The Habitat Build and a Visit to Colombo

The Dambulla Habitat Crew

Back row: Me; Alex; Edwin & Ray

Seated: Laura; Katie;Roshael; Natalie & Marc

In front: Dave & Joanne

The Habitat for Humanity build in Dambulla was very rewarding. I get to add masonry work to my skill set. The group was a ton of fun and we all worked very hard at finishing four homes. I can safely say that I have never been that dirty in my entire life (and I grew up on a farm)

Roshael and I wetting bricks for the masons, they put planks down
at the base of the wall to catch all the excess mortar and there is absolutely no waste of materials of any kind. Roshael and Edwin at tea time (obviously the morning one since they are still relatively clean) Ray, Alex and Marc finished the home they were working on so started digging the hole for the outhouse. Yes, they took the prize for dirtiest duds everyday.

Our littlest helper (I love this picture)

Our chief mason, VJ, atop an incredibly suspect scaffolding arrangement. This was our last day on site and I thought I couldn't be more amazed. Then I watched VJ whack off angled chunks of brick to make the perfectly straight roof line...incredible!

We're all at the closing ceremony with VJ and our homeowners and their two kids. These guys are farmers and they had taken off two weeks from the fields to work with us on their home. They worked so hard and this was a very emotional day for all of us.

I had scheduled an extra week in Colombo after the build and had a fabulous time showing Joanne, Laura and Edwin around a little bit. They came with me to the Wellawatte boys’ home and got to meet the gang. They’d had a visit from a doctor a couple of days earlier and he had left about 18 prescriptions for the boys. It was for the usual kid stuff, antibiotics, anti fungal creams, anti inflammatory and some cough syrups. I got some rupees from the bank and we split up to several pharmacies to get them filled.

My friend Laxman drew a picture of the two of us.

I stayed with my excellent friend Lino at her apartment and she even got some beautifully ripe rambutan for me. I love those spiny little fruits! Laura had a pretty good idea of the stuff she wanted to see in and I think we got to everything on her list.

Laura perusing the menu at Helga's Folly.
We caught up with Dani and a friend at Beach Wadiya for a fabulous seafood meal. One of my favorite places to eat in Colombo, there are no menus, they simply come to the table and tell you, “Here’s what we caught today and here’s how we’re cooking it.” Amazing food and great company right on the beach!

Before I left for the build, I gave Roy some money to get some stuff done to the new tuk-tuk. They are pretty much sold stripped and he needed to get a headliner for the inside as well as some side curtains for when it rains. He spent a little bit on some non essentials like wheel covers, a funky dashboard and seat covers. I was glad to see he had customized it to his liking and he even bought a nice pair of slacks and button down shirt. I didn’t even recognize him when he came to fetch me from Negombo.