PROJECT REPORT PHASE

Transcription

1 GCIUS 2014 Construction of a girl s hostel, Liwonde Secondary School PROJECT REPORT PHASE ACHIEVED WORK SCHEDULE THE PROJECT The GCIUS 2014 is constructing a girl s hostel adjacent to Liwonde Secondary School. The project is realized in partnership with Forum for African Women Educationalists Malawi Chapter (FAWEMA). This project will provide an opportunity for girls to access quality education by having a hostel within their school campus of Liwonde Secondary School in the southern Region of Malawi. Girls in this school have no hostel and walk long distances to attend classes; as such many girls do not proceed with their studies. The construction of a permanent hostel will automatically reduce absenteeism due to fatigue from walking long distances, gender based violence that girls face on their way to and from school, and the pupils performances will improve. Liwonde Secondary School provides education to 240 girls and the GCIUS hostel would provide living quarters to 56 students. STATS 365 Bags of cement 100 Tons of sand 120 Tons of aggregates To achieve this phase

2 GROUNGBREAKING CEREMONY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 2014 On GCIUS s the first day in Liwonde, a Groundbreaking Ceremony took place at the Liwonde Secondary School, where the girls hostel will provide room for 56 girls coming from surrounding villages. On this day, most of the stakeholders of this important project were united for an official lunching of the construction. More details are available in the review from the MBC: PREPARATION MEETINGS As of September 29th, the GCIUS team appointed many different meetings with most of the groups and people involved in this project. As such, a meeting was held with the 14 Group Village Heads (GVHs) that contribute with a volunteering workforce everyday on site. Then, the FAWEMA Mother Group, the FAWEMA District Committee and the Parent-Teacher association were consulted about the needs of the future residents of the proposed infrastructure. The GCIUS group also met with the District s Public Works responsibles, in order to get the approval to begin the project the following week. They also helped us to find a contractor and to organize interviews, which took place on Friday October 3 rd. Mr. Jacob Mapemba, WUSC-Malawi Director, also assisted us in this process. Since the beginning of the project, we have also received strong support from the school Management Group. BUILDING SETTING OUT AND ORIENTATION After completing a survey of the available land for the project, our team proposed a location for the construction of the hostel, located next to the existing school buildings. The final location of the building, approved by the School s Headteacher, the FAWEMA group and the Machinga District Public Works Director, takes consideration of the position of the sun at all times of the day. In fact, the smaller ends of the building face East and West, in order to reduce the heat caused by sun rays. Also, the interior courtyard was located South of the building, in order to provide shade during daytime. The complete setting out of the building limits was realized by the GCIUS members, and approved by the District Construction Supervisor. The tools used for this step were a 30 meters measuring tape, a compass, rope and steel bars, necessary for marking the ends of the lines. EXCAVATION The digging of the foundations began on October 7 th, with the help of volunteers from the contributing villages. With an average of 15 people per day for 4 days, we managed to dig about one third of the excavations. Because of the type of soil found and the very hot temperature that week, it became very hard to dig for an entire day. It is known that the parts of a project located under the floor level are hard to plan, and this is what happened in our case. We have been lucky to count on the volunteers, and the work became easier with the tools (Shovels, pics, hoes) provided mostly by the District and the gloves sponsored by Rona (Canadian Hardware Company). The rest of the digging was completed by directly paid workers and partly by the contractor. Even if this step was not in his contract, we agreed on an extra amount to finish the digging. In order to meet the plan specifications, a minimal depth of 900 mm from the reduced ground level was dug. CONCRETE FOOTINGS From October 16 th to 20 th, the concrete required for the footings was put in place. The mix used is supposed to produce a 20 MPa concrete, according to proportions given by Richard Gagné, a Université de Sherbrooke Engineering Professor. For one part of concrete, 3 parts of aggregates and 3.5 parts of sand are added. At first, our team tried to refer to the given proportion of water, but the heat and the porosity of the mixing slab left a small amount of water in the mix. The workers then thought that the mix was too dry. After this, water quantities were monitored by the foreman and GCIUS members in order to obtain a good quality concrete. After two days, the workers, who are used to a more liquid fresh concrete, became more accustomed to the proportions required. An

3 average of 4m 3 of concrete was produced daily. Also, plastic covers were installed on the fresh concrete for a few days in order to ensure a good concrete cure (and improve its strength at the same time). Water was also poured on hardened concrete for the same purpose. Our team received the visit of Nathalie Roy, another professor from Canada, specialized in structures. During the week she spent in Liwonde, she saw the mixing of the concrete and other construction steps. According to her, the quality of the work done on site is good, and the way the team is planning the next steps is accurate. She took part in a meeting with the District Public Works Director about plan revisions; she visited the students with the school s Headteacher and met several other stakeholders. Even if she went back to Canada, she is always available to the GCIUS team if there are any more questions and discussions. FOUNDATIONS WALLS The foundation walls were built on the footings, using bricks. The English bond, stronger than the stretcher bond, was used to place the bricks. Brick force wire was also installed at every four courses of bricks, in order to get a strong foundation. An opening was also created at the bottom of the fence wall, in provision for the storm water drain than will run along the outside of the building. Because of its dimensions, a small concrete ring beam was made, with metal bars in the hole to prevent thieves or animals from entering the yard. FILLING, COMPACTION AND SLAB The compaction of the soil and material under the slab was a very important step to prevent from cracking. This is why the natural soil was compacted around the foundation walls in layers that did not exceed 300mm of thickness. The compaction was done using water, paint containers filled with concrete and handles as rammers. On top of this soil compaction, a layer of broken bricks (150mm thick) was put in place and compacted. Finally, a finishing layer of sand was equalized. Before the installation of the damp proof membrane (DPM), an ant poison was soaked on the sand, and the pipes required for the showers and the sinks were installed by the plumber. During this step, the water supply became an important issue. Even if the water tank built on site (capacity of 1400 L) was connected to the school s water tap with a hose, water shortages have occurred regularly for a long period. In order to solve this problem, women were hired to bring water from a borehole located about 800m away from the site. Some women come from the school s CAMFED Mother Group, and were paid with funds from the contributing villages. BUILDING MODELISATION

4 Foundation digging Footings levelling and casting

5 Specialists of the concrete casting Concrete casting preparation

6 Concrete cure Supervision of the concrete mixing by the contractor, the foreman and a GCIUS member

7 Concrete preparation Foundations

8 Filling and compaction Shower drains installation

9 Planning of the drains Break time

10 Broken bricks Slab concrete

11 Slab concrete Concrete preparation

12 Slab concrete Concrete cure

13 Phase I completed (with the workers) Phase I completed (with the ladies from the Mother Group who carried water)

14 Main partner Gold partners Bronze partners Foundations