Whyzman
02-04-2007, 04:43 PM
My daughter and I returned on the 27th of January from once again working on the orphanage in Mexico. We left for El Paso on Saturday the 20th of January.
It was cold! On Tuesday on our way to the orphanage we were confronted with 5-6" of fresh snow. The desert was, indeed, a bit odd looking! :D I didn't have my camera with, but one of the guys took some great photos which I'll post as I get them. At night it was in the low 20F range to mid 30F during the day. On Friday the general contractor from Forest Lake, MN (moved his whole family down once again for 4 months) was watching TV news from the area and saw them pulling bodies from cardboard boxes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/IMG_49052.jpg
Much was accomplished by the two back-to-back Minnesota groups. Minnesota sends some of the largest delegations. The 13-20th of January group was close to 70 people with numerous church affiliations, some folks without. Yet, all focused on bringing the children home.
The group we were with was numbered about 28 folks with a full age spectrum. We concentrated on the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing concerns at the orphanage itself, while others remained on the US side and sorted blankets, coats, toys, rice & beans, and sewing of the tote bags we hand out to carry the food distributed on Wednesday in Anapara, MX.
I worked primarily on the shower stalls where we needed to expose the basin drain pipes by first jackhammering, and then cutting and solvent welding the PVC drains in place. Following close behind were the folks (a couple realtors! :)) installing the rubber membranes. Pretty tedious and exacting work for these two "shmoozers" LOL...their expertise proved to be more than just talk... :Dhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/P1010071.jpg
Following the membranes comes a pour of concrete that slightly tapers from the outside perimeter to the drain, onto which the tile will eventually be installed. We were able to get one of the upper wings poured.
The orphanage has the paperwork in the works, as they say, to obtain duty free transport of materials used on the orphanage. To date, anything crossing the border required the use of brokers and an assessment of import taxes. A major tile company in the US has donated the 60,000 sq.ft. of tile necessary for the floors. Although they also have a Mexico City, MX location, it would be easier to bring the tile from the US through Juarez...providing the necessary paperwork is approved. I overheard someone say that the hold-up was the change of Presidency. This is a huge donation (not seconds) and Tapestries was furnished with a selection list... I suspect that on one of our future trips we'll be laying tile! Too cool!
The Forest Lake contractor has seen this before...he has 4 daughters!http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/img_49532.jpg
This little one is from Anapara where we distribute food, clothing, etc., on Wednesday.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/RotatedP1010067.jpg
Let me know if you'd like to see more pics... Oh, how about a sunset?http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/IMG_2152.jpg
There's some more information HERE (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=34099&highlight=orphanage) from a previous posting about the orphanage. You can also visit: www.tapestriesoflife.com for additional information and images...
It was cold! On Tuesday on our way to the orphanage we were confronted with 5-6" of fresh snow. The desert was, indeed, a bit odd looking! :D I didn't have my camera with, but one of the guys took some great photos which I'll post as I get them. At night it was in the low 20F range to mid 30F during the day. On Friday the general contractor from Forest Lake, MN (moved his whole family down once again for 4 months) was watching TV news from the area and saw them pulling bodies from cardboard boxes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/IMG_49052.jpg
Much was accomplished by the two back-to-back Minnesota groups. Minnesota sends some of the largest delegations. The 13-20th of January group was close to 70 people with numerous church affiliations, some folks without. Yet, all focused on bringing the children home.
The group we were with was numbered about 28 folks with a full age spectrum. We concentrated on the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing concerns at the orphanage itself, while others remained on the US side and sorted blankets, coats, toys, rice & beans, and sewing of the tote bags we hand out to carry the food distributed on Wednesday in Anapara, MX.
I worked primarily on the shower stalls where we needed to expose the basin drain pipes by first jackhammering, and then cutting and solvent welding the PVC drains in place. Following close behind were the folks (a couple realtors! :)) installing the rubber membranes. Pretty tedious and exacting work for these two "shmoozers" LOL...their expertise proved to be more than just talk... :Dhttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/P1010071.jpg
Following the membranes comes a pour of concrete that slightly tapers from the outside perimeter to the drain, onto which the tile will eventually be installed. We were able to get one of the upper wings poured.
The orphanage has the paperwork in the works, as they say, to obtain duty free transport of materials used on the orphanage. To date, anything crossing the border required the use of brokers and an assessment of import taxes. A major tile company in the US has donated the 60,000 sq.ft. of tile necessary for the floors. Although they also have a Mexico City, MX location, it would be easier to bring the tile from the US through Juarez...providing the necessary paperwork is approved. I overheard someone say that the hold-up was the change of Presidency. This is a huge donation (not seconds) and Tapestries was furnished with a selection list... I suspect that on one of our future trips we'll be laying tile! Too cool!
The Forest Lake contractor has seen this before...he has 4 daughters!http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/img_49532.jpg
This little one is from Anapara where we distribute food, clothing, etc., on Wednesday.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/RotatedP1010067.jpg
Let me know if you'd like to see more pics... Oh, how about a sunset?http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v103/Whyzman/IMG_2152.jpg
There's some more information HERE (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=34099&highlight=orphanage) from a previous posting about the orphanage. You can also visit: www.tapestriesoflife.com for additional information and images...