Day 6 – Thursday, March 16
International relations heated up at a youth
meeting last night, as the Kanata and Woodroffe
group met and exchanged e-mails and photographs
with the LaFollette group. Future correspondence
is in the works.
Work at the Galilee Camp today involved lots
of raking. Some raked so hard, they raked
up a brown snake, startling all present. The
air was filled with smoke as we burned leaves
and brush that we had collected. To us, as
Canadians, we were somewhat surprised at the
size of some of the small pine trees that
they considered to be brush.
The youth also took responsibility to clean
the chapel - including removal of last winter’s
grime that had accumulated on the chairs.
Before long, a sing-along occurred, including
a few oldies taught by Phyllis, a senior member
of our group.
Ottawa and U.S. flags were raised and pictures
were taken of the group at the camp. On the
way home, we stopped by the Habitat site to
see the accomplishments.
At the site, the folks had just about finished
the soffits but ran out of material. Doors
were hung, painting completed and a lot of
work moved the project forward by several
weeks. In fact, they started digging a post
hole for the electrical supply coming into
the next house to be built in June. It will
be a blitz house, completed in one week through
a very concentrated effort using volunteer
professional tradespeople.
Tonight we said our formal goodbyes to the
Habitat Board members, their partners, and
the agencies and services that had hosted
us. We enjoyed a Tennessee potluck, which
was delicious. Very much appreciated and enjoyed
by all the hard workers!
Tomorrow we will finish our women’s
project, the work at Habitat house and clean
our accommodations. Workgroups will ensure
that we get it all done and on the road by
12:30, after a quick lunch.
It has been a week of very hard work, laughter,
good food, good singsongs and short nights!
We have learned, young and old alike. The
lessons will stick with us for our life, having
enriched our lives and those with whom we
have had the pleasure of working side by side.
Many thanks to our LaFollette friends.
-Peggy
Blog
- Day 7