Kelvin returned to Saguramo in January 2008 to meet with the Director of the orphanage and the General Contractor to finalize plans for construction work, to meet with several Georgian Governmental Ministers, and to visit the children.
After discussions with David, the director of Saguramo, we determined that the highest priority was to get the building airtight — fix the roof, replace the windows and doors, and repair the building’s exterior. Next would be heating; the building is very cold and the children wear hats and gloves indoors all the time. Bathrooms are high on the list as well. The toilets are Turkish-style (holes in the floor) with no flushing mechanisms, and there is no hot water for showers. I spent time inspecting the building carefully and taking a lot of pictures so that we could plan intelligently for the renovations, and also met with a prospective heating contractor and a local architect who had agreed to oversee the work.
The children were happy to receive the clothing and stuffed animals I brought. They were excited to have their building fixed up, and had cleaned up the trash that was all around the building last time we were here.
