Our visit to Mattar was brief, and done, as I came to find out, entirely for my education. We brought Jess back with us, a good man to have on hand in Gambella.
Over coffee, any good conversation will be had in this manner, Abrham and his assistant went over the final details for building the foundation portion of SSGMA’s first structure with us. Once our down payment was made, Abrham’s crew could begin work in earnest.
This required another visit to the property where David Cassner learned that he was the most delightfully tasting man any mosquito had ever encountered. So celebrated in fact that pests came from all over just for a taste, poor man.
While on the site, a 200 meter square off the beaten Gambella path, I saw some movement at the far end. The kids in Gambella tend the flocks of livestock as is also often the case in Albania. They began to run for the fence line as I approached, but I hollered out “Mali! Mali! Mal megwa, mal medi!” I had assumed the children were Nuar, and it turned out that they were. After a brief encounter, they decided to continue as before; grazing their goats on our land.
The first step for Abrham’s men was to drive in stout, more permanent marking stakes in place of mine. I was happy to see that after reviewing the placement of my markers, the men simply copied my points exactly.
After five days in country, with a crew finally on site and ready to break ground, we were all feeling relief and excitement. Building is an activity that puts feet to vision and speaks to the future of a place. It’s really quite a thing.
albaniacalling 