We had a good week. (Many pictures are stacked at the end...)
Brian and Gabe arrived in good health with all their luggage last Sunday evening. Unfortunately, we found out that they had lost Patrice along the way! Although we were all sad for her loss, we were happy to know that Lauren, her daughter, would step in and fill her place. It's been a blessing having her as part of the team!
Monday after a quick tour of the project and an introduction to the work team, Brian and Gabe jumped right in with the welding team and went at it. They worked on welding the north/south cross braces while Desire marked and cut the posts for the second array. Jean Baptiste and I worked on the final posts layout and post plumbing but found we had to move a couple holes before we could move forward. The carpenters worked on the Sonotube boxes as masons mixed and poured cement for the fifth array. We learned that Desire was needed at Kibuye next week, so we were all shooting for finishing the substructure by Saturday! Kind of a long shot, but we had HOPE!!! In the midst of all this, the new generator arrived, was unloaded and set in place with the help of a load-all machine.
Tuesday morning Brian and Gabe finished the first array and jumped on the next one, which was cut and ready for them to weld. Jean Baptiste worked on plumbing the posts for the last array as I marked the next array for the welding team to cut.
Wednesday all the posts were set in place and the carpenters worked on securing the Sonotube boxes and getting them ready for cement the next day. Brian and Gabe worked late and were able to completely finish welding the third array.
Thursday the masons finished pouring all the concrete while the welding crew jumped in to help clean out the second half of the field and back fill the post holes. Once the masons finished their job, they all jumped on clean up, leveling out the ground. They had it ready for the welders to move to the fourth and fifth arrays. Again, Brian and Gabe worked late until we were called in for dinnertime. Lots of Progress!!!
Friday was a good day!! Everyone knew we were close to the end! All the holes were back filled, the ground was leveled, and the trash was picked up. The carpenters worked on setting up some shade for something special. We would all celebrate with a meal together! Three goats, cassava, bananas... were being prepared right there on the job site while the welders worked on finishing up the fifth and last array. It was a very relaxed day. The workers set up tables and chairs for us all, then got dressed up for the feast. We all gathered around 2 pm and ate as a team. It was pretty special. After everyone went home, Brian and Gabe went back at it, welding the last array.
Saturday, (today) I am happy to inform you all that the solar substructure is complete!!! Praise God!!! We had a half day out there with the welding team. All the joints were welded and cleaned up! Only thing left is to paint over the joints! Now we are ready for phase 2, the containers! We are hoping and praying they arrive on site Monday. From what we know, they are in customs here in Bujumbura, waiting to be released and trucked over to the campus. There will be a crane to unload and maneuver them into place.
We were able to get away for awhile this evening and celebrate the accomplishments of the past weeks with a nice meal together. Thank you all for your prayers and all your support. We are excited for the containers to arrive and for the start of the next phase of the project. GOD is good!!!
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