Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Building Construction Dec 2008 – May 2009

It was very exciting and a little scary when work started on the buildings. We only had a portion of what it would cost to complete stage one but we decided we’d start the work and trust God to provide what was needed. Israel sent us many photos to show us the progress of the building works.

21 December 2008
First the pump to the existing well was repaired to supply water during the construction stage.


















31 December 2008
The holes for the foundations were dug by hand using labourers hired from the local village.























4 January 2009
The foundations with iron rods in place, ready to start pouring the first concrete.


















6 January 2009

During the construction stage, the boys loved to visit the site and lend a hand. Here they are with their tools and water pots.


















15 January 2009

Sometimes the boys helped the village workers by carrying bricks and fetching water.


















29 January 2009
The foundations finished to floor level.


















19 February 2009
The walls completed to the top of window height with the window frames in place.


















23 February 2009
Workers mixing the concrete by hand.


















24 February 2009
Brickwork continued on the walls and a roofed entry area was added to the front of the building. Bamboo scaffolding was used to support the roof during construction.


















4 March 2009
Concreting the roof slab showing the form work, reinforcing rods and electrical conduit in place.


















4 March 2009
Although the construction was mainly done by hand, a concrete mixer was hired on roof slab day so the whole slab could be completed in one day.


















21 March 2009
A fundraiser was held at Kenmore Baptist Church (our home church) to raise money to construct the kitchen. The aim was to raise funds for the kitchen by having people buy Lego bricks and build a copy of this model.


















22 March 2009
This is the model that KBC built. Each different coloured brick represents a different sponsor. Everybody enjoyed adding their different bricks to the model and it gave them a great understanding of how their contribution, when combined with all the others, helped achieve something great. It was so well supported that enough funds were raised to build the kitchen, dining hall and toilets.
















27 March 2009
We sent some of the money from the Kitchen Lego fundraiser over the next day. Here are the foundations already under way.























27 March 2009
The boys in front of the main building.


















29 March 2009
Rendering the front of the main building.


















3 April 2009
Labourers standing on bamboo scaffolding inside the building.


















13 April 2009
The interior with undercoat applied and the floor tiles being laid.


















20 April 2009
The inside bathroom where a western toilet and shower have since been installed for guests to use.


















21 April 2009
4 acres will be used for farming to support the cost of running the home and its associated activities. A tractor was hired to clear and plough the land.


















21 April 2009
Looking from the top of the building to where the crops will be grown. Once the monsoon rains come the rice will be planted.


















29 April 2009
An excavator was hired to dig out the large septic tank for the boys toilets.


















29 April 2009
Labourers working on the kitchen, dining hall and toilets.


















4 May 2009
The electricians installing the electrical wiring inside the main building.


















16 May 2009
Putting tiles on the roof of the kitchen building.


















18 May 2009
The electrical poles, wires and fuse box connected to the back of the building.


















21 May 2009
The workers doing the brickwork for the large septic tank.


















22 May 2009
An end shot of the kitchen building showing the four squat toilets.


















At this stage, the buildings were nearly finished and there was going to be enough room to fit in some more boys. Preference was given to boys who’d lost both parents and belonged to the lowest castes. They started arriving from their villages during the last week of May.

Hales Visit October 2008

In October Geoff and I had the chance to visit Pastor Daniel’s family, meet the boys, and see how everything was going. This was Geoff’s first time in India. We had a fantastic time and saw what a great job Israel and all the others were doing looking after the boys. However the situation of the boys living at the church was difficult for everyone and when we got back to Australia, we started thinking about what we could do to help our Indian friends build Shalom Home. The following photos were taken during our visit in October 2008.

22 October 2008
There had been heavy rain during the night and when we went to visit the boys at the church, we had to wade through a huge puddle.


















24 October 2008

Towards the end of our visit we joined the boys on a day trip to Kodaikanal, one of the hill stations in the mountains. We visited lookouts and waterfalls, played cricket in the forest, toured the botanical gardens and went for a boat ride.


















25 October 2008

Fetching water from the underground tank at the back of Pastor Daniels house.























25 October 2008

Serving lunch in the back garden.























25 October 2008

The boys sitting on the stairs.






















You can watch a short video of our trip and plans to build Shalom Home by clicking on the Shalom Promo 2008 at right.

June 2008

In June Israel let us know they’d decided to take in some boy’s from poor village areas and look for a place to rent until they could afford to build. We decided we’d help with the costs of feeding and caring for the boys. Israel would be the main carer, assisted by David, the warden, and Elizabeth and Angel would do the cooking. At first, the boys slept at Pastor Daniels’ house but as numbers grew, no one was willing to rent them a house, so they started sleeping at the church and walked to Pastor Daniel’s house for their meals.

22 July 2008
The boys eating breakfast on the rooftop of Pastor Daniel’s house
















22 July 2008

Ready for school in their new uniforms
















9 August 2008

Pastor Daniel and the boys at the front of his house
















7 September 2008

The boys with their new beds in the church yard


















9 September 2008

As the nights got cooler new blankets were bought to keep warm

Geoff and Karen’s Shalom Blog

Many have asked how we became in involved with Shalom Children’s Home. In April 2008 Karen met and stayed with Pastor Daniel and his family in Madurai in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Such a loving and humble family, they really welcomed Karen into their hearts and home, and she was able to see first hand the impact of the work they were doing to help the poor, especially widows and orphans. They also took her to see land they had bought in a village near Madurai where they hoped to build a children’s home and care for up to 50 orphans. Although they didn’t have the funds to build, they had the faith that God would provide what was needed and the following photos tell the story of how Shalom Home went from dream to reality.

19 April 2008
Karen surrounded by children in a slum community in Madurai

















Pastor Daniel, Israel, Elizabeth and Angel