When we first got to the school our group came to realize that we had no idea what we were doing. There was no order, no supplies and about 30 of us attempted to fix a cracked wall with a can of spachtel, yes spachtel, Hebrew for spackel and some plastic bagel knifes. It was a little disheartening, but we tried to keep our spirits high as our project sponsors promised to buy us more materials. The next few days were much more productive. Actually, considering that school was in session and the kids were all over us, I don’t know how anything got done. Nonetheless, I can honestly say we transformed the school. I think because the first day went so slowly, when we came back, we were pretty much given free range to make whatever changes we saw fit. 
It’s funny. If a bunch of volunteers offered to paint my elementary school, there would be months of deliberation, there would be a committee and the principal would be inclined to send a letter home to parents explaining the proposed changes. Here, we just painted their school as we saw fit. The girls would often yell at us “paint pink…more pink, more pink,” as we went about repainting light poles the standard green color. When I took a break from painting poles I found about 10 people who took it upon themselves to start painting the outside courtyard. At first, I was a little concerned with the changes, as they began painting the walls and stones in vividly bright rainbow colors. But as the work progressed, I could tell that it was going to look spectacular. Now that the work is done, I don’t think the word spectacular does the job justice. The kids reactions were more representative. When they saw the courtyard painted they flipped out. “Our school looks so happy,” exclaimed one little girl. It felt great to see the students so excited. Many of the children and teachers joined us in the courtyard to help us with the cleanup. It was a truely wonderful experience.some of the "paint it pink" girls
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