What can you achieve in one 50-60hr week of manual labour and in 48 degree African heat? The construction of a dog enclosure of course. Take a look at John and one or two of his Chadian colleague's handy (and hard!) work.
As SIL's new pet policy no longer allows dogs to have the run of the entire centre (mainly for cultural reasons), the agreed solution was to build an enclosure. This enclosure needed to be large enough that the dogs could stretch their legs and stay sane, with sufficient shelter from the ridiculously hot sun - especially at this time of year - and then rain in later months.
To ensure the deadline for the job was met, the trench, postholes and brickwork were prepared with another week of hot and hard manual labour just before our Mongo trip. The fencing and landscaping were all achieved in the one huge week on our return... just in time for Jack’s latest visit that Friday.
As SIL's new pet policy no longer allows dogs to have the run of the entire centre (mainly for cultural reasons), the agreed solution was to build an enclosure. This enclosure needed to be large enough that the dogs could stretch their legs and stay sane, with sufficient shelter from the ridiculously hot sun - especially at this time of year - and then rain in later months.
To ensure the deadline for the job was met, the trench, postholes and brickwork were prepared with another week of hot and hard manual labour just before our Mongo trip. The fencing and landscaping were all achieved in the one huge week on our return... just in time for Jack’s latest visit that Friday.
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| Top: we decided to make the most of a shelter used for 'storage' as shelter for the dogs (first we had to sort out all the junk that had accumulated underneath!) - two rows of blocks were laid under the fence to stop the dogs digging out; Centre: two of the guys from the library construction project helped John with the digging and masonry as work on site had stalled for a time - the guy in white's name is Oseé which is basically pronounced Aussie and we think this is pretty cool, the guy in red is called Bahdi - pronounced buddy; Btm: the week after Mongo - tightening the tension wire with Moussa |
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Looking north at the finished product (fence posts and fittings have since been painted) |
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| The shelter will still be partly used for storage, hence the larger northern gate |
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| Jack chillin' at has new pad |
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| L: The happy workers - John and Moussa slogged away in the heat together the week we got back from Mongo; R: And the happy occupant |
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