Omilling’s former child-soldier problem is a complicated one! Astrid Wang and Lunde Arneberg from the Oslo School of Architecture & Design are returning to Omilling to construct Mario primary school in November. The plan A – is to build one classroom, girl-pit latrine, and a teacher’s house. They are busy re-designing the school’s structure to match village’s standard. Fighting against decades of marginalization and intense state of poverty that spawn the practice, it is sometimes hard to imagine there is a way to help. Funding… Read More
New Volunteers to Redesign Mairo Primary School
Work on the Mario Primary School—which will give hope to war orphans, former child soldiers, and other vulnerable children in Omilling village—is racing along! I recently met with Astrid Rohde Wang and Olav Lunde Arneberg, two students from The Oslo School of Architecture and Design, who have volunteered to redesign the school’s structure at village Standard. For several months nothing was happening on the project, keeping the door closed for hundreds of vulnerable children to ever receive an education. Behind the scenes, the Hope Ofiriha team was busy working to find out… Read More
University of Zambia Donates Soil Block Machine
The Technology Development and Advisory Unit at the University of Zambia has donated a hand-press interlocking soil block machine to Hope Ofiriha to build the Mario Primary School. The donation—which ultimately will help educate hundreds of war orphans, former child soldiers, and other vulnerable children—is wonderful in so many ways! Production of interlocking soil-compressed blocks is environmentally friendly because very little water and cement and no firewood are used to make them. It is also much cheaper than buying and transporting manufactured ones because they are produced locally with local soil and… Read More
