Hi everyone,

I am leaving in the morning on my way to Belarus and won’t arrive until Sunday evening, so unless I get an internet connection somewhere along the way, there won’t be anymore blogs until Monday.  I received an e-mail from Dave Shaw today and he wanted me to know that aside from the delay with the containers, everything is going very well!  On the positive side, the delegates who have arrived are getting an opportunity to visit with their host families this weekend instead of at the end of the trip.  Gravel is very hard to find in Belarus.  Unlike Canada, it is very sandy soil and not a lot of rocks.  The problem, it seems. was availability locally, so now the gravel is being trucked all the way from Minsk … 4 hours away!  Also, Dave has had exceptionally good cooperation with both customs and the department of humanitarian aid.  They are both doing their best to get things moved through the system so that we will have access to everything sooner.  So although we seem to be behind schedule, things are progressing and we are still hopeful that we will complete all of our projects prior to heading home.

Next blog from Chausy!

Eric McKenzie

Margaret’s Blog – Friday March 25, 2011

Today we finished placing the cement piers around the perimeter of the future chicken barn. (We are still waiting for more gravel!) Moving the piers involved using the tractor.  This created some interesting situations.  The tractor got stuck in the mud several times. Much  time was spent digging out the tractor.

Tomorrow we will fill the middle with old bricks and stones that were surplus at the Orphanage.  This will save on the amount of gravel required. We’re trying to get everything ready so that we can prepare for cement.  Of course, we need to have access to our containers before this can happen. The cement piers will help contain the gravel.  The cement foundation will be poured on top of the gravel.

On our home front, Vera now uses briquettes in her pechka. She adds to the fire each morning and that is what provides heating for the house.

Tonight, after supper, she showed us the hot coals.  There were pieces of kindling available and this prompted us to roast marshmallows and treat Paulina, Vera’s Granddaughter,  to a Canadian treat.

We bring marshmallows with us each year as they seem to be very popular (and not available here).

It’s -5 C tonight. Brrrrrr.

Margaret Campbell