Delta 1 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Delta 1 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

Delta 1: Tough but amazingly rewarding work in Nimari

Delta 1 reflect on the experience of living and working in the tiny indigenous community of Nimari: 

A six hour hike in the pouring rain was to set the tone for the weeks to come. Living in a tiny palmshack surrounded by barbed wire to keep the animals away (not that it stopped the cows from eating our socks and T-shirts), this was the most remote place any of Delta 1 had ever been. We spent three weeks in the tiny indigenous Cabecar community of Nimari, home to about a 100 people. While they seemed shy at first, relationships grew through the weeks - starting with a welcome speech by our maestro de obras (local foreman) describing us as friends and loved ones.

The work was often tough but always highly rewarding. Nothing could compare to the massive sense of achievement on our last working day, as we stroked our last paint brushes with one minute to go.

For three weeks we carried dozens of logs each, planed hundreds of planks and nailed thousands of nails in the pouring rain and blazing sun. From trenchfoot to sunburn, the group relished every moment. Tucking into rice and beans three times a day and discovering new ways of varying out diet... some chosing salt, others sugar! Washing in a stream was everyday's highlight and intense discussions regarding bowel movements became a vital routine as the long drop's smell reached new levels.

The opening ceremony was really touching as a string of speeches emphasised just what the project meant to a community who have waited 20 years for it to finally happen. It will not only allow them to double the students' school hours - they currently receive only one lesson a week - but, more importantly, it will help ensure the Cabecar culture and language can be maintained as they fear the loss of their traditions because of globalistion.

Delta 1's experience and relationships grew not only amongst our own group but also within the community, as we managed to give English lessons to the children and also learnt some Cabecar. After a week we'd broken through the language barriers and finally found ourselves feeling gradually more integrated with the community. It was a wonderful experience and no doubt Nimari will stay firmly in our memories.

Deltas work hard and play hard... in verse

All of our Delta groups have now packed up their kit, said goodbye to their project partners and are on their way back to Fieldbase to resupply and prepare for their adventure challenge which kicks off tomorrow morning. There's no rest for our 5 weekers!

All three Delta community projects have completed their schools which is a magnificent effort in less than three short weeks. They've all put in an incredible amount of hard work but they've also had a lot of fun along the way.

And what better way to illustrate this than with a poem, courtesy of Delta 1 who composed this after their first few days in the remote indigenous community of Nimari where they have just completed construction of a primary school. Enjoy.

It took six hours to reach

What some thought would be a beach

We hiked up hills, through streams and mud

We had some incidents and shed a little blood

We finally arrived

We had survived

We are the mighty Delta One!

Who even through rain have lots of fun

Rice and beans three times a day

Doesn’t always keep the D&V away

Lots of bananas and mosquito bites

We chat all the way through the night

We rate our poo

In a makeshift loo

We’ve adopted a dog

Who follows us through the bog

We apply deet spray

And hear horses neigh

Regular outbursts of song

Keep us happy all day long

So far it’s been a hoot

Despite the lack of fruit

Carrying wood through the forest

It was so painful, if we’re honest

Digging holes

To stick in poles

We were drenched in mud

And have all slipped with a thud

We think we’re fast

But the locals always run past

They carry twice as much as us

And never seem to make a fuss

Half the height

But twice the might

We’re struggling to communicate

But learning Cabecar at a quick rate

Don Adriano has helped us through

This jolly old way of building a school

Nail and hammers, spades and saws

We’re really beginning to appreciate the outdoors

We keep on planing

Even though it’s raining

The floorboards are falling into place

And we all have a sunkissed face

Haven’t really showered in over a week

But things are looking far from bleak

The school’s foundations are nearly done

And we’re starting to see some sun

Milton’s son Kenneth has learned baa baa black sheep

He’s the little boy we all want to keep

Our lovely chef taught us to make cake, it was deep fried dough

Don’t think our tummies are quite ready for this show

Scrambled eggs in the morning is such a treat

And we’re lucky to get a piece of meat

We think we’re tanned but it’s just mud

And it’s as though we’re living in a flood

From Spanish, Lucile, Shehlina and Karol are helping translate

But we’ll want to learn Cabecar before it’s too late

Emi’s T-shirt was eaten by a cow

Probably in some cow poo now

Sarah’s smile keeps everyone happy

Surprisingly in the morning none of us are snappy

Karol had “appendicitis”

So he pretended to go in a helicopter to fright us

Sam’s proved himself to be quite the carpenter

And can even carry a log on his shoulder

Hannah is our mini medic

Stopping things from getting hectic

Gaby’s singing in the morning

Tends to keep us all from yawning

When Rob’s singing he knows all the lines

So we think he’s Robbie Williams in disguise

Lucile’s too weak to carry the wood

But she’ll bang in nails like no one else could

Sophie’s accent’s so typically Yorkshire

And she’s hench because her Dad’s a builder

Alejandro doesn’t speak English

But works so hard until everything’s finished

Vikki keeps us trekking with her chants

They could probably hear us all in France

Randall ‘s never without a smile

It’s enough to keep us going for a mile

Tim’s quotes are quite a laugh

And splashes us in the river bath

Shehlina’s always on the ball

Ready to record us all

Together we’re mighty Delta One

And we’re still having loads of fun

Message to all Delta 1 parents:

Dearest Mummies and Daddies,

Please stock up on chocolate and maybe some Vanish. Don’t give us rice and beans for at least one month. We love you loads!!

Photos from Delta 1

Delta 1 are making incredible progress with their school project in Nimari. Our Fieldbase team trekked in for a visit a couple of days ago - here are some photos:

Delta 1: Nimari community project

Sarah Neale, Sophie Hammill, Karol Ostaszewski, Vicky Palmer, Gaby Cichonska, Sam Harris, Tim Cook, Shehlina Karimi, Emi Uzar, Grace Abel, Lucile Smith, Hannah Bishop, Robert Pritchard, Luis Materrita, Randall Vargas

Situated at the center of a Cabecar indigenous reserve in the Matama region of Costa Rica, Delta 1 will be helping the local people build a primary school in the remote community of Nimari,which is near the centre of the reserve about 5 hours walk from the nearest road.

In this area of the reserve many of the children currently receive education in a temporary shack which lets in the rain and many people haven’t got a basic education, so the school will benefit the area for many years to come.

This project, funded by the British Embassy, is extremely important for the reserve as it will equip the future generations with the skills they need for the challenges of globalisation and change in the 21st century.

The current school building

The Raleigh volunteers will be living in the local Cabecar community and learning about the culture of these indigenous people. Nearly all the inhabitants speak Cabecar and most speak Spanish. The majority of the inhabitants are subsistence farmers crowing maize, yucca, cacao, beans etc.

The Delta 1 PMs offered their thoughts on the project before deploying to Nimari:

Karol - "I'm excited about getting out there and getting dirty, meeting the local people and learning about the Cabecar culture."

Sarah - "The fact that Nimari is so remote - it takes five-six hours to walk in, you have to cross several rivers to get there, there's no electricity or running water - makes it really special. The village is made up of only 10 houses and it has no real teaching facilities. At the moment about 45 students from the surrounding area are taught in a little palm shack, so to build them a proper school will make a huge difference to the community."

Our Country Director, Julian, is full of fun facts and knows all Raleigh's 10F&G projects inside out so we've asked him to tell us something fascinating about each one.

Julian's fascinating fact: The mountain next to the project site in Nimari is called 'My Mother-in-Law' by the locals.