Mombasa has had very heavy rain over the past two months, thankfully our team of fundis onsite at The Good Life Orphanage & St Bernadette Mary School have not let these adverse weather conditions affect the progress on our new IT/Technical Block. We are still are on target to be finished for the end of January 2016 allowing for a two week break over the Christmas period when the work will stop to allow the workers to make the journey home to spend time with their families.

Overall view Technical Block 8:10:15

In mid October the wonderful red roof had been completed and the building was water tight which was a Godsend during the heavy rain, then the plasterers moved onto site and they worked relentlessly to make up for time lost due to the unexpected bad weather. Kevin inspected the work three times each week and as always was impressed with the quality of the workmanship. Our builder was onhand for weekly progress meetings should any problems come to light but thankfully it has been a very amicable working relationship which is sometimes very unusual in Kenya.

Plastering the inside 08:10:15

The next stage was the erection of the frames & doors, this can often prove to be very tricky as the levels for the floors must be precise prior to the doors being put in place. Again Kevin was overseeing the work as a mistake at this time can prove very costly and time consuming later in the project. The doors and frames are in metal as they are sturdy and have a long life compared to wooden doors & frames which are easy broken and need painting every year in the relentless Kenyan sun.

Doors erected 22:10:15

The fundis completed the tiling in the toilets & showers, and our new metal urinal has been fitted. In mid November the block was really taking shape with the new boundary wall being completed and a new wire fence was erected between the Shamba and the new building. The area between the exisiting walkway and the new access to the block has been levelled in preparation for block paviours being laid.

Bathroom 30:11:15

Last week the contractors who will lay the terrazzo flooring moved onto site, although this is a more expensive method that just a concrete floor, again it is long lasting and easily cleaned. The preparation work is very labour intensive as the floors have to be chipped so the terrazzo can be laid onto the exisiting surface. All the areas are now prepared and the flooring in all the rooms should be complete before Christmas. The order has now been placed for the metal chairs and benches for the sewing room & computer laboratory.

Sewing room ready for Terrazzo floors

Everyone is very excited about our latest development, Godfrey has had meetings with Camara Education who have just celebrated their 10th Anniversary of providing improved educational outcomes for children around the world. They have given us a very keen price for supplying and networking the computers in our new state-of-the-arts facility, this will be a great benefit to both our children at The GLO & SBM School along with the locals from the surrounding neighbourhood.

Pointing the boundary wall

We are passionate about education as it breaks the cycle of poverty, this new block will provide much needed vocational training to the majority of our pupils who will struggle to get to secondary school and provide a lifeline to many young girls who may otherwise be forced into underage marriages. Life is difficult for many in Kenya but together we are making a difference and offering an opportunity to escape a life of impoverishment & adversity.

Ramp ready for Block Paving