We were about to sit down to eat lunch when Red and his helper showed up. Red is our go to man when we need something made. For the past few days Red has been working on a new sleeping quarters for Skeeter. He finished it today and got it attached to the top of the monkey cage; it looks sort of like a chimney sitting on the roof. He did not ask what color we wanted it painted, he just decided to paint it brown. We figure that he had brown paint left over from another project and decided to use it. We explained that the house really needs to be white to reflect the heat. The monkey cage right now is in full shade sitting under a cluster of teak trees but when the dry season gets here the teak trees will lose their leaves and the late afternoon sun will hit the cage. We had a few cans of spray paint left from another project; after they attached the little house they repainted it. Steve is going to have to add another coat of paint but for now it is ok.
Red said that he needed us to haul the 1,008 cement blocks he has already molded so he will have room to start the next batch of blocks. Donkey and Mr. Iddrisu are going to start that job tomorrow if Donkey can find another man to help load and off load the blocks. Mr. Iddrisu’s back will not allow him to load the block but he can drive the motor king.
Zorash said she made the mistake of going to town yesterday! She said that she had a terrible time getting around and finding a place to park her motorcycle. Meri said she was surprised when she saw us in town riding in a yellow-yellow. Zorash had ordered yams from Gnani, a village about 10 miles from Yendi. She said that the yams were cheaper than they were in Yendi. She said that even when she had to pay a motor king to transport them and pay for a sack to put them in they were still cheaper than in Yendi.
Several years ago a small girl was brought to the Child Center that could not walk. We sent her to Tamale to the orthopedic doctors and they said that nothing could be done to correct her problem so we bought her a wheelchair. The child is older now and is attending school. Her brother brought her back to the Center this morning. The wheels were completely worn off the wheel chair; they were pushing her around on the rims. Naturally with this abuse the rims were ruined. When they helped the girl out of the wheelchair we noticed that she could walk. She was holding onto her brother for support and she had a very strange gait but at least she was walking. Her brother wanted us to help repair the wheel chair but we had another idea. Steve decided that she could benefit from a walker with wheels. He went up to the mission house and brought one down. The girl seems to be fine mentally. When the girl figured out that she could walk with the walker she was so excited. She made lap after lap around the Child Center enjoying her new found freedom! We were excited for her. We also showed her brother how she could push the wheelchair and walk behind it. She might need the wheelchair at school to get from place to place. The girl was brave enough to leave the Child Center and walk around on the walker. To get back up into the Center she had to pick up the front of the walker; we were afraid she was going to topple over but she did not. Steve gave them the money for rims, tires, tubes and labor. Our hope is that she will get steady enough on her feet that she can walk without a walker.
The Monkeyshines
My jail cell was renovated today. I was not happy with the work that went on today for so many reasons. Firstly it was far too noisy, strangers were in the yard climbing all over my jail cell, and no one asked how I felt about the project! The guys who were cutting a hole through the sheet metal roof on my cell were making so much noise; they were using a metal chisel and a big hammer. That horrible noise scared me! At one point I was so scared that I ran as fast as I could; I ran right past Mom, Dad and Donkey! I had no idea where I was running to, I was just running. In my panic I ran all the way around the mission house to the back yard; I climbed the stairs and got up on the roof! I have never been that scared; my little heart was about to jump out of my chest! I was traumatized! When Mom caught up with me I was so scared I could not even climb up in her arms! Finally she opened the back door and I ran in as fast as I could! I felt safe when I got in the house!
After the little room was added I was put back in prison. Immediately I entered the main section of the jail I noticed the hole that was cut in the ceiling! It made me nervous because I did not know what was up there. They cut the hole right above my favorite sitting place. I jumped all over the place and paced back and forth all the while keeping my eyes on the hole. It took me a little while before I was brave enough to peek my head inside the hole. It took me even longer to put my whole body inside the new house.
If I can get used to the newness of it all I think I might actually like the new house. It is enclosed on 3 sides to help make me feel safe and to keep the wind and rain off of me. The whole front of the little house has metal fencing so I can have a bird’s eye view of the world below me. I will let you know in a few days if I like it or not!
NO MORE REMODELING!
Love, Skeeter
