A glass that keeps looking different

Hard to believe I have now lived here in San Juan de La Maguana for two years. In November of 2014 we officially broke ground and started the clinic project, two years later we have an earthquake resistant foundation supporting about 80,000 concrete block that make the walls with all of the plumbing lines in place.
When I started here I thought it would be a challenge being the "mediary" or middleman between two cultures - one very driven by expectations and one with a slower feel with lower but rising expectations. This has turned out to be the case. 
The Dominicans can get work done as fast as us Americans when things are lined up and available - and they like to do things quickly. What has been a challenge is the "getting things lined up and available" part. This has been due to many factors, one of the main ones being the Dominican government which has very good intentions of requiring the highest levels of quality and design but in reality causing beneficial projects and work to be delayed while trying to meet the governments ever changing moving-target requirements. The clinic has fallen prey to this issue more than once so we continue to work our way through the issues. 
One of our biggest issues we have had to meet was the re-design of the foundation, as I am sure most of you know about. The earthquake in Haiti caused the Dominican government to dramatically strengthen their building standards - similar to what happened in the US after hurricane Andrew swept away building in South Florida. Our platea foundation with it's 100 miles of rebar is designed to resist the effects of an earthquake. 
After getting underway with construction in January of 2015 the government released two new books in the summer listing new specifications required for medical facilities - we had to make make many changes to the floor plan in order to meet these requirements. This essentially made our drawing package obsolete - drawings showing electrical, plumbing and structural details no longer matched the revised floor plan. 
So as a result we have had to work the project as a "design-build" type project ( a common practice in the US), where you have a good plan of what you want to end up with but as you begin a construction phase you can adapt, change and modify aspects of the construction which can help minimize costs and meet the latest requirements. In the States there would be unlimited resources to quickly work through the many issues with each phase, here in the Dominican "urgency" is not a word that describes how things work here. 
This might be the one issue that has been most difficult as a "gringo", I fully realize we cannot impose our American drive on another culture (if you do you will have burned every bridge along the way) but at times my patience runs out. I have to remind myself that the GOAL of this project is what is important, and that the road to that goal will be as it has to be. 

Our latest interaction with the government has led my glass to initially be half-empty but after contemplating and considering things it is over half-full. 

The timing of things related to my life (things working out in Stacy's and my life so I could help oversee this project) and the project have been amazing and forced me to truly appreciate the God-induced timing of everything in life. We do not appreciate this most of the time especially when we want to be in complete control of all aspects of our lives (oh if we could only control the weather!), but of course we are not in control at all. All we should do is carry into each day a positive attitude for what that day brings knowing life will head us down a path unknown. 

So my momentary philosophical pause is due to our latest meeting with an important government official who represents the department of health - the department that will approve our facility and allow it to function and receive financial assistance from the different insurance programs available here. 
Our plans were reviewed and all in all the changes were minor but significant. The main issue being that they now require wider doorways than previously and what our architect designed. After my glass quickly looked half-empty I realized how fortunate we are to have had this conversation BEFORE we have formed and poured the 150+ concrete door headers/beams. Had we been pushing along earlier this fall (as my American self-control mentality hoped) we would have completed a good many of these headers by now and we would have a big problem on our hands. 

Timing again has helped us avoid significant changes with added costs - my glass is half-full.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

   

Detailed structural work

Construction update December 05, 2016

This fall the workers were working on preparing for and adding additional columns that we will need to in order that this large building can be broken up into 6 different areas and separated with expansion/construction joints. As we have been clarifying structural questions and issues it became apparent that some of the structural issues needed to be recalculated in order to match the floor plan we now have which is the result of changes required by the government and some changes we made to improve the layout of the facility or lower the overall cost of the project (ie: minimize networking wire using data hubs to reduce the length of wire needed). This was slow work as it needed to be done properly and is also labor intensive. 

Here is a picture of Victor checking on work when a team of 10 men poured almost 30 - 2 meter tall columns using a mixer and filling the column forms bucket by bucket. Victor and Sandro (our two onsite Dominican engineers) closely supervised this work.

We are anxious to get working on the beams and roof structure but these structural details need to be in place before we can start. 

Grigorio, our plumbing engineer was at the site again Saturday and he inspected the completed drain pipe and hot and cold water supply lines that are all now installed inside the building.
 The locations where hot water will be needed was determined based on discussion withs Dr Canario and consulting the government requirements book. Hot water is an unusual feature for most facilities in the Dominican, so obviously a healthcare facility does indeed need hot water but not to the extent that you would find in the United States, so thereis no point in going to the expense of installing it everywhere.

 - Some interesting information regarding things like hot water and drinking water that we all take for granted in the US: 

 - most houses here do not have hot water, those that do have a wall switch near the bedroom(s) that turns on the small water heater when you want to use it. This is true even in very nice condominiums in Santo Domingo.

- Water from the faucet is not safe to drink, and this is the case everywhere, even in nicer homes and hotels. A great example of this is the Mirebalais hospital in Haiti built in 2012 by Americans who thought clean water should be provided in all faucets and even water fountains. This is an example of thinking you have a good/practical idea and going through the trouble of providing it only to find out it will not be accepted. None of the Haitians will drink from the faucets of water fountains at the hospital - this is not a normal thing in Haiti or the DR so they were asking the people who grew up here never drinking from these sources to suddenly trust that they could safely do so. 

By the way, there are no such things as "water fountains" - only cooling units that have a 5-gallon water bottle on them.

Our medical gases engineer was also here Saturday and we discussed what we can do to simplify the gas installation and lower it's cost while ensuring that the clinic will be fully able to serve the needs of it's patients. He had some very good ideas.

I am excited that Victor is ready to start "dinteles" or the headers that span doorways, these will be formed and then made with rebar and concrete. He will also begin getting the rebar structures made that will be the skelton of the structural beams that tie exterior walls together.
We continue to confirm the structural components, finalize issues with the structural engineer and architect and ask if there are any cost-saving possible with the beams, roof structure and other features.

This Friday we plan to meet with Health Department officials in Santo Domingo to discuss and seek their approval of our desire to "phase" the finishing of the building - we would like to reduce our initial completion cost by delaying the finishing of 23% of the building - after very positive discussions and input from Dr Canario and Dr Caseres this concept can lower our cost-at-opening by $200,000 or more.

Please consider both the project and me when planning your 2017 donations. We hope 2017 is the year when we can all but finish the building, and with your help we can do it!

Thanks for your continued support both financially and prayerfully!