Astrid Wang and Lunde Arneberg’s second trip to Omilling has been postponed/rearranged. Their schedules are tight in November.
Between now and December 15, they are to deliver their thesis. They are also redesigning the school’s structures. If they return in November, they will only spend two weeks, but in January they can stay for four weeks. The New Year is better because it is more time. Returning in January, Astrid and Lunde will build more classrooms, and train villagers in red soil block production skills.
With our small-scale projects, we are continually learning, and the first school building should be quicker to set-up because of interlocking soil blocks. We are short on supplies at the building site, but these problems will be addressed by keeping larger stocks of materials. First, Hope Ofiriha needs to buy these materials from Gulu, Uganda, and use the lorry to get the supplies to Omilling during the dry season. The plan is underway to do this in coordination with Magwi County Authority.
In case Plan “B” fails, then “A” will be implemented. We still need lots of help so we build uninterrupted. There is a tremendous pressure to secure the supplies. We are so grateful to GlobalGiving who have been involved with fundraising activities for this project, and we hope our donors are pleased with the initial results.
The village teams have been very committed and everyone has worked hard. Women will be carrying water on their heads for building work. They want the school build so their children escape from the cycle of poverty. Anthony, the only village carpenter, will be making the desks when the school is built and ready to open.
Here is a list of what we still need to raise for 2011:
- Cement to make soil blocks -$10
- Timbers and nails – $20
- Corrugated iron sheets – $25
- a door and a frame – $240
- a window and a frame – $200
- 100 bags cement builds 4 classrooms – $887
