Grinds #8 and #9 - Sustainable Motivation

Sponsorship Shoutout!

We'd like to make a big shoutout to the biggest littlest donors on our list: Zoe, Sacha, Eli and Ana...and of course their wonderful parents Mike and Beth!! A wonderful family of 6, they have been very close to the Quirt-Mackillops for a very long time. I (Jill) remember meeting Mike for the first time. He was the strange literally green sick man lying on my couch, which at the time I could barely see over (and no it wasn't last year). Since then Mike and Beth became a twosome..and now have four of the most wonderful and gorgeous kids! Look out parents, these will be heartbreakers! Over the past few years we've had some wonderful giggles, dance parties together and turning the carpet into butter (aka..running around Jill in circles while holding her arms and spinning her). All of which I've missed very much since moving across the country. Duncan finally met the whole gang while home over Christmas last year. He still quote's Sacha every dinner time "But Jill, I want some CHHORIIIIZZZOOOO", and chuckling about the tears literally over spilled milk. Zoe, Sacha, Eli and Ana are simply the cutest and coolest kids! So we'd like to thank this wonderful amazing family for covering our fridge with art (for all those visitors who thought it was Duncan's..well his was almost good enough) and their generous donation to our cause! Thank you and we miss you but we'll see you at Christmas!! xo

Grind #8 - Friday October 1st - Top ten reasons to keep motivated!
Grind Time: 47:12 (New Record)

Grouse above downtown Vancouver

          Today was another record day and a great way to start off our weekend. Duncan had to work a little late so by the time we would arrive it would be 6:20, leaving us only half an hour before dark! But, we knew we had to stay the course and could do it blindfolded at this point anyways (and yes we bring headlamps, Mom) so in the spirit of the release of critically acclaimed and Oscar shoe-in FUBAR 2, we decided to just Give'r. We've had a blast so far with our Grinding experience though some have wondered how we can keep motivated so we tried to come up with as many reasons as possible to keep us going. So, without further adieu here are the top ten ways that we stay motivated through our Grinding:



#10 - Guy in front of us bathed in Axe Cologne (contrary to common belief, this is not a shower replacement guys)

#9 - People playing their screechy techno music aloud from their phones while heading up the Grind (We wish they'd invent something that allows someone to listen to their music without us having to hear it... maybe a little cord that runs from your phone to your ears? Someone get on that invention...)

#8 - Mehrdad and Gerry's money (They're getting nervous, we can tell)

#7 - Can't See Jill anymore (Seriously, where the hell did she go?)

#6 - It's Getting Dark (Gotta make it before we lose the sun!)

#5 - It's Dark (Lost the Sun, headlamps on)

#4 - Wouldn't be able to live with ourselves if someone in jeans drinking a latte passed us, again.

#3 - Can't check Fantasy Football til the top (how else would Duncan know how badly he's losing?)

#2 - Less time on the Grind (The quicker we're up, the sooner we're not in pain)

#1 - Your support for our chance to volunteer in Tanzania (had to end cheesy right? We're doing this thanks to you!)

         We did make it to the top before it became too dark though the sun was nowhere to be found as we were in the clouds. Another motivating factor should be: being able to finally stop sweating and put on a t-shirt. Though today it was so hot Duncan began the Grind shirtless and didn't realize until the top that he hadn't forgotten it in the car. Jill wasn't crazy about him buying a shirt at the gift-shop that read "I'm single and I like to Grind" so we decided to just head to the Tram. "Um, sir.", the Tram driver said in his Aussie accent (Fun fact: Australians are the only qualified nationality to drive Trams on Grouse) "have you got a shirt?". "No, sorry, I seemed to have forgotten it in the car". "Oh", he replies, "we kind of need it for the comfort of the other passengers". "Yeah, I know, I just forgot it...so...". He reluctantly let us on and although the tram was full, some sort of invisible buffer space immediately appeared around us! It was if Duncan's sweat created some sort of incredible Jedi-like force field. Maybe this stuff is worth selling after all...

Grind #9 - Mzungu Days
Grind Time: 54:24

            Before heading off on our Grind today we decided we'd get a little more insight into what we should expect in Tanzania. As we mentioned earlier, Greg John, an engineer, volunteered for CACHA in Tanzania a couple of years ago and made a documentary about his experience. Previous to this particular mission he had spent 2 years in Tanzania working to build a hospital with CACHA. This time around Greg decided to use Imani Vocational Training Centre as the subject of his documentary. This, along with a conversation with him after (and more in the future I'm sure), will prove to be a valuable asset to ensuring that we are as prepared as possible before diving head first into the project.
          The documentary turned out to be incredibly interesting and focused on self-sustainability; a concept that seems to often elude foreign aid organizations and missions. The idea that a people  in need  must be given the proper tools and resources to provide for themselves is not a new one, though it takes ingenuity, innovation and patience. Imani teaches skills and knowledge that allow students to become self-sustainable in their communities and offers hope for a decent life. The $400 per year tuition is unaffordable for most of the students so they generate income through products from the programs that they offer there: carpentry, welding, catering, electrical, brickmaking, pig-farming, knitting, tailoring, etc. This allows the students to not only learn a trade but also subsidize some of the cost of their training which would otherwise be unattainable. The school also has an extensive garden which is outfitted with a fairly simple drip irrigation system that deposits water directly at the base of the plants to ensure it's used efficiently. Two fish-ponds were also built to provide a self-replenishing source of meat for the students.
          Probably the coolest thing about it all is that all processes at Imani complement each other and almost nothing is wasted. A perfect example that Greg gave was a piece of timber. The wood is milled in their carpentry shop where the chips go as fuel for cooking and to heat the brick kiln.The ash is then used as a strengthening agent in the bricks and also as fertilizer. Fish bones and food scraps from the kitchen get feed to the pigs, who in turn make their own special brand of fertilizer, which can also be used to help spread the growth of algae in the fish pond. The symbiotic relationship of these ecosystems epitomizes why Imani is an incredible example of how self-sustainability can thrive and be successful in any environment. A third of Imani's students are also either physically or mentally disabled and are able to attend for free. They're taught skills that cater to their disabilities such as knitting for someone without the use of their legs.

          Another part of the documentary featured the building of a carpentry shop which shed some light on construction processes and obstacles for projects like the Prevention Through Empowerment women's centre we'll be building in Tanzania. The carpentry shop is constructed with bricks fabricated at Imani, furnished by their carpentry program, outfitted with iron security gates by Imani welders and (shockingly) the electrical system installed by the electrical students! Duncan spoke with Greg after and he was happy to offer any information to us that could help give more Tanzanians the resources to empower themselves and become self-sustainable. We found Greg's work enlightening and we would definitely recommend this documentary to anyone who found Imani's story as interesting as we did.
       

Sunday night's sunset

        Today's Grind was fairly painful after a long week but we reached the top at the perfect time for another amazing sunset that silhouetted Vancouver Islands mountainous landscape. We headed down the tram, Duncan with his shirt on this time; it was a good end to a successful week.

DJ GRIND OUT!