We find Elvino the builder

After a few false starts, it looks like the ball is finally rolling. Simon and Agostinho have found a builder, Elvino who is very well respected in the area. He’ll use local labour and seems really committed to the project and the idea of providing the children with a place to learn.

When Simon gave our official go-ahead behalf in a meeting, everyone present sat back in the chairs in surprise and some of them laughed. It turns out, no-one (including Agostinho) had really believed that we would go ahead with the project. They’ve seen so many aid projects promised and then not materialise, that they had really expected ours to be the same. While it’s lovely to be able to surprise people, it’s incredibly sad to think of the things that have happened to make them feel that way. It’s also quite incredible to realise the attention and assistance our project has received from a high level of the East Timorese government. It only shows how great the need is and how appreciative the East Timorese and their government are of people helping their efforts to make things better for the population.