Helpng to make the dream a reality

Nov 2014 to Oct 2017
- Volunteered to oversee Construction of a New Hospital to replace a 27+ year old facility staffed and operated by Dominicans. I spent 3 years on behalf of the many donors to the REVOLUTION campaign - a 4.5 Million Dollar campaign to fund this project.
August 2017 to September 2018
Work ceased while Tax issues resolved
Oct 2018
Working as project consultant to help get this wonderful project completed.

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Almost done with this phase ... almost .....

So close.
We are so close to finishing our Fill & Compaction phase, but alas, some things just take time - Especially repairing a dozer.
All that remains on this phase is getting some additional material from the mine site to the property. Building up the parking area and also the material needed for once the Platea is completed so we will have fill material here on the property. 
  There is a plan to get this phase completed, but the part we replaced on the dozer has developed a crack in the weld joint. This is the part that takes a huge strain because it is what attaches the "ripper" to the machine and resists the force of teeth digging into the ground behind the machine as they tear up and loosen the sandstone fill. We could possibly continue without repairing it and be able to finish before it ultimately fails, but it is better to go ahead and get this part repaired.  
Here is the crack in the weld ...
  I returned to the States over the weekend to attend the Solid Rock board meeting, so it was a quick "welcome back, we have a problem" start to the day yesterday. After some difficultly the mechanics managed to get the part off of the machine and took it to their shop to repair it by re-welding and adding an additional piece for strength.  
  Hopefully we will get the part back on the machine today and be able to wrap up the stockpiling of fill material. Unlike when my Roanoke friends were here and we bolted a new part on, this time we disconnected to ripper attachment in order to remove the part, so getting a big clunky accessory re-attached out in the field might take some time ...


The problem - this part is cracked in the upper left 


Trying to get the part off ... at least in shade!


The Ripper attachment is disconnected ...







Saturday, April 18, 2015

Prep Work Completed

And now the work begins ...

The last of the fill needed for the building is onsite. 
We now need to only bring the material we need to raise the front parking and driveway closer to their finished height.

I just updated the Solid Rock board with our progress. A super group of people!

Here is a video recapping what has happened since November at the Site:



It is time to build the building.  

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

A Quiet Time - Easter and a Spring Break

   Spring is a great time of the year. For those of us in the States it is a time to look forward to seeing green trees, green grass, all sorts of blooming plants and the end of dreary cold days and nights. It is also a time often used for a vacation or at least some time away from work. Thinking about it, I do miss the smell of that fresh-cut grass and those beautiful afternoons with a warm-colored sunset ...

  Here in the DR of course the weather does not change too much, however Easter is a large holiday that starts the Wednesday before Good Friday and Easter. It is a time the country shuts down. The cities are very quiet as everyone either: 1- Heads to a Beach 2- Heads to a River  3- stays home and often sets up an inflatable swimming pool or enjoys one at someone else's home.  Apparently swimming is a part of the celebration.  But no doubt it is very quiet in town. Traditionally the time was treated very reverently with some almost walking softly on Good Friday and music required to be very low and not bother others. Things aren't quite like that now, the music plays louder, but at many places that typically blast (and I mean BLAST) the music policemen are stationed to ensure that things stay a little quieter than normal. 

  So there is a nice break here in the DR this time of the year away from typical routines, reflecting on Easter or enjoying a break. 

  Trucks are not allowed on the roads starting the Thursday morning before Easter, so commercial traffic comes to a halt. At the jobsite we also slowed down and little work happened the days leading to Easter. We did however get the trucking done during the time allowed so we completed another set of lifts and now have 31cm to go. We are catching the parking area up with the clinic footprint so that we will have the fill material under the drives and parking areas in fron and beside the clinic.

  Last week we had a string of bad luck with equipment - bolts missing from the dozer, the vibrating compactor not vibrating, and the grader having issues. These caused some delays of course, but everything is back in order as of today, so truck are again bringing fill to the site.

  To date we've had over 1,500 truckloads come from the mine. By the end of the week we should be down to needing 31cm of fill over the entire area, this should take about 3 to 4 weeks. We keep stringing this completion date out but we are getting more done because we have the equipment on-hand so hopefully we won't need this equipment in the future to finish these other areas. The CAT dealer here has just been amazing with their support - I've said it before and I'll say it again - they are just super supportive. I actually received an email just the other day that included a comment about their continued support and how happy they are to help us. Very generous.

  I also must tell you I had the most super fun special week with Stacy in the big Miami - back to my home town. It was really fun and a very nice break. I've never sat on a beach doing nothing for so long - and enjoyed it so much! So coming back was good and bad, hard to say goodbye again to my best friend. 

Thats all for now.

Thanks for your support!!

Some random pictures from times here .... 

The Reservoir is quite low, but we are at the end of the dry season.
A friend looking for worms when I was digging out the Septic.

Turns out Eduard our Engineer
 is also a pretty good Duck-Stew chef! 

Compacting the bottom of the Septic Tank hole.

Look closely - two critters taking a ride ...
not sure the destination will turn out real good for them.
My heros at IMCA the CAT dealer. Here they are in Santo Domingo taking a part off of a rental so I could take the part back to San Juan.
Serving Others - defined.
   

Friday, April 3, 2015

Good Friday 2015 Some thoughts and a video update

Serving others, it is why we are all here. It is what Jesus told us to do. Pretty simple, huh? Don't get hung up in rituals, rites and rules - Serve and Love others.
  I had a very interesting discussion with Dr. Canario and Frank yesterday talking about the people the Clinic now serves and the plan for the new Clinic.     This Clinic serves everyone - everyone. If you cannot pay, they make it happen. If you can pay, you are asked to do so on a scale appropriate to your ability and sometimes with some necessary sacrifice. Four dollars for a procedure can be too high for some - however they won't admit it, in order to maintain their pride, they will just not come back for the procedure. Wealthier Dominicans are a needed type of patient here at the Clinic - American doctors donate their time so that the Clinic can collect funds for procedures they provide. This money is then used to provide reduced cost care to those who cannot afford it. Serving others - it has worked here at the Clinica Cristiana de Salud Integral for over 25 years, and it will continue to do so in the future, in a new building. And it has made a huge difference to this community in that time. The Dominican staff in the Clinic, the American medical and construction teams, the Solid Rock staff, and you - we all are a part of serving others thru the mission work started well over 30 years ago, and we all have sacrificed something for this to happen - isn't that great? It is what we are supposed to do. 
   I ask that you continue to pray for and support all of us here in the DR, that we as a team collectively make it happen. I am sometimes frustrated, often times very fulfilled with the happenings here. We have great people involved, they are fun to be working with and these relationships quickly overshadow the frustrations that come with a large project. 
   There is a long road ahead and I can't wait!

Here is a video tour of the Site: