A Day At A Kids Home

Stuart Ablett

Member
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15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
I spent another great day working with my friends at PlayGround of Hope. We were at another Kids Home building a play set, picnic table, benches, repairing an old bench, installing a new basketball backboard and hoop, repairing a long picket fence, repairing some food prep tables, painting the main gate, etc, etc. this event was sponsored by Bloomberg, they showed up with about 88 people to volunteer, plus about 8 of us PGoH staff, quite the large group. I have to say that the Bloomberg people were an absolute pleasure to work with, I had some of the braver staff running a circular saw for the first time, or using a reciprocating saw to cut up an old basketball post and hoop.
Many of them drilling holes and screwing benches together with impact drivers for the first time. Really a great bunch!
My day started at 6 AM, as I had to drive down to the jobsite, and my micro van is not exactly fast LOL, 90Km/h on the expressway is good, anything faster feels really unsafe, and my gas mileage drops badly, as the small 3 cylinder 660 cc motor has to work rather hard.

I got to the site at 8AM, I had about a 20 min break for lunch, and worked right up to 6PM, a short break for a burger, then worked until 7:30 PM trying to get the last picnic table done. Did not quite make it. Cleaned up, loaded the van and got on the road, about half way home I stopped at a rest area for a quick nap, I got home at 10:30 PM.
Yep, a long day, but a good one.

I really do love these events, the only problem I have is that I seldom get to finish the tasks set out for me, as I'm always being stolen away to help with this and that on other tasks, because when someone has a problem they cannot solve, the mantra is "Ask Stu" LOL.
I take a LOT of tools, as you just never know what I will be asked to fix.

I love bringing some fun and some distraction to these kids lives and to the hard working staff at these facilities. They are not really orphanages, most of the kids have at least one parent, but often the parent is, for various reasons, unable to care for the kids.
I had one young lady, maybe 12 or 13 years old come and just sit on the tailgate of my van for most of the day, she just sat there for hours, very shy, she did not want to participate or even talk, just sit, and be there, which was fine with me. When we broke for dinner she finally introduced herself and told me that the woodworking reminded her of her grandfather.

I found out from the staff that she had never spoken about him before, that she was at the home because her father abused her badly, and that usually she does not interact with men at all, just sitting there smelling the fresh cut wood, and seeing the work being done hopefully reminded her of fond memory of a grandfather and better times. Makes it all worthwhile.

Ok I've rambled a bit, I had a great day, and I wanted to share.
Cheers!


PGoH Build Album

I think the link is working now....?
 
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Well done Stu !! Maybe you broke that shell around that girl and se will be more open in the future. Sometimes it just takes a little thing like this. I wish her well.

Charley
 
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