We have received the first pictures from Gildas, our contractor, showing the beginning of the building process.  He has also supplied us with a report.

The land has been cleared.

Sand, gravel and wood have been purchased.

Apparently getting cement is problematic.  Even though there is a cement factory    in Togo, it is in short supply.

Digging the foundation has started.

The next steps will include making the bricks for the foundation, preparing the iron (re-bar) for the foundation and the columns, and establish the footings to pour the cement foundation.

We also had a great email from Claire Quenum with Floraison.  She continues to be a wonderful addition to our team.  We are still finding roadblocks to the well issue.  I have asked Claire to step in and see if she can be of help.  I mentioned in a previous post that the land where water is known to exist belongs to a family in the village.  We would like to purchase this land so that we can eliminate any future problems with access, maintenance, etc.  Because the villagers have never done this before, there is some resistance.  We are hoping Claire can pave the way to show them how this could work.

Stay tuned for more good stuff in upcoming blogs:  We are still trying to gather all of the video footage from the April trip and create a documentary, we are in the process of planning our annual bachelor auction and wine tasting, and of course we get regular reports for the building progress.

Thanks for coming ~ tell a friend!

Since coming home from the trip to Togo, we have been dotting our “i’s” and crossing our “t’s,”  transferring funds to the contractor AHOE in Togo, hammering out exchange rate details.  They have received the funds and should be starting the construction by the end of this week.  All of these details can become tedious but just when one least expects it, BAM!

We received a $3,000 donation!!  It is the largest single gift in LeapingStone history!!!  We are so grateful to this donor (who shall remain anonymous), but of course we invite all of our supporters to try and top it!  We are looking to earmark this donation toward building the well.  There are many logistical matters to work out, but  this donation makes it possible to move forward with well construction.  We will keep you posted on both the construction and fund raising efforts that make building possible.

We are also pleased and proud to welcome over 50 new Facebook Members to our LeapingStone Group.  If you are new to our group, welcome and thank you for joining.  If you have been a loyal follower, we so deeply appreciate your support.

We are also gearing up for our second annual Bachelor Auction and Wine Tasting Event.  To all the people in Chico who participated last year, we say,  “thank you!”  Please join us again this year and bring a friend.  We hope to double last year’s ~$13K raised and that effort starts with a motivated support base.   We are currently looking for bachelors who would like volunteer to help our worthy cause.  If you can attend our event scheduled for October 1st in the Chico area and want to get involved, please contact me at Natalie@leapingstone.org We could use a few more bachelors and anyone else interested in helping out with the planning of the event; we would love to hear from you as well.  Last year’s event was a hoot-and-a-half and this year promises to be more of the same.

Wednesday, the LeapingStone Board of Directors voted to approve the contract with the builders in Togo.  I printed out both the French and English versions, signed them, scanned them, and emailed them back.  Needless to say we’re incredibly enthusiastic about this important step in the process.

Today I received confirmation that the contract documents were received.  Now we wait for their signature.  Also I have been checking the exchange rate, and it is currently in our favor.  I hope this trend continues as this means it will cost less!!!  Saving money is always a good thing, especially when donations are so hard to acquire.

I keep reflecting on my recent trip and the look on the villagers’ faces as we talked about the project.  Honestly, if you could see their expressions of hope and joy, it would melt your heart ~ they certainly affected me deeply.

Liqua Dossoha ~ Smart as a Whip!

Additionally, I  am so grateful to be working with Floraison’s Claire Quenum.  I was so impressed with Claire and consider ourselves sincerely lucky to have her involved in the project.  She has a calm, wise, regal way about her.  Claire’s experience and knowledge will continue to guide the villagers with income-generating training in various activities.

She also has an adorable, fiery, smart-as-a whip assistant — Liqua Dossoha – who was such a help to me.  I expect big things from this young lady.

One issue we are continuing to deal with is the well.  Water resource allocation and development is not really a part of LeapingStone’s mission; however, Dédékè is near and dear to our hearts and we would like to get them a well, if possible.   A good, clean source of water is vital to their quality of life and when many school children are presently afflicted with parasites and illness (also contributing to a high child mortality rate), it follows that school attendance will be greatly improved if we can solve the water issue.

African Life Without Water ~ From Wired Magazine

During our visit last year, we were told a water survey was done and that they knew the best place to drill without the impedance of subterranean rock.   It’s true.  The problem is, the land belongs to a family in the village.  Of course, assigning responsibility for upkeep and affording maintenance/repair costs could be a problem in the future.  So for now, until we solve this dilemma, we are going to install a cistern.  This is a good solution because if and when a well is installed there will likely be operational problems and in the event of a pump failure (which is common) the cistern will act as a backup.   We are trying hard to cover all possible contingencies without ruffling any feathers.

Stay tuned to this blog for developments  and construction updates.  I can hardly wait to share the news with you!

I would be remiss in my duties if I didn’t remind you that your support is still essential to complete this project.  So far we have received approximately $1500.00 from about 30 donors in the past 5 months~ don’t be left out ~ Join us in making a difference.  If you are one of these contributors, thank you!  If you would like to give again, or if you have yet to get on board, please visit our donation page; there are many ways to contribute and of course we appreciate every dollar.

Cheers,

Natalie