Construction has officially started! Me, my sitemate Julia, and our counterpart Madame Bako embarked once more to the far side of where the future bridge will be.

Pastors hosted a ceremony at the site to bless the land. It lasted about an hour. The ceremony entailed lots of prayers, including one point where all the preachers walked towards the water and shouted vehemently all at once for a few minutes to ward away evil spirits. Lots of people from the neighboring communities came, including kids who are not in school that watched curiously, women in straw hats, and men helping dig out the thin dirt roads with shovels along the way.


Before the ceremony had even started, the workers were cracking. There was a huge hole that they were draining water from when we arrived.Long strands of green twine had been attached from one side of the bridge to the other to make a physical outline of construction.

The workers picked up stone blocks and carried them on their shoulders to the hole. They lifted sandbags and made a path with them in the water to divert the flow. They continued to dig near the shore, moving dirt in large piles by the hole. They weren't afraid to get sweaty or muddy. They were putting their backs into it!

Banging a stone to manipulate a wooden pole in the hole

The architect getting ready to drain the water from the hole

Diggin' down and dirty

This is just day 1. Construction will run through all of May and June. The townspeople are excited. The Pastor sends a special thanks to Peace Corps and to all who donated to help make this happen. So, from the community, thank you donors!

And if it's a hot day, look out for cow crossings.