BAC Members Cross Oceans to Make World a Better Place for Children

Talk to six members of BAC Local 15 Missouri/Kansas, and they’ll probably say laying brick in rural Africa was the last thing they ever thought they’d do. But, in August, they did just that — and for some, it was their second trip.

Local 15 MO/KS members pose with their banner in front of the four-room schoolhouse under construction at the Watoto Child Care Center in Uganda. The group volunteered their skills for two weeks in August building and teaching the Ugandan workers the craft of bricklaying. From left, members Haskell Britton, Sr., George Dickens, Gary H. Britton, Jerry Bennett, Gary S. Britton and Haskell Britton, Jr.

Local 15 members Gary H. Britton, Gary S. Britton, Haskell Britton Sr., Haskell Britton Jr., Jerry Bennett and George Dickens, all of the Springfield, Missouri area, made the 20,000-mile, 18-hour trip to help build a school at the Watoto Child Care Ministries and, more importantly, to teach the Ugandan workers how to build more durable structures with brick.

So what makes these bricklayers from suburban America travel across the world to developing regions of Africa? “It’s the kids,” said Dickens. “When I was first asked if I wanted to go, I said ‘not really,’ but when I was shown what was needed over there and how bad it was… It just gets to you. They’re trying to raise future leaders for their country. We go over and build homes and schools for that purpose.”

Ugandan workers must rely on indigenous, readily available construction materials as evidenced by this bamboo scaffolding.

“The Watoto Ministries’ need for these facilities, which are used as a refuge for African children orphaned by the AIDS crisis and the region’s civil wars, never seems to dwindle,” Dickens said. Since 1992, when it was formed by Pentecostal Church missionaries, hundreds of volunteers like these six bricklayers have joined forces and made the trip to Watoto to build homes, schools, and medical clinics at the complex. Currently about 1,200 children are cared for in these facilities and the Ministries’ goal is to eventually accomodate 10,000 children. Schools, agricultural projects, and more will help Watoto make the transition to becoming self-sufficient.

Retired bricklayer Haskell Britton, Sr. gets a thank you hug from a Ugandan house mom, one of the women who care for the many children at the facility.

“It’s a long ways to go, and by the time you get there you’re worn out,” Dickens said. “But I think it’s worth it. I’m six months to a year before retirement, but plan to return in February to work on another building.”

Gary H. Britton’s heart was touched when Brent Smith, the son of a former hod carrier, showed him a picture of a one-year-old boy from the orphanage and asked him to be a sponsor for $25 per month. After he heard the Watoto Choir perform at a local church he was hooked. What started as the sponsorship of one child grew to five, plus two trips to Africa to share his skills as a craftsman.

Although some of the Ugandan workers are bricklayers, they haven’t had the type of training that BAC members bring to the projects. “They make these blocks from an old machine, mixing cement and clay, making them one at a time and setting them out to cure,” Britton said. “Scaffolding was old bamboo, and materials were poor at best. There’s no lime, and the mortar was like grout. Spreading was impossible. It had to be shoveled on and pounded down. They didn’t know how to bond or tie in the windows, and they were cutting a block with a hammer…. We showed them easier ways.”

Members of Local 15 of MO/KS pose with Ugandan workers who worked with them to build a new school for orphans at the Watoto Child Care Center in Uganda.

On a four-room, 40- by 70-foot schoolhouse project, among the 22 volunteers, only six were bricklayers. “A lot of people come and help, but it makes a difference when you have bricklayers who know what they’re doing,” said Britton. Through the efforts of these BAC members, the skill level of the Ugandan bricklayers is improving and they can pass these skills on to the next generation. They’re trying to raise the next generation to be better educated and have a chance in life,” said Britton. “You see a lot of the poverty. You can tell they’re just trying to make it through the day — to survive.”

Members of Local 15 are trying to put together another team to go back to Uganda, and are hoping for a dozen or more bricklayers to participate in the next trip. “Like I told them, I never met anyone who went one time and didn’t want to go back. It just does something for you,” Britton said. “You wouldn’t believe how friendly these Ugandans are. When we left they hugged us and really meant what they said. They really appreciate it, and they don’t complain. And when I got back here, I decided I’d never complain again.”

For more information on the Watoto orphanage, visit www.watoto.com

Brent Smith of Springfield, MO holds a Ugandan orphan. Smith, the son of a hod carrier, initially recruited members of Local 15 to work on the project.

Everyone Got Involved

John Creller, Field Representative of Local 15 MO/KS, wasn’t able to go to Uganda, but his heart was there as members laid brick and taught African workers the skills of the craft.

“Springfield is a tight-knit community when it comes to bricklayers and hod carriers. We’ve all known each other our entire lives through family relations and working together,” said Creller. “I think it’s great to show the community and everybody else that unions are about helping other people.”

Brent Smith, whose dad Glen was a union hod carrier, helped introduce the Watoto’s Ministries to the members of Local 15. “When the Watoto Ministries brought the choir over to sing at the various churches in the Springfield area, it raised awareness about sponsorship for the children’s orphanage,” said Creller. Soon, two BAC members, who come from generations of union bricklayers – Gary Britton Sr. and Bill Stokes Jr. – got involved by sponsoring children at the orphanage. Now almost everyone has become involved at some level. People who can’t travel to Uganda because of the expense, competing family obligations, or lack of time, find other ways to help, such as donating money and other items for the children. On every trip, Local 15 members take with them boxes of clothing, toys and dry goods for those at the orphanage. The Springfield area alone collected about $400 to send toys and clothes in August, according to Creller.