Rain at last !

Pictures of my new bamboo kitchen before I burn it down, the village school 'hello mister Pat!' and Pirate Priyo spending some time here at the organic farming training centre and very helpfull.

Wed 6 Dec

Several days now without writing my diary – must be getting lazy. A quiet weekend back at the hostel where I was living for two months. My rooms together with Biwa’s and Wati’s room are now to be let to a couple of vso volunteers for six months (despite the problems with my rent!). Had a meal with the Aussie atheist Kevin and his Javanese wife, they return to Melbourne in a fortnight. At the wi-fi café have another go at saving the google earth view of my village (I find out later, unsuccessfully) but am able to post the location to Robin at least.

Back in the village every time I meet some of the committee I get a different story about what they need money from vso/Spark for – new houses but different ones each time, a village hall which is costed the same as a basic small house and has no drawings or specification or anything else. The truth is that they simply want the cash with as little restraint as possible, they want to put the money into this single account at the bank to be drawn upon as they need it for whatever. I’ve little doubt that all is well intentioned but the donors will want, reasonably to be able to say that thanks to the contribution x,y and z have been achieved. The five houses already built with money donated by a consortium of banks in Jakarta are to be re-financed with the government aid that has since been offered and the money re-allocated to the major repairs of damaged but not destroyed houses.. The damage assessments by the government and the village community are wildly divergent and seemingly irreconcilable. At all events a report of sorts has been drafted for discussion with Priyo from vso tomorrow if I can find a translator this evening.

Last night shortly after pirate Priyo (from the village) announced that there would be no chance of rain till the end of the month, down it came – in bucket loads (big buckets at that). My host Pak Hari and wife Ibu Sri (short for Srmuhkawit?) ran round the building to see if there were any leaks, it hasn’t rained since the roof went on two or three months ago (incidentally this house is one of those listed by the village as well as the government as having received no damage from the earthquake!) but there weren’t any. Outside the water sweeping off the roofs, no gutters, into the dusty street turning it into a fast flowing river heading to the school and the paddy fields. Hardly surprising then that we should get a power cut for the rest of the evening but my fan didn’t seem so important now that some refreshing rain was about!