7 Feb Creative accounting

No pics getting uploaded again!

The first five new buildings in the village following the earthquake were completed in October last year, financed by a national consortium of banks. Following the belated confirmation of government aid to build 62 houses in the case of Mandungan 1 the reconstruction committee included those five in the claim for government money releasing the original donation for other uses. I have little doubt that the new uses of the money are to the benefit of the community but have had a growing suspicion that something similar may be happening with ‘my’ houses. So a day spent researching the government approvals comparing names of families with my own list and the individual sites attributable to different categories of rebuilding. Much relief on my part to be reassured of the propriety of my sector of the work. The fact that the first of my houses is more than twice the size agreed (despite being for a single person household is excused by the Dukuh as being because a community meeting room is also being incorporated but at no additional expense to my donors. The Dukuh, busy working barefoot on site is also unaware that the houses must incorporate toilets and drainage arrangements, still he knows now and Pak T.O. certainly knows.

On the veranda of the office the lads are busy dismantling the motorbike and sidecar that has been retrieved from the scene of Bowo’s incident with an oil tanker which has left him in the Sleman hospital with a broken arm and leg and some face damage which is not good for a public entertainer but at least no head damage and he should be out in a couple of weeks. The bike is now being fitted with some new parts and rebuilt as a single machine, dispensing with the sidecar.

A meeting with a Catholic charity group is deffered by me on the grounds of a tropical rainstorm which means a bike journey would not only be unattractive but positively dangerous. Sister Inez is quite happy and I’ll see her later in the week. Two student teachers working at the village school, teaching English to the primary classes call round to invite mein a day or two to meet the students (in class, they already know me outside of course). In the evening my bean stew with fried croutons comes out well but I lose two games of chess against T.O. who I have yet to beat.