steaming ahead

we arrived on site to discover a building! the anc youth league were hard at work. mr cindy and stan were there – working too. they had rounded up a team and had been clearing since monday. we were overwhelmed. finally, the first leap had been taken – and for the first time it seemed we may realize our dreams!

i spent the day sweeping, shoveling, moving rubble, collecting bricks, sweeping, loosening, resting. eric was possessive over his grass broom and i spent a long while waiting for him to pass it on. the sun beat down on my fair skin, my mouth dry and eyes scratchy. dust had settled in a thin layer over my face – i could feel it there.

the others did less physical work but resolved many on-site issues.

the germans arrived. it was our first taste of hostility and reservation towards our project. they seemed confused about our intentions – constantly expressing our lack of process and analysis. hannah seemed to agree with them – we felt violated that she had been swayed by them and that we weren’t being defended. our spirits dropped. our hearts sunk. our minds raced.

we made constant trips to cashbuild for gloves and dust masks. in the car on the way back we spotted a steamroller. it was perfect! it could do the work of 20 in 5 minutes! i waved it down and pleaded with the driver to come to our site. after a while he sensed my genuine plea and let me hop on board. we crawled back to the beerhall. it was less than a kilometer away but took us an age! the machine was so deeply powerful and dominating. we pulled up to the structure – everyone was staring! the rumble of the roller had obviously grabbed some attentions.
we met at stan’s for a braai. we sat under the carport. the food was comforting and the huge quarts of brutal fruit warming. the sun began to set, the silhouette of the beerhall dominating and clear. children had gathered there and seemed free and expressive. they animated the silhouette as we had hoped, their little bodies swaying and dipping and hanging.

we headed back to johannesburg – putting up newspapers on the way out.