This year the Grade 5/6 class at Elmdale Public School in Ottawa participated in We Act; a full-year engagement program of young people. It is a highly effective model for creating social change which ends with We Day, a day of inspiration, education and celebration. Tickets cannot be bought to ‘We Day’ but must be earned by supporting a local and global cause. Our local cause was The Ottawa Mission. Our Estimation Challenge in December raised $240.00 which provided a warm holiday meal to about 25 needy men, women and children. Our Cake Raffle in April went to support our global cause, Jen’s House in Thailand. Our raffle raised about $400.00 which will help 20 Karen students with their education. In recognition of our efforts, the grade 5/6 students have won the KLEO Global Citizenship Award for 2014. Well done to a group of awesome kids!

After meeting the students and having a tour of the facilities, Michael asked about the boys dormitory which was in need completion.

However, after speaking with Chai and Tamla, the house parents at Jen’s house, it was determined that in fact the highest priority on their list was a roof for the kitchen and bathroom. The existing roof was made of bamboo, which had to be replaced every year at a cost of 5000 baht ($175).

Michael thought that his company would welcome the opportunity to build a new, permanent roof. Chai’s estimate for this improvement was about 25,000 to 30,000 baht ($875 to $1050). We asked Chai to confirm a final price for materials and labour. Later the same week Chai finalized the costs and Michael agreed, on behalf of Lansdowne to complete the project. Michael would oversee the purchasing of materials and work with the Karen people who would come down from the mountains to build new roof. Work would start on December 13 and take three days to complete.

Tearing down a couple of bamboo roofs doesn’t sound like much work but try doing it with the hot Thai afternoon sun bearing down on you at 32°C.

The Karen workers arrive

Early Tuesday morning Chai brothers, Khoa and Newit, and friend Totet arrived from Nong Tao to get started on cutting and assembling the metal framework. Along with Chai and Senay, who volunteers at the residence, the team was complete. Or was it? The foreman was suspiciously M.I.A. with a previous engagement. By the end of the day, the frames were in place and the team had placed a few of the shingles. The plan was to make an early start in the morning and complete the project the following day. The team paired up, and the day was on. Three on the roof placing bolting screws and three on the ground passing up supplies. By lunch it was clear that the project would be completed as planned.