PRE-TRIP NEWS


24th April 2006 - a message sent to Andy Whomsley- as follows:-

Hi Andy,

The school now has its roof on and the rendering of the inside walls will soon be complete. After that it's the floors to screed, windows and doors to fit and the outside to render, so all is on schedule for your visit in August.

The toilets are still to be built however, but should not take too long.

As far as work for your students whilst they are here is concerned it would be great if they could do some or all of the following: Design and make some basic furniture, put up shelves, paint and decorate, make a garden, increase learning resources etc etc.

Is there any chance that you could bring out supplies for the football team? Some more balls would be great as they are now using the last of those you brought out on your last visit. We were also wondering what your supplies of lost property football boots might be like? Last years boots have just about had it and they are very expensive here. If lost property can’t help could some of your students possibly buy for us from the local jumble sales or charity shops?

Love to all at the school,
Oriel & Alan

24th January 2006 - a message from Oriel - as follows:-

The students are doing an amazing job fundraising. The people out here will have such difficulty grasping the amount of money that has been given, it’s fantastic. I'm sure that when they see exactly what the money has been spent on it will be such a boost. We are trying to get everything sorted at the site this week, before we come back for the "destinations" show (the holiday and travel show at earls court on the 2-5 February at Earls Court). Nobody has any transport here, so it all needs to be in place. Hopefully the next batch of money will arrive in time to buy the windows and doors. the main building is up to window level now and once the windows are in it will really look like a school building. The guys are working hard up there and foster, who is the supervisor, is a really good bloke. At the rate they are going I would imagine the main school building could be at decorating stage for when you are here. The toilet block is being dug at present, but is very slow going as they have encountered massive boulders. Storage shelves is something that will be needed and perhaps the students could think about. We have only purchased a few text books as they get eaten by ants and rats at the old school site. The borehole is holding up well and we have had loads of rain recently, but this is also a problem as we can't get any river sand at present. I have taken some photographs of the site as it has progressed and will certainly bring them back with us. I have only just finished the film so they will not be processed in time to scan them to you, but I will get two sets printed off.
Take care and regards to all, Oriel & Alan

3rd January 2006 - a message from Oriel - as follows:-

Just a quick update on the building works at this stage. Alan gambled on a hand pump, even though the flow was not reported to be excellent. Last friday we had our first drink of borehole water, so as long as the hole does not dry up all is well and the builders and school children will have water.

At the moment the static level has risen considerably but we will have to see how it stands up in the dry season as well. Alan has gone into town this morning to get measurements for water tanks and we will site a tank with a tap on a plinth near the school and pump into the tank for now.

We are not sure if the toilets will be flush or long drop yet as it depends how deep they can dig through the rock. We are also having debates about the situation should the water be insufficient in the dry season. We don't want flush toilets that cannot be used and we also don't want the elephants demolishing them to try and get water. So if they can dig deep enough the present thoughts are long drop.

Have a happy January and week warm (it's an extremely pleasant 26 degrees and cloudy but dry here today). Oriel & Alan

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