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January 29, 2007
Rebuilding the broken walls
A few photos of the rebuilding work we are doing in Gorom-Gorom after the flood:
1. Most of the 31 houses we are building are like this – built of mud brick with a tin roof, but with tarmac plastering to waterproof it, and a cement “belt” round the bottom to protect the first 40cm from flooding erosion. This was the first one completely finished, and the owner, Diao, has already moved in.
2. We chose the most vulnerable people, like Aisetou here, looking at her house, which is about to have its roof put on.
3. Five of the houses are of woodless construction like this, being built in collaboration with the Development Workshop. The houses need no wood, with even the roof being made entirely of mud bricks, formed into this domed shape.
4. This is one of the teams working on the domed roof of the woodless house. Each brick is placed carefully in its exact location. The whole process is great to watch.
5. Although the work is well over half-way finished now, the Gorom authorities were keen on having a “stone-laying ceremony”. We did this for Alaye’s house which we were about to start building, and the Prefet of Gorom-Gorom, the Mayor’s representative, and the General Secretary for the Province of Oudalan all came. We also happened to have with us this week visitors from my church in Cardiff, Glenwood church, which was the main donor for the flood victims. The brick is being laid by The Secretary General and Peter Cole from Glenwood.
6. Me with Alaye, for whose house the stone was being laid.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina flood building woodless construction sahel emergency housing aid
January 19, 2007
A Day at the (Camel) Races
It was a dusty day at the camel races.
The harmattan wind was in full swing, filling the air with the fine yellow dust that blocks the sun and makes the day decidedly chilly - relatively speaking of course. The races were part of the annual Festicham festival at the start of every year in Gorom-Gorom, where the traditional cultures of the Tamacheq, Fulani, and Songhai peoples of the area are celebrated.
some more photos of Tamacheqs and their camels...
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina gorom gorom-gorom oudalan sahel camel camels race festicham tuareg tamacheq camel race
January 08, 2007
Gorom-Gorom Flood Response Phase 2
I have been really busy with the second phase of our response to the flood in Gorom-Gorom that left thousands homeless.
Phase 1 was emergency aid, including food, mosquito nets, blankets, and mats.
Phase 2 - rebuilding
We have now moved on to help some of the most vulnerable people rebuild their homes. We have identified about 30 of the most needy people - mostly widows and other elderly people who have no-one to help them. While others have started building for themselves, these are the people who would remain homeless for years unless something was done for them. They have been mostly sleeping under mat shelters suffering with the cold season.
The need to build was urgent not only because of the cold, but also because of the shortage of water for building. We have now nearly finished 12 houses, and are as yet the only people to have started building to help people, although other agencies have plans to start soon. We are building simple homes of two models: one is a mud and cement structure with a metal roof. The other is a woodless construction as a joint venture with the Development Workshop.
Woodless Constructions
These are fascinating buildings built entirely of mud - even the roof. They are not only environmentally friendly because they do not use up scarce wood supplies. They also have a better internal temperature - staying warmer in the cold season, and cooler in hot season than houses with the tin roof. And they seem to resist the rain better than other mud brick constructions. We would have liked to do all our buildings in this style, but some very practical limitations prevented that. However, we hope that those we do build will also promote awareness of the benefits of this model.
Thank you again to those of you who by your generosity have enabled us to take these actions. Our team for organising and overseeing the rebuilding is a small group of volunteers from the local church in Gorom. Please pray for us as we continue to try to serve faithfully. Thank you. I will post photos with more information soon.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina flood building woodless construction sahel emergency housing aid
