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.
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.
Jan
2013
Plans for the reconstruction of a temporary building into a brick building
SADR allows us to permanently use all farmhouses as school buildings. We’re thinking about stabilizing one of the mud and wood buildings currently being used, with brick walls and transform it into a permanent school building. This is supported by major considerations: First, the construction of a temporary building is, compared with the construction of a new building, considerably cheaper and much faster. Although the temporary buildings are currently still in good condition, they can soon look very different, depending on how severe the storms are in the rainy season. The support beams are slowly eaten away by termites so that they are wasting anyway. In addition, we may continue to use this building in the future as a branch of the school north of Mushapo and thus keep the distance for children from the neighboring village Shamubenze to two kilometers back and forth on a daily basis. We would further finish the building south of Mushapo and build more school buildings there.
Nov
2012
Tables and chairs are made
Tables and chairs are built for the teachers and simple seats for the students. Robert, a talented craftsman and carpenter from Mushapo, is a great help in the production of furniture for the school. He also knows very much about construction of buildings and was a great help in rebuilding the farm buildings.
Oct
2012
Starting the school year in temporary buildings
The simple farm buildings of wood and mud are temporarily being used for school operations. For this purpose, two large farm houses, each with a length of 20 meters and a width of 4 meters are re-built into four classrooms. To start teaching quickly, the classrooms are provisionally equipped with simple blackboards and makeshift school desks.
