Bending Rebar and Laptop Computers

While rebar and computers don't often relate to each other, they did today. The day started back at the construction site where the early morning was spent moving rock that will be used in the concrete from the back of the church to the front where we are building the building for the water purification system. We already moved this rock once and we are pretty sure we will have to move it again before the week is up. While we were doing this the local craftsmen were starting to bend the rebar and setting it up for the roof of the building.

Working with rebar in Haiti is likely slightly different from what you might expect. The rebar is delivered in lengths of about 25 feet bent in half (so they can fit on top of the tap-tap). From there you have to straighten the rebar out using a tool that looks a little like a shepherd's crook and then cut it (by hand) and further bend it to the shape that is required; all by hand using a hacksaw and the shepherd's crook-like tool.

Normally the local craftsmen don't really like us helping with this part of the construction. We are not exactly sure why, but we suspect it has to do with the fact that they don't trust us doing it. But for whatever reason we were allowed to do this work today and it turns out we were pretty good at it.

After the construction work I went to the orphanage to help set up the laptops that were donated and observe the typing classes in which the kids participate.  [Young] Jonathan teaches the kids typing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in two groups after their school day: older kids and younger kids. With the older kids he is attempting to get them up to 20 words per minute, with the younger kids he is just acclimating them to the keyboard and letters.

Jonathan does have some older computers that he has been using so the ones that we delivered (as well as the router) are greatly
appreciated. These additional computers not only gave him some much needed equipment it also means that more kids can attend the class without having to double up on the laptops. These laptops are offering these kids an opportunity to utilize technology to which many do not have access. This will help these children as they progress through school. It also allows them to communicate to the world and get a glimpse of far away places. Most of these children rarely go outside the walls of the school / orphanage.