On Monday 9th March we started the project to build the first of two additional classrooms at the school and I am pleased to report that the first classroom is complete, apart from a final coat of exterior paint, and being used. The build has taken longer than expected as the builder was taken ill and we had to find another builder from the community and this took us into the start of the rainy season.
This is the 46th classroom we have funded. We have also funded: the building of 9 toilet blocks (6 with water harvesting & handwash stations), installed water harvesting on 27 classrooms and electricity into 13, sunk 3 wells and refurbished another 4. We have refurbished 26 classrooms, installed a gravity fed water system serving a community of 1,100 people, built a 7-bedroom staff hostel at one school and a 2-bedroom home for Momoh, a severely disabled young man, and undertaken many other small projects and supported many individuals with life-saving medical aid. This Rotary year we have generated £26,200+ of a total of £454,000+ since January 2007. EVERY £ goes to the projects and with your help we are “Making A Real Difference”. Thanks to EVERYONE who has supported me with funding or sponsorship – YOU have made this happen.
In other news and what’s next?
As I have often said before, my work in Sierra Leone requires me to do some “juggling” with priorities and the allocation of funding and this has been the case since my last Newsletter. As well as the building projects, we support, on a regular basis, two orphans and their families, with sponsorship from three regular donors, thanks to them, they know who they are, and we are also supporting an orphaned lad, aged nineteen, to complete his secondary education and also provide help with his day-to-day expenses. We also fund the wages of the nine teachers at Westminster Community School, currently they are all sponsored by four donors and again a massive thank you to them, and again they know who they are.
I had hoped to go on my 16th trip in September, but Sue and I are moving house, so this has had to take priority!
I am doing my final presentation of the Rotary year later today, which I hope will generate additional funding, and this will be allocated to the building of the second additional classroom, our 47th classroom, at Kankalay Secondary School and the work will start in the next few weeks, when the rainy season ends.
Latest shipment heading for Freetown
I recently went to Manor River shipping in Lewisham to organise the shipping of two of these large boxes and a third, smaller box, packed with assorted humanitarian aid for distribution to several communities I support. I must acknowledge the support I receive from Magenta Self Storage in Banbury, who for a number of years have given me free of charge storage, to house, sort and pack all the assorted items that are donated to me. To Nigel and the team at Magenta, a massive thank you for this wonderful sponsorship, which I greatly appreciate The box in the photo contained over 350 individual items of Oxford United kit, including 6 complete team strips, which will be donated to teams in the communities that I work with. The remaining items will be given to Mohammed who runs the “Oxford United Unofficial Club Shop” who I’ve set up in business selling kit. The other two boxes contained sports kit (200 items in all) donated by Banbury Rugby Club, Easington Sports FC and Banbury Irish FC plus 80 assorted items (T-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies and waterproof coats) donated by the recently disbanded, pardon the pun, Bodicote Brish Legion Band. There were also a number of knitted blankets and kids knitted jumpers and cardigans from the ladies at the Adderbury Knit and Natter group. On top of the box there are assorted walking sticks, crutches etc which will be greatly appreciated in Freetown.
