Upgrades...

Today our house was busy... not with the usual busy-ness of translation, but with practical "upgrades".




A technician from Kumba came yesterday (and stayed overnight) to help Mike take down the old solar panels and part of the frame; then he welded (and cut off the excess) rebar, and drilled new holes.



[I was happy to see that some real scaffolding was constructed - last time, work was done standing on a combination of platforms balanced on top of vehicles parked under the solar panel frame!]

Then the new solar panels (more efficient, etc.) were put up.










The old solar panels will be sold to help recoup some of the cost of the new ones!


Meanwhile, INSIDE the house, a carpenter from Kumba was working on the skylights - making a new one in the largest bedroom (it can be quite dark in there during the day, as it only has one window on the smallest wall) and putting transparent "zinc" (clear roofing material) on all the skylights (some were "boarded over" with normal silver roofing material until we could find the transparent one - not available right now except in major cities).  It sure brightens things up!!

Notice that we don't have a regular ladder, so the carpenter made do with Laura's school desk and a bedside table....



And to get up on the roof, he used the one leaning ladder we had, and propped it on a bench.  Good thing he is responsible for his own safety!!

Seriously, these men are amazing in what they can do with very limited resources, and they are always looking for ways to learn more.  We are very grateful for their expertise, and will enjoy their work a lot in the months to come :).