Let's Build a School

On June 8th, after 4 months of planning, ground was broken on the new "Prototype" classroom at TASOK. The whole school showed up for the ceremony (it was mandatory). We are currently in the middle of week 3 and construction is in full swing. Materials are starting to arrive at the port of Matadi. One of our biggest concerns was the logistics of shipping in materials from outside the DRC, so this is really good news.

Matt is the tall one with the hard hat under the sign on the wall

Day 1- demolition begins

Smash! Wooden trusses have been used to support the roof for over 50 years. The wood was still in great condition so we are actually reclaiming a lot of this lumber to be reused for interior finishes and other construction material. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Middle of week 2. That was fast. Demolition is nearly complete. Hope it doesn't rain too much. Good thing its the dry season . . .

Those are some big window openings, and they are just the start.  There will be another set of windows above each of those openings. Nearly the whole wall will be operable louvered glass for maximum light and ventilation. The goal is to use less power for lights and cooling. The contractor is checking the floor for level.  Unexpected bonus.

Start of week 3. Demolition is complete. Formwork starts for new reinforced concrete beams. There will be a 20,000 liter rainwater collection and storage system where the scaffolding is. That's roughly 5,000 gallons - a lot of water. The water will be used for irrigation or toilet flushing. The long-term campus goal is to be independent of the water company.

From the top of the wall. For being 50 years old, the foundation, walls, and slabs are in great shape.

 

Levels, tape measures, masonry saws and more. I didn't expect this level of quality. I'm impressed.

After sitting in a conference room for several months extracting and organizing the ideas of the building committee, then getting them to agree on the appearance, function, and acceptable cost of the building, producing and reviewing drawings, selecting and reviewing materials, establishing a schedule, and everything else that goes into project management before construciton, it is good to be on site again seeing the tangible product our labor.