GS Illum School Rebuilding Project: Preparing

G. S. Illum School Rebuilding Project: Preparing

The Rotary Club of Truro, working through Hand Up, embarked on a project to rebuild the two room school near Wum, North West Cameroon.  Money was moved through the Rotary Club of Bafoussam.

As CESO volunteers on assignment in Bamenda, Rotarian Lydia and husband Allan were privileged to be able to watch the Integrated Development Foundation (IDF) carry this project through to a successful end, meeting many challenges along the way.  The Chairperson of the IDF board, Joseph Tafrie, was community leader.  He lives relatively near in Befang.  The road from Befang to the school, like the road to Wum from Bamenda has many very rough places, one of which was a near wash out almost taking the road with it down the steep cliff.  Mr. Tafrie has a motorbike that has allowed  him to travel to the community and school site.  Many challenges were faced.  Initially, two walls of the school had to be addressed as they had deteriorated (note the mortar work).  You will be able to see from the pictures that Mr. Tafrie took using a camera donated by Marian Ward from Nova Scotia, the work as it progressed.  Windows and doors were constructed by the carpenter.  An overhang to protect the platform was extended from the roof.  Rocks were collected to build a base for the platform.  Mr. Tafrie stored the cement at his home, supervising each mixing so the mix would be right.  He brought water in a tank on the back of his bike to the school for the mixing.  He asked the Parent Teacher Group to send parents to help carry the water from his bike to the mixing area.  No one came so children carried water to the mixing area.  Cement was mixed for the platform and for each classroom floor. 

A word about zigger worm.  Children had been going to school and spending the day with a dirt floor.  Zigger worm is very painful.  Parents remove zigger worm from the children’s feet using a safety pin.  This exposes the child to possible tetanus and infection.  Now, the new concrete floors well cleaned and swept will help prevent this problem.

The work actually began the second week of our assignment, after the money was transferred to IDF.   Mr. Tafrie came to Bamenda to plan with Mme. Oussematou the first Monday we were there.  We gave him the camera Marian had donated to take pictures of the various stages of construction.  It is really interesting to see a person use a camera for the first time.  The pictures he took are excellent.  The camera stays around his neck, ready.  We bought a battery charger and rechargeable batteries for the camera.  He has electricity in his home.

That brings us to another topic.  Lydia assumed from our visit there last year that because there were fluorescent lights in the adjacent school that there was electricity.  Nope.  Electricity has not made it to the GS Illum site as yet!

Lumber and roofing materials were brought from Wum (about 15 miles from the school) by a motorbike that has a carrying cart attached. 

The children who attend GS Illum’s two room school were given Thursday and Friday off so construction could proceed.  The aim was to finish the Rotary rebuild project for hand over before we left. 

Meanwhile, back in Bamenda, Oussematou had been working hard to have the furniture built.  This part of the project was Rotary Club of Truro (1000 and District Simplified Funds 1000 Canadian Dollars).  This money would also buy each child a large (legal sized) notebook, a pencil, a pencil case, a bonbon and a bag to put it in.  IDF knows how to go about things.  This parcel must be placed directly into each child’s hands in order to assure that the child will receive the package. 

So, on the Friday before we left for our three day stay in Wum, we spent the morning at the furniture making cooperative.  When you see the quality of workmanship, you will be amazed.  As they said at the handover ceremony, no other school has such beautifully made furniture!  The wood is a very hard wood.  There are three large double door locked storage cupboards, three teachers chairs with upholstered chair seats and chair backs and three teacher’s desks.  The desk for the Headmistress has a locked drawer and the legs are turned on a lathe.  All are well finished with nice hardware pulls.  We were impressed with the coop and its caring for members who have HIV AIDS.  This was a big job and well done.
 

 

 

This link will take you to a video on site where the furniture was built in Bamenda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fnerWny4DY

 

So our small part.  Oussematou hired transport.  The van would not pass inspection in Nova Scotia!  When we arrived in the yard of the furniture making coop, the transport van had arrived and they had the first double door cupboard placed on top of the van.  Oussematou immediately left to buy cardboard and foam pieces to act as separators to prevent scratches.  Allan watched, wishing for some duck tape and more rope.  They used recycled tires cut in strips to tie down the load.  As the load increased in height, we became increasingly concerned about the journey and at that point we did not know how badly the road to Wum had deteriorated!  At first we thought that they would put the desks in the van.  Nope.  On top to allow as many passengers to travel as possible! So, three double cupboards, three desks and three chairs three hours later were loaded on top, strapped down, hopefully sufficiently separated and packed to make the journey.  We held our breath as the van climbed up to the street from the coop yard.  The builder went with his furniture.  The journey took almost six hours hours.  They called Oussematou when they arrived at the school.  Oussematou called the Head Mistress to go to the school to let them in. 

There was not enough money in the Rotary budget to pay for the building of a sign so the Sorflaten’s said, go ahead and they would pay.  Fortunately, Lydia had a Rotary Club of Truro banner from which they were able to work from for the design.  We took the Rotary International logo from a Hand Up newsletter Lydia had on her computer.  Oussematou took the design to the sign makers.  The sign maker operates from a small room.  They have several apprentices on site learning the trade.  They make amazing screen print shirts as well as signs.  All lettering is hand cut using an exacta knife.  Sign making and sign painting is done outside. 

The following link will take you to a utube filmed at the sign makers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BJSZxOQNZA&list=UUKLdLUrOXVJPkIJuTTJxaAQ&index=3

When you watch the videos, you will see how the Rotary project helped a cooperative who builds quality furniture and cares for HIV AIDS affected members of the cooperative.  We were most impressed at the sign makers to see young people given an opportunity to learn a skill as an apprentice.

This link takes you to a full slide show of the Rotary Club of Truro Rebuild and Equipping of the GS Illum School near Wum, Bamenda, Cameroon, Africa

http://www.slideshare.net/LydiaSorflaten/gs-illum-school-project-presentation