Recently two houses on the compound which had been condemned for poor foundations were torn down. One had stood since soon after the hospital's founding in 1950. It made for interesting explorations for the kids and me... contractors bid for the right to bring in a sledgehammer-armed team. It was a competitive bid because all sorts of things from the stones in the walls to the (pictured) plumbing could be carted off and sold at a profit. The Hausa mostly live in mud-based houses, so there are a lot of desirable things in the compound's more western-style houses. Nevertheless, it's backbreaking work.
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