From April 24th to 27th we went to Sona (Simien massif - Ethiopia) to monitor the building the school and assure us that the buildings under construction would be ready for the start of the next school year. This should be the case! By October 2019, 2 blocks and 8 classrooms, as well as boys' and girls' toilets should be available to the 450 or so pupils of the school.
Here is an overview of the site as of 25 April:
In a nutshell:
- The foundations and walls of the 2 classroom blocks have been completed. Roofing work on the first block is under way. The challenge is to make the 2 buildings watertight before the rainy season, which is due to start in the next few weeks. The work teams have been reinforced by the company Kedir Hassan in charge of the site for this purpose.
- the excavation of the 2 toilet blocks are finished, it was a titanic work because the holes were dug at 4m depth in a very stony ground, on a surface of 4 x 6m!
- all materials for the finishing of the 4 buildings under construction have been brought to the site, in particular the timber, the roofing sheets, the door and window frames.
The local communityThe school, which is becoming more and more mobilized as the project takes shape, is actively participating in the construction effort, as are the teachers! An average of 20 people come every day to assist the masons (photo below) and carpenters in their missions.
Finally, and as always, the school supplies for students was replenished with 1152 100-page notebooks and 1050 ballpoint pens.
More information coming soon!
We'll be giving you more information in the coming weeks. We are preparing :
- a video of our visit to Sona
- a video focusing on the partnership between the Simien National Park and the Children in the Cloud Foundation
- a report assessing the economic impact of this first phase of work on the local community.