Most of the classrooms at one of the two elementary schools were damaged or demolished. The classrooms were not demolished by a tornado. But it caused by a rain shower accompanied by a strong wind. It was an event that I will never forget.
The classrooms at two of elementary school are built in the traditional rural Congolese fashion. They are made out sticks, mud, and palm fronds. It was destroyed by nature’s big bad wolf. We were moved to build better, stronger, and longer lasting elementary schools. Bricks, as used by the third little pig, would withstand the winds, rain, and the big bad wolf. But we quickly found out that bricks and cement are expensive commodities in Congo. They were even more expensive in rural Congolese villages like Bulape. We were determined. So, the school renovation program would take a decade to complete instead of just few years.
Last fall that was all changed, another building process was revealed to me. After seeing a news story about the plight of roadside vinyl billboards in our landfills, I thought of win-win situation. A solution to getting rid of or use the unneeded vinyl billboards and a solution to building better, stronger, and longer lasting classroom. We would use the vinyl billboard as a light-weight, durable building materials. It would be like a big vinyl camping tent with a wood frame.
Under normal conditions, traditional rural schools have to be replaced or rebuilt every 2-3 years. The mud, sticks, and palm fronds are just not good building materials.
In the spring or summer of 2011, we plan to replace half of the classrooms (six) at the two (rural) elementary schools in Bulape. New vinyl classrooms will replace the current classrooms of mud, sticks, and palm fronds. We have purchased a portable saw mill to produce lumber. An Architecture Mission Team of Andrews University, a Christian university, is working on a sturdy, durable, and usable design. And we will start collecting enough the vinyl billboard to complete six classrooms.
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