The Complexities of Construction

One of my major tasks while in Uganda is to oversee the installation of doors and windows on the newly constructed school building for our partner school, St. Paul. My second major task is to orchestrate the roofing project at our second construction site which will function as a middle school upon completion.
I have learned that construction in Uganda is not as straight forward as one might think. Each task requires the work of a number of different people, all whom you have to barter with. For example, when discussing the installation of the doors and windows, I learned that there is not a place where you go to buy standard size doors and window frames, but you have to enlist the help of a welder who will make each door and window by hand. After he is finished, you have to hire transportation to take them from the welders workshop to the school. Once they are at the school, you have to hire a team of construction workers that can install the doors and windows. Once the installation is complete, you have to purchase glass for the windows and hire someone separately to come and secure the glass into the window frames. And to ensure we are getting the best prices, it is best to get 3 quotes from three different people for every task. It actually came in handy when I was bartering for the cost of welding windows and doors. I was talking with a welder who does great work but his price was a little high, I told him we already had another quote for the price we could afford (which we did, but his workmanship wasn't as good) and he dropped his price to meet the others! So we were successful this time :)
I went through similar complications with the roofing project, and I'm sure there are more surprises to come. It's all just part of life here that you learn to live with and possibly learn to love.