The bridge work is continuously making progress.
Meanwhile the cavity for the second abutment on the opposite riverside is already finished. We were quite surprised when we got photos of it via email, because for more then two weeks we hadn't heard from the project.

The main reason was Damaso who was busy with his own matters in Tarapoto and wasn't able to travel to Tres Unidos. Nobody knew what was going on in the village and since Damaso did not yet buy the sand, necessary for casting the concrete, we expected the work to be stopped.

Their own initiative shows us that the villagers understood our concept and that it is suitable to be executed without the "German engineers".

Having both abutments prepared for casting the concrete, the biggest risk now is the next heavy rainfall. It could set the cavities under water and make the walls collapsing. Still we are very confident, that the concrete work soon can start because right now a new helper is in Tres Unidos.

Ney Linares, Damasos unkel, on whoms instigation the whole footbridge project is founded, visits the village. As long as he is there, he can organize the next steps:

• Using the reinforcement cage they did together during Eric's last visit as an example, a second reinforcement cage has to be formed.
• The pieces of reinforcement that later become the anchor rods for the steel cables have to be bent. The 25mm thick material is too stiff to bend it in Tres Unidos, but in Picota, the neighboring village about an hour away, a blacksmith can handle the rods.
• The anchor rods have to be coated in order to prevent corrosion.
• The missing sand has to be brought to Tres Unidos so that the concrete works can start.

It took us some time but we found two charities which make us their donation structure available. We are now able to make out donation receipts accepted by the German tax authorities for tax deductibility. 

The local Lions Club Markkleeberg established network contacts to its Peruvian pendant Club de Leones de Tarapoto. All donations will be transfered on their bank account without any extra costs and the money can be fetched either by Eric or Damaso.

An updated list of costs and expenses is published on our project homepage. 

Many thanks go to Mr Klaus Viegener and Mr Ney Linares, who each donated 1.000 Euro and respectively Dollar to our project. With this money we have paid the steel. We'll pay the sand with it too and use the rest to buy the wood necessary for the pylons and the bridge deck.