It is a strange weekend here in shanty-ville since it is a long weekend. The 1st of May is actually the holiday but our very generous President decreed that it should be a long weekend so loads of people, schools etc have been off. Having said that, with little money around, it seems that most people have stayed at home and are having a well-earned rest. At the moment (7.30am on a Saturday morning) nothing is stirring apart from the priest. Still it will all be back to normal on Monday, I suspect.
Not everyone of course had a holiday. For one, the workers who are building our two chapels did not have Thursday or Friday off. When I asked why they were not having time off, they said they would prefer to work as that is the only way they could secure their job and their wages. It is one of the terrible aspects of life in the shanty that there is no security to your job. Actually the work at the two chapels – La Paz and Maestro – is coming along well and they never seems to slack at all. Since the two projects are at different ends of the Parish, it is not easy to get to visit them – well, not as easy as the school, Church or Nursery building that was on my doorstep. I would suspect that shortly before I come home in August I would be able to have an opening ceremony in each chapel.
I mentioned about the working conditions of the builders but the working conditions of our Parish school teachers have also worried me recently. Since we set up the school five years ago, there have been no formal contracts and it has just been piecemeal arrangements. So this year Adela and myself decided that we had to get it all formalized, apart from the fact that it is now illegal to do otherwise. The benefits seem clear: the school makes itself legal in its contracts; but the teachers also receive the security (fort eh first time) of National Insurance as well as getting an extra months’ payment at the end of the year (it is a statutory thing here). So I was surprised that two of the twenty teachers refused to sign. I couldn’t believe it since it seemed to me a win-win situation for them. I managed to convince one but the other has preferred to walk away from the school. Sad!
For some time I have noticed a loud bang in my truck and finally managed to take it into the garage in the centre of the city. The undercarriage seems to have become loose in so many parts that it simply needs tightening. I think it is almost impossible to live in our area – so full of potholes – and not end up with all sorts of mechanical problems. Still a few days and it will be ready again – for action. One of the funnier things that happened to me recently in relation to the truck was that I had taken out the car radio and left it on the dashboard while I was driving. After some time I realized that it was not there any longer – it had gone flying out of the window as I popped in and out of one of the larger potholes. Life in the shanty, eh?
One of the more exciting facets of life for me recently has been my involvement with the youth ministry, both in the Parish, in the area and in the Diocese. In the Parish we have recently sprouted some new youth groups and can now count five groups in the Parish. Tito had become our youth liaison man and works two mornings a week getting things together and supporting the various groups. Then, as a result of Colin MacInnes being in Scotland, I am replacing him at a deanery/area level in getting the local area groups together: we have put together a programme of workshops which are well attended by local youth group leaders. And then on a Diocesan level, again replacing Colin, we are organizing various Diocesan events for May, June and July. So this week I ended up twice in the centre of town at organizing groups for the various things that are coming up. It should be good and everyone seems to be very enthusiastic. It rubs off on one, no?
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