With just over six weeks left until they leave on a
life-changing mission to build a boarding school for blind children in Kenya,
volunteers with the Clare-based Building of Hope charity were told of the big
challenge that lies ahead for them at an information meeting in Ennis last
week-end.
Almost half the volunteers are from Clare and 187 of them
were in the Old Ground Hotel on Saturday night to hear details of the plan to
build a school for the children who are sleeping 60 to a room in their cramped
living accommodation at the Likoni school outside the city of Mombasa.
Building of Hope patron Derek Davis told the volunteers that
there was great credit due to them for making such a fantastic effort in raising
not just the cost of their flights and accommodation but also the cost of
building materials.
Project co-ordinator Olive Halpin said that the 15,000
square foot building would provide residential accommodation for 189 children,
incorporating a special care unit for children with multiple disabilities such
as autism or epilepsy. It will be completed within six weeks with each team of
volunteers responsible for a specific phase of the project during their ten-day
tour of duty.
She said it was heart-warming night to see so many people
gather together to help children who have been living in such terrible
conditions in a far away land.
The meeting was also addressed by Brian Allen, chief
executive of St. Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired, who will oversee
the transition from the old buildings to the new facility. He said the building
would match the standard of similar facilities in any European country and they
would supervise and provide the rollout of professional training to the
school staff in the areas of mobility and self-care skills.
“The resources provided to the children will upskill them in
IT skills, braille and other communication tools for the blind. A
vocational training programme for the older children will be sourced locally
through the polytechnic beside the school, “ he said.
He paid tribute to all the committee for all the hard work
they had put into the project over the past year. Highlighting the fact that
they all work on a voluntary basis, he said that every penny raised for the
project goes to the project.
The first team of volunteers will travel to Likoni on
January 13 to lay blocks and build to roof level. The second team will travel
on January 24 to roof the building and carry out plumbing and electrical works.
The third team will travel on February 4 with plasterers, plumbers, carpenters
and electricians completing the construction work. The final group will travel
out on February 15 to floor, landscape, paint and tile. A group of
environmental health officers will also travel to train the catering and
ancillary staff on site.
