Work Week 2023

In this post we will be looking back at a termed "workweek" in which the Global Challenge team worked with us. This week took place from 20 February to 24 February. First, an introduction of the Global Challenge One Year Journey will be given, followed by the week prior to workweek. We will then look at how the One Year Team was divided to accomplish their different goals on This Land. Workweek unfolded with moments of excitement, breakthrough, achievements, hard labour, and one early-bird morning.

The Global Challenge One Year Journey is a program where people aged 18 and older travel to countries worldwide to learn about disciple-making and serving. These people embark on this journey for a year and create wonderful friendships as they shape one another, endure difficulties, and seek God. It exposes one to different cultures, experiences, and ministry points. You can follow this link if you would like to know more: missions.globalchallenge.org/go-one-year. Now, it was this year's team that joined us for workweek. Workweek is a week where the team does physical labour to prepare them for similar tasks in the different nations.

Workweek is not just a week that unfolds - it is one that requires planning. The week prior to workweek we were sitting with a whiteboard coloured in black as we planned. The board indicated the vision, goals, and schedule for the team. We wondered whether they would accomplish the goals. Would the team have good dynamics and show character by persevering, taking the lead, and enjoying their work? Our view from a management perspective was that the team could be a catalyst for the rest of the year. The aim was to do as much work as possible, but not everything goes as planned.

The One Year Team was divided into three groups: Yellow, Viridian, and Charcoal. Yellow had the responsibility to level ground and acquire two JoJo tanks with a cumulative holding capacity of 10,000 litres. The tanks will provide water for This Land's compost station and the trees that will serve as windbreakers. Thus, Yellow was given a strategic task, as water is key to developing the land and making compost. Charcoal, with their creative name, was given the task of doing the small pond's overflow. The task encompassed laying out a black tarp packed with rocks which will guide water to a pipe. This pipe will guide water to a pond that will be built later this year. Referring to the pipe brings us to our third group - Viridian had the task of digging a trench in which the pipe will be placed. These tasks were carefully chosen to assist the goals for 2023: to plant windbreak trees, build a new pond, and make compost.

As Monday arrived, a team with excited faces and questions showed up. They needed guiding with the work that lay ahead. After the respective groups moved to their different working areas, their brains started to think about how the work goals would be accomplished. Viridian got spades and pickaxes to dig a trench, but a small mountain of dirt awaited them, littered with rocks, ensuring a difficult task. Charcoal was trusted with the overflow of the pond. The group members viewed the area as needing a decline, black tarp, and rocks. One by one they started removing rocks, followed by digging into compressed black clay ground. Pickaxes underwent repetitive swings to break down clay particles, and spades were forced into the ground. Yellow, consisting of a German, two South Africans, and a Zambian, carefully analysed the area that needed to be levelled. They looked at the ground that needed to be added and how they would lay concrete to keep the ground intact. Calls were made to find out how much the JoJo tanks would cost and when they would be delivered. Fortunately for this group, the German worked in construction, providing great guidance with this task.

Each team continued with their tasks from Monday to Wednesday. Each day, progress was added, with ground being levelled and the overflow reaching a decent decline. Viridian overcame their small mountain of dirt and started on the trench. Swing for swing, ground was removed, ready to serve as a resting place for the pipe. It was significant to see how each group endeavoured with excitement and commitment. They laughed and enjoyed driving the red Toyota Hilux dubbed "Donkey." When lunch break arrived, all of us were happy to rest in the shade of trees and enjoy food that provided much-needed energy. Some took naps while others talked and listened to music. With levelling ground, moving rocks, laying concrete, and swinging pickaxes becoming the daily norm, the groups accomplished their tasks by Thursday.

Thursday announced a change of tasks for two of the groups - one accompanied by garden waste, manure, water, and the building of heaps. Heaps which contain life-giving micro-organisms able to transform soil and achieve sustainability. One smells the earth when adding the contents of these heaps to enrich the soil. Compost. Thursday and Friday marked the building of the first compost heaps for 2023! The original aim was to build six heaps, but not everything goes as planned - we adapted our expectations to do what we could. On Thursday the team was taught how to build a thermic compost pile, which has four different layers: woody material, brown material, green material, and manure. These materials are used to build a 2m x 2m x 2m cube of decomposing organic matter, and are dunked in water before being added. The One Year Team did well building the heap - although I made the mistake of letting us build the first heap too big, we at least had a big organic pile that will turn into compost.

Friday was an early-bird morning. At 05:00 the team arrived, ready to embark on the final day of workweek. As the vision was cast for the day, the first light started appearing - wondrous red and orange colours painted a stunning picture. We moved towards the compost station to build the second heap. It was a day of learning the importance of preparation - a lack of green and woody materials was evident, which resulted in people cutting branches and plucking leaves, slowing down productivity. Some of the women spent the whole of Friday in the dam removing grass-like plants, which we added to the heaps. This lack of preparation required flexibility and a learning attitude. As Friday progressed, the team started to work like a machine. Each person understood their role. Materials were dunked, added, moved, and repeated. Leaves were plucked while wheelbarrows full of wet grass-like plants arrived. At 15:30 the team finished a neat heap.

This wondrous workweek was preceded by planning to accommodate the One Year Team. Different tasks were given to the team, which was divided into three groups. Yellow had the task of levelling ground and acquiring two JoJo tanks. Charcoal was entrusted with the pond's overflow, which required removing rocks, digging a decline, and adding a tarp and rocks. The third team, Viridian, had to dig a trench for the water pipe that will guide water from the overflow to a future pond - but before they could dig the trench, they had to remove a mountain of dirt. All three groups were successful with their different tasks. Thursday and Friday marked the building of the first compost heaps for the year. Amid a lack of preparation and original expectations needing to be adapted, the team did well - two decent compost heaps were built.

The week was not only about achieving the different tasks but also about building character. The team showed perseverance, joy, and leadership. With great endeavouring they took on the tasks, and we enjoyed working with them. It was a week in which we learned, grew, and made progress - a week deserving of the following status: catalyst.