdFpKJoY7gSDe-nbGWKhmsiWyMZr_D5H6-e1WtPbhrwG8qIQVWqgF_sfbdieBbFYdwRGK9tww2ono3cif0tYA_W4J64/s320/Foyer+House%252C+New.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl7_pES3PsUH5Z7cdXeRdb_HjDDOMWRR2xPE_6LK7-_zC0QU3qvWQbmK_iTio-AOJufLyXoC6TKOzgbBDvS_WO406Fc7HymrIpZlP3GLBlz7cG9HM6Rv-cLqbIgK7mOUdiPohzXBy7OM/s1600/Inside+Look--3D.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNl7_pES3PsUH5Z7cdXeRdb_HjDDOMWRR2xPE_6LK7-_zC0QU3qvWQbmK_iTio-AOJufLyXoC6TKOzgbBDvS_WO406Fc7HymrIpZlP3GLBlz7cG9HM6Rv-cLqbIgK7mOUdiPohzXBy7OM/s320/Inside+Look--3D.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It don't look so pretty yet. But it is taking shape.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNNIo2IU64dUQuZ-HpwqOyU4nhPF4CYPUQHIYBfIRc8Mn2k0eMOkqrQljOE69ZGIHrzmoM_ptlpw1rvV2eNAlqahzNXitlN_axbWFdp3iUc6Tr5rCM28-IYKNZa-UB6eZ6B8p9WZq4BE/s1600/DSC_0107+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZNNIo2IU64dUQuZ-HpwqOyU4nhPF4CYPUQHIYBfIRc8Mn2k0eMOkqrQljOE69ZGIHrzmoM_ptlpw1rvV2eNAlqahzNXitlN_axbWFdp3iUc6Tr5rCM28-IYKNZa-UB6eZ6B8p9WZq4BE/s640/DSC_0107+copy.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the bathrooms with plumbing rudiments in place</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm693XTAC8cZaqxdEC9crTSVViLilGK73zd4SBTpgIuq-cA1dCfMvryKxwX2oYrFw0PS08IWg8zmg-SoUID8aV7Pzyy4iYPs-hVkDmZ7a0HjwiqvYhu6Fljf-a9VIPxB-SELVjwy9KT0/s1600/DSC_0086+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsm693XTAC8cZaqxdEC9crTSVViLilGK73zd4SBTpgIuq-cA1dCfMvryKxwX2oYrFw0PS08IWg8zmg-SoUID8aV7Pzyy4iYPs-hVkDmZ7a0HjwiqvYhu6Fljf-a9VIPxB-SELVjwy9KT0/s640/DSC_0086+copy.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the twelve large windows</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiemcxFu7U7P3o7Z2rCIvEVP7-NGJwFOgPRNv8Y-CypEy1_XM1pN3pqxFPkDM_uGJ3ecbz0r7wBQbkDMdz3N3XLydA_6FAkNedOiz9-xTk4_X1xil9rguX9FWN-LFVpISLIqBPj32S-8k/s1600/DSC_0106+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiemcxFu7U7P3o7Z2rCIvEVP7-NGJwFOgPRNv8Y-CypEy1_XM1pN3pqxFPkDM_uGJ3ecbz0r7wBQbkDMdz3N3XLydA_6FAkNedOiz9-xTk4_X1xil9rguX9FWN-LFVpISLIqBPj32S-8k/s400/DSC_0106+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dean and friends in one of the two bedrooms</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is a quick video look at the progress. I did kind of a lousy job here; but no cinematographer am I...</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyLdDyOB7Wb-iO1E9UXZBZ8bWifqh0Q8MPt1C66RPNCZpZO_sYoCo80lGmltcFsds8-a5QaUvh0VkE2QT7buQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'll provide more details soon, but so far the project appears to be roughly on target in terms of the proposed budget (and we were able to raise a few thousand extra as a cushion). Just as happily, I can report that the proposed completion date is currently looking to be earlier than anticipated--despite recent days associated with the recent political violence in Kinshasa and the usual bevy of obstacles that obstruct development in a place like the D.R.C. Madlen sees a real possibility that the room could be ready for habitation as early as March.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Coming soon--more details about toilets, specifics about the finances, and some photos of some truly magnetic faces.</span></div>
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Robert Zieger and Shiera Eňanohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02376314900702698786noreply@blogger.com0