Football pitch development: two weeks later

Coach and project director, Sahr James after 10 days on the project said, “Dave we must rent a mechanical digger, or the earth-moving will never get done.” “It costs £800 a day, and may increase the budget.” Dave replied “Let’s have a volunteers work-day on Saturday, and see what we can manage by hand.”

‘Incentive’ is a key word here. We came up with:
• An Argentine football shirt (from Ruwi in Garvock Hotel), which I hung in the goal mouth for the ‘hardest worker of the day’. In fact the 35 men and youths all worked like Trojans, practically non stop. (they are all superb athletes in the peak of training).
• Periodic snacks of peanut cakes, fried dough balls, bananas, helped, but they worked in the blazing sun without a break right through to 5 pm when there was a big bowl of tasty bean sauce and rice for the thirty workers, who continued through to the end.
• A pair of football socks (from Dunfermline Athletic) for everyone
• Everyone got paid 75p (up from 50p because of complaints!)

“We have never seen anyone work like this before!” said the team of four, running the project. The whole day cost £50. The guys will remember the day for the rest of their lives.

Our plan is to have another big work-day this Saturday, and then get the digger in next week for the 30 ft cliff where there are rocks the weight of motor cars.

8 hours of working in the tropical heat left me exhausted and blistered (my hands gave out after an hour, and I had to buy gloves), but the day went very well. I have to say I felt that God’s hand was over the whole thing.