The new preschool on Mbabala Island, Zambia is nearly finished. Now, the only work remaining is a small amount of plastering on the outside of the building, installing windows and doors and painting. The support of the local communities around Katiti has been fantastic due to a high level of volunteerism in the local churches and the community’s desire to see their children educated to the highest level possible.
These colorful classrooms are sure to attract the attention of Mbabala Island’s youngest students!
DID YOU KNOW?
The preschool’s 2,500 blocks were made in Samfya and shipped over to the building site on the island. There, a team of three men fashioned the blocks, making around 300 per day by mixing cement and coarse sand to create six-inch blocks. Every 50-kilogram bag of cement makes about 32 blocks.
All of the sand, stone, water, 2,500 concrete blocks, rafters and iron sheets were transported a little more than half a mile from the shore up to the building site on heads, backs and bicycles. Bright Hope estimates that somewhere between 75 and 100 metric tons of building materials were transported manually by the community. The transport of the concrete blocks, sand, bricks, and water required roughly 3,106 miles of walking by those who carried the supplies to the building site!
