Lately

So it is kind of hard to see what is going in the picture, but there are LOTS of cattle walking down the main road in Mundri town. This has been a pretty regular sight for the last week as cattle herding tribes are being escorted out of Mundri and back to their traditional homelands. Families have been walking along side their cattle with all their belongings packed up and balanced on their heads.


This also created cattle jams on the main road. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to bike to Mundri Secondary School to teach my practical science lab class, but this week it took about 45 minutes as I passed herd after herd of cattle. I probably passed about 700 cows while weaving in and out to avoid their huge horns, the mud puddles, potholes, and the cow patties left on the road.

This morning Liana, Gaby, Larissa, and I helped our friend James mud the walls of his house. It was a lot of fun! We haven't quite mastered the technique of the wrist flick and knuckle punch, but James came along after us to make it beautiful. There will be one more coat applied once this layer dries.

As soon as we finished the Hai Salaama community water project we knew the tank was undersized. Today Michael and Caleb replaced the small 500 liter tank with a much larger 5,000 liter tank.

Michael welds high up in the air.

A group of children gathered to watch Michael, Caleb, and the water office staff work. I came in the middle of the day to drop of some forgotten supplies and take some pictures of the tank raising, so I took a bunch of pictures of these cute children while I waited for main event.


The tank raising makes a pretty dramatic picture. =)


It may not seem like a big deal, but there is now a second gas station in Mundri town! Concrete blocks are being made all around Mundri town as new buildings go up. The crisp new currency is being exchanged in the shops and markets. Prices are going up for basic things including water. The price each compound has to pay per month for water from a borehole has just doubled from 5 pounds to 10 pounds. It isn't surprising since the price of fuel has gone up as have the prices for most imported goods including spare borehole parts. We have seen some fluctuation in the US dollar exchange rate, but nothing extreme.

Well those are just a few pictures from the last few days and some of the news from Mundri town!