School Construction
School Construction
Until the start of our school project in early 2011, the village of Mushapo did not have their own school. To spare the children their daily long walk to neighboring villages and in order that more children can get a good education, ADH made the realization of a school project in Mushapo its goal. The school project is meant to last: Several school buildings with bright spacious classrooms of solid, durable materials should guarantee a permanent school operation no matter what the weather conditions. In addition, important new jobs will be created in the rural area by building schools and the operation thereof.
Nov
2013
The growing number of students who need accommodation
To provide the unexpected increase in the number of pupils with a proper education and be placed in classrooms, we divide our temporary school buildings each in 3 classrooms (previously 2 rooms each). The buildings are large enough. In addition, we will repair another old farm house and change it provisionally into our fourth school building. In total there are now 10 classrooms for daily classes. However, this is only a temporary solution, because the simple buildings made of wood and clay must constantly be repaired.
Oct
2013
How do we respond to the continuing rise in student numbers?
Demand for classes at our school grew rapidly and we needed to respond to the ever-growing number of students and thus increasing class sizes. We had actually planned for fewer students, but also do not want to deny children from neighboring villages education at our school. Because the goal is a proper education, we should reduce the class sizes. For this we need to hire more teachers. Besides these unexpected extra costs there is also the space problem that we have to solve as soon as possible.
Sep
2013
Construction work is progressing well
We visit the site of our second brick building. The construction of this building has seen great progress in recent months. The building is expected to be finished in a few months including the inside. Congratulations Jean, Robert and Laurent, representatives of the entire construction team for the so far well-done work.
Jul
2013
The walls of the second building are raised
Concrete columns are now placed on the 20 x 6 meters large foundation and the walls are raised. For this we use the rest of the bricks that are left over from the last time we made them in April. However, these are not enough and to complete the masonry we need to make and burn new bricks again.
Jun
2013
Construction on the second building continues
Now that the first building is completed, we will continue with the building that we started last year on our property south of Mushapo. The foundations and the foundation walls are already in place. The surplus materials from the first building we have brought to the current site. First timber supports are installed on which the roof structure is placed. On this framework, the corrugated metal sheets are placed, which are fastened with nails to make the roof rain proof. This approach is primarily for the purpose that materials can be stored in a dry place and the workers can work under dry conditions.
May
2013
First brick building is finished
The construction work is finished. The first school building made with bricks north of Mushapo on the old farm area, is ready. The school building has two large bright classroom. The building has many windows and the interior is painted white. The classrooms are equipped with benches, a teacher's desk and a blackboard.
Apr
2013
More bricks are made
After building the first school building of bricks, we produce more bricks for the second building. Chief Muyeji shows us a new place where we can dig for good clay. Our new clay pit is only two kilometers away from the site. The excavated clay is transported manually to the warehouse, where it is pressed into bricks which are then air dried. Then, the dried bricks are transported to the site and piled into a heap, with a cavity below for the wood fire. At the top an air hole is left open for ventilation. Voilà, the oven is ready. Next the furnace is filled with wood and lighted. Once the wood inside burns, the mouth of the furnace is closed up with bricks and then sealed with clay. Once the fire is completely burned out, the clay can be removed: The bricks are finished.
Mar
2013
Change of plans: We re-construct
We decide to rebuild the temporary 20 x 4 meter building with bricks into a permanent school building. By the re-construction work, the roof is not taken down, but initially backed up with support beams. Then the old walls of wood and clay are knocked down one after another. Then, a foundation is laid and the brick walls are raised. For the construction we use materials which were originally planned for the building south of Mushapo. In the course of these works also the adjacent temporary buildings will be repaired at certain points. As a contribution for the school construction the company Denys donates iron rods and diesel for our generator.
