This year (after the last two years work experiences down in the Hospital working on the ward) I decided to do something completely different. I decided to work in Engineering as this is where my dad works and where my two older brothers have previously worked. Working in engineering is very physically demanding, it is heavy manual work in very hot temperatures, both down in the engine room or doing outside work in the heat of Benin.
Day 1 - March 30th
I started work at 7:45 with devo's in the Engineering control room. After that I headed off with Oebele to start the first of the days tasks. First we went to the engine room to grind unnecessary parts off some pipework that we were going to use and weld in place where the ropes go on the bow of the ship. Once we had cut them to size we headed to the bow.
The pictures above show Oebele guiding me and me all suited up with proper PPE (personal protective equipment).
All harnessed up working over the side of the ship was great fun!
Day 2 - March 31st
Today wasn't quite as much fun as yesterday but still good. We had a slow morning fitting fire extinguisher holders and also inserting some pipes. After lunch however, we worked on deck 5 repairing the gangway entrance on port side. We had to fix an oil leak and also fix the way in which the door opened and closed. We then went down to deck 1 and started finding/preparing pipes to use to reposition a fire hose.
Day 3 - April 1st
Today Oebele and I had a mixed day. We went up to my dad's office to request new work and then set about planning and preparing for the task. This involved going to the job site, looking at the different things we would need and to the work shop to gather the tools. While we were there Oebele was requested by another worker - an electrician, to assist with another job, to weld some pipes on deck 7 so we did that and I helped with some of the welding.
Day 4 - April 2nd
Today we did some work on one of the water tight doors. The pump was broken on it so we had to take out the pump and put a new one on. Later we worked in the aft storage room. I had to saw off redundant insulated pipes. It wasn't the most fun job as it was at an awkward angle and at height. There was a fire drill today and Oebele is fire team 4 leader. I was able to stay with him and watch his team at work in an emergency situation. I got to look through the heat seeking camera which was very cool. The day ended when the drill was complete.
Day 5 - April 3rd
Today is my final day. I first went to the fire drill briefing and then we were able to get involved in life boat training. You can see me in the 150 man life boat with Chris and Josh under Chris's report. Later in the day we did some more work in the aft storage room. It has been an awesome week and I had a great time thanks to Oebele.
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