Background
Butiiti Centenary Secondary School is a mixed school established by Fort Portal Catholic Diocese to support underdeveloped education in the region. Two years ago, a lightning strike hit the roof and destroyed the office and two classrooms.
The heavily damaged building was an old examination hall that accommodated the Headmaster's Office. It was in a very sorry state and the school was now using a hall from the church for examinations.
The Work
The project was completed in co-operation with our partners 'The Calico Group UK' which provided 6 participants (bricklayers, plasterer, carpenter, joiner, IT systems manager) and Hakitengya Polytechnic Institute which provided 19 apprentices and 1 instructor. The training was run in conjunction with One Brick workers and the participants from Calico UK.
Apprentices were taught many different skills as the project progressed including bricklaying, concreting, plastering. Individual workbooks were created for each trainee which could be presented to future employers. At the end of the project the apprentices were given a certificate of participation and were all evaluated by different parties in different areas.
Delivery of Work
Work delivered by 19 apprentices, 6 UK participants and One Brick team:
- Casting concrete for columns and beams
- Patching and plastering inside and outside
- Brick wall repairs
- Fitting steel doors and window shutters with glass
- Repair all the damaged sheets on the roof
- Preserving the rafters
- Building footings for the apron
- Concreting and screeding all the doors
- Painting inside and outside the building
- Fitting facial boards around the block
- Installing a water harvesting system
- Leveling the ground around building
Delivery
The atmosphere at the school was excellent and a real sense of teamwork was exercised while working on site. A sense of appreciation towards our ability to rehabilitate the school block put smiles and cheers to the Priest of Butiiti Catholic Parish Fr. Edward Muhumuza who thanked Eilis for 'bridging the gap between the School and the donors and urged the students to maintain the building well'. The headteacher, staff and the students were all very thankful.
Skills earned by apprentices:
- Bricklaying: setting out, correct bonding techniques, building walls and corners, finishing and pointing
- Concreting: shuttering, levelling, mixing ratios for different purposes, finishing
- Plastering: mixing ratios for different purposes
- Applications: applying scratch coats, steel float finishing, making straight corners
- Multi-skills: timber work and roofing, painting, ground levelling, stone walling, installing gutters and water harvesting system
- Other skills: team work and leadership, commitment and self-confidence
The apprentices also completed a Health & Safety training covering:
- Responsibilities on site
- Accident Prevention and First Aid
- Health & Welfare
- Manual handling
- Use of ladders and scaffolding
- Personal protection equipment
- Electrical safety and hand tools
- Fire safety
Work Structure
The project succeeded in converting the damaged building into modern, bright structure that will serve generations to come. In addition, One Brick team fitted a water harvesting system, two tanks stocking 3,000 litres of water each offering a new and free source of water to the school. We held a handover celebration that included tree planting by each of the UK participants. As with all One Brick projects, we will continue to maintain the build for 5 years.
Completed April 2015
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Location
Partners
