More from day 2 on site

I got up for sunrise again this morning. The sky was a lot clearer and it was quite impressive watching her rise across the water above the mountains of Mozambique.

The kids were great again, they greeted our bus and ran alongside it shouting and waving.

Today was soooo hot! We managed to get the inner walls in and the scaffold went up so we can start building the walls higher. I struggled in the heat today which was frustrating as you want to work as hard as you can to get the job done.

After lunch we went for a walk around the village and met some more of the locals. There were a few cooking up their only meal for the day. Ground maize and water which sets into a polenta type substance. It's very bland. Sometimes they'll eat it with tomatoes and beans.

We saw the school, where the teachers are currently on strike over holiday pay. The school had a cook pot - they used to feed the kids as a way of encouraging them to come to school. We saw a huge Bilbao tree but quickly departed once we were told that there were bees living there! We shook hands with some of the older ladies of the village. There was lots of laughing and singing.

We were followed everywhere by the children, who wear a variety of outfits. Some are in posh dresses that have seen better days, one boy wears a waist coat with nothing underneath others are in jumpers or old football shirts. It is apparent that these kids really have nothing as their clothes are raggedy and worn. I think of the kids back home that have to have the newest football shirts. These children make do and have such big smiles. They do not have toys. We saw one boy who had made a truck out of old wire. Others play with tyres! It's made me think a lot about Christmas and the amount of nonsense we buy. This trip is putting things into perspective for me.

Later on in the day the mood took a sombre turn. We were informed that a man of 37 from the village had died. He was HIV positive and had not sought treatment as there is a lot of stigma around the condition. We were also told that often the family will say that the cause was malaria rather than HIV. It was heart breaking to hear the wails of grief coming from the neighbouring huts.  The family said that we could continue the build for the day. We stopped laughing, singing and taking pictures out of respect. We will build tomorrow but will leave site at 11am so they can hold the funeral. John is going to get the family flowers from us all. Life is really tough for some people here.

Part of the Habitat for Humanity project is about HIV education.  If you can spare anything - even £1 we'd be so grateful. https://give.everydayhero.com/uk/touchstone