Ahead of schedule; that’s what we are! And lucky us too, because our team is about to get one person smaller. Armindo, my language tutor turned counterpart/go-to guy for everything, is leaving to go start college in Cuamba at their local branch of the Universidade Catolica de Mozambique (UCM). He’ll be specializing in Agriculture, and is beyond excited. Alan, who’s been mentoring him for a number of years, managed to find him a scholarship when someone from his network back home (a former intern I believe) e-mailed him asking if there was anyone he could sponsor. Pretty incredible timing if you ask me, and there is no one in Montepuez that is more deserving.
20 years old, but wise beyond his years, Armindo has been an integral part of the project, helping us every step of the way thus far. His patience, determination, and desire to make the world a better were apparent from day one when I was still a newcomer to Portuguese, barely able to ask him how his day went (I’m still don’t say it right, but he’s now familiar enough with my way of speaking that he knows what I mean). He’s introduced me to countless people in and around our city, and even when we leave the city, we always seem to run into someone he knows. The guy knows everyone. And he knows how to get things too. He’s like a real life version of Morgan Freeman’s character Red in Shawshank Redemption, but he’s not old and hasn’t killed anyone.
Armindo has been a huge component of my life here in Montepuez, and I’m going to miss him dearly. If you’re reading this buddy, thank you for everything you’ve done. We couldn’t have gotten to this point without you. I only wish I had the ability to truly express how appreciative I am, and how important you have been.
Anyways, on to our progress. Armindo’s final project prior to his departure from Montepuez was to start the wood procurement process. He used to work north of town with some of the wood cutters, so he had a bunch of contacts up there. He knew that this was the time to buy (the first six months of the year are difficult to find wood because everyone is working in their farms, and not in the forests), so we put him in charge and let him do his thing. Over the course of a few weeks, he managed to find all the decking panels that we’ll need to use to form the surface that people will use to walk across. Alan’s got them locked up in a shed behind his house where they’ll remain until it’s time to install them.
With wood now checked off the list, we’ll continue the material procurement process up until construction begins. This is the part I’m most looking forward too, since it’s really the first time that we’ll actually see the results of our hard work starting to materialize (getting all the money together was great, but it was pretty much all done electronically). Turning money into stuff feels good!
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