Improve Education for 400 Children on Idjwi Island

In November we completed construction of a stone and mortar foundation for the new classroom building, administrative offices, and latrines at EP Buhumba. The work was performed by a general contracting firm based in Goma, DRC, with experience in building and rehabilitating schools in South Kivu, DRC.  

Here is BR Construction's report on the construction:

As there are only three small trucks for the population of 250,000 on Idjwi Island, we brought a truck by boat to Idjwi to help ship materials, including stone sourced from Idjwi Island. The rains caused some delays in the transportation of heavy materials such as sand, stones, and water across the muddy roads on Idjwi.  We trained local assistant masons on Idjwi Island, and one-half of the masons hired for the project were from the Idjwi local community.  As we had extra materials, we added a second room to the administrative building to provide space for the teachers to prepare their lessons.  We also hired a security guard to watch the site and construction materials.  The workers all received daily payments, plus food, transportation, and medical fees during the construction.

We projected that foundation could be completed in 30 days. Due to the rains, the project took a total of about 50 days to complete.  It was completed on budget.  We are also doing some final elevation works on the school ground.  As there is no compactor on Idjwi Island, the foundation is now being compacted by dirt and rain water so that the walls do not develop cracks.  Once the compacting is complete, the foundations will be ready for the completion of the buildings.