A Door Story

Doors are kind of important. You can open them to let friends in, or close them to keep strangers out. For the mechanics shop in Mozambique, doors are a good way of keeping expensive tools and equipment from "walking away," if you know what I mean.

On my recent trip to Africa, one of my main goals was to build three large doors for the mechanics shop. Tome and I gave it our best shot, but by the last day of my visit, only one door was hung. With just a steel frame and some hinges, it didn't even seem like a real door. Anybody could climb right through.

Tome and I talked things over. I asked if he would be able to finish the other doors after I was gone. 

 

He was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Yes, I see how it's done. Now I can build the rest."

So here it is, one month later, and from what I can see in the latest photos, Tome's been doing exactly what he said he could do. Pretty nice looking doors, if you ask me.

Finishing Door #3 - big enough to drive a backhoe through...

Prosper and Tome, putting the metal cladding on the doors

Of course, it reminds me one more time that this is what Mercy Tech Mission is all about - not doing the work ourselves, but showing others how to do it instead. Teaching a skill that will carry on long after we're gone.