Paving and drainage make me happy

My brother in law is a plumber, so I happen to think that drainage is important – and even interesting. So, take a look at this. Our monthly contribution to the School of St Jude has been put to good use!

The playground and path used to flood when it rained

Up until recently, whenever it rained, the area in front of the classrooms has become a quagmire. No amount of gravel or ground leveling could stop this. Of course, the kids didn’t mind, they just splashed through the puddles ruining pairs of shoes, splattering uniforms and trampling mud through the classrooms. But more serious was the problem of the stagnant water providing the perfect breeding ground for the malaria carrying mosquitoes.

And then the School discovered Hans, a Danish man, who has a paving business using local workers and a local product to provide a very professional paving job and the problem is on its way to being solved!

Thorough preparation is the secret to great paving!

As you can see from the photos, not only do the paving stones save a whole lot of shoe leather and cleaning materials but they really look fantastic, too.

Beautiful paving runs beside classrooms, creating a dry zone

In conjunction with the paving, the School now has a very efficient drainage system to remove the water that used to accumulate in the area to a large underground storage tank. The water from this will be used to water gardens and wash buses during the dry season – a huge saving on our precious water supply.

Ooh... look that that lovely snaking drain

Here is the new drain that runs alongside the main entry road. It's big enough to manage the big tropical downpours that are typical in East Africa.

Now THAT’S a drain!

So, as you can see, our donations really help the School in so many ways – the kids and teachers are kept cleaner, drier and healthier; the cleaners’ jobs are less onerous; the environment is kept healthy and clear of mud and the water saving storage tank will make a huge difference to the water supply in the coming months.

If you would like to add your contribution to the School, please visit their website and click on ‘Support us’. Small donations can be made through the ChipIn button at the top of this blog.



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