Roofing and Painting Progress
This my friends, is what the prison feels like when it rains - dark and dank. The malagasy word for “prison” is “trano maizana”, meaning “dark or foggy house”, aptly named in both literal and figurative senses. Leaking roofs drench prisoners, contributing to the endemic respiratory diseases in Malagasy prisons. Imagine trying to sleep on a wet cement slab in a locked chamber, with water dripping on you all night.
And that is not all. These holding rooms are filthy and unfit for human habitation. For years, prisoners have squashed bed bugs on the walls, turning them into a disturbing, bloody grime.
We're currently focused on Chamber One, and the transformation is remarkable. It took the workers days to pain shakingly scrape the walls using stiff metal brushes. Next, a primer was applied followed by a coat of high-quality, washable oil-based paint. The new roof is nearing completion, and the final touch will be the installation of wind turbines on top, providing much-needed ventilation during the hot season.
Below you can compare the roof of Chamber One to the roof of Chamber Two. We'll be commencing work on Chamber Two next week.
Currently work has halted due to a cyclone. It is quite dramatic. Bruce and I are working in different towns, and we call each other frequently to compare notes on the storm. We miss each other’s company enormously while we cope with twenty-four hours of power cuts. Bruce couldn’t get to work as the roads have turned into lakes. Pretty much everything is closed down and people are huddled inside their homes. But we do have a roof over our heads, clothes on our bodies, and food in our bellies. It’s all a matter of perspective.
