The USD 412,000 Water, Sanitation, and Dignity project is proceeding well. The kitchen and store room at Mary Waters Secondary School has been transformed from grim walls, wood floors, and limited working surface to tile floors and walls, hot and cold water service, and stainless steel working surfaces. The other schools are proceeding. See Past President Gavin Keeton's update memo below.Dear All
I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. I know this is a very special
time in the US for family get-togethers. In South Africa Christmas is the
time for such family gatherings, as most of us take our summer holiday over
this period.
In South Africa the entire construction industry closes from 16 December –
15 January every year, in what is known as “builders’ holidays”. So, I
thought I’d update you on the progress made on the Global Grant before
everybody disappears on holiday.
Glenn and Quintus and their project team are doing an amazing job
co-ordinating the logistics of managing bulk purchasing and distribution, as
well as ensuring multiple contractors deliver what is needed within budget.
The first phase of the project, the upgrade of the Mary Waters kitchen &
storeroom is complete. The official handover of the project to the school
will be on Tuesday (Nov 29). The transformation of what was an unhygienic facility
with rotting wooden floors, into a modern tiled facility with proper washing
up facilities, hot water, stainless steel preparation tables and secure
storage spaces is amazing. Some recent pictures are attached. But probably
the most gratifying part of the project has been the wonderful feedback
Rotarians have received from unexpected parts of the community as well as
the teachers. The gratitude for what Rotary is doing is so heartwarming.
The upgrades of the toilets and kitchens at Khutliso Daniels Secondary
School and at Fikizolo Primary School are well underway. Khutliso Daniels
will be finished before the end of January, and Fikizolo should be finished
in February. We are due to get final quotes from 3 contractors for Tantyi
Primary next week. We will award the contract before the start of the
holiday so that the project can begin when the builders commence work in
January. The awarding of the contract for Nombulelo Secondary School will
happen early in the New Year.
That will leave us with George Dickerson and Samuel Ntsiko Primary Schools.
Contacts will be awarded for these schools as soon as the other schools are
complete, and the builders working at current schools become available for
new projects. We believe we are still on track to compete all 7 schools by
mid-2023.
A big focus in the early part of 2023 will be to get the required (hygiene) training
programmes operational, and to ensure the maintenance relationships with the
well-resourced (private) schools are operating properly.
None of this would have been possible without the support of you, our
amazing donors and fundraisers. So, when we members of the Rotary Clubs of
Grahamstown and Grahamstown Sunset eat our turkeys or roasts for Christmas
(instead of Thanksgiving), we will toast your generosity, continued health,
as well as the extraordinary global community that is Rotary. We hope that
you do likewise.
Regards
Gavin
I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving. I know this is a very special
time in the US for family get-togethers. In South Africa Christmas is the
time for such family gatherings, as most of us take our summer holiday over
this period.
In South Africa the entire construction industry closes from 16 December –
15 January every year, in what is known as “builders’ holidays”. So, I
thought I’d update you on the progress made on the Global Grant before
everybody disappears on holiday.
Glenn and Quintus and their project team are doing an amazing job
co-ordinating the logistics of managing bulk purchasing and distribution, as
well as ensuring multiple contractors deliver what is needed within budget.
The first phase of the project, the upgrade of the Mary Waters kitchen &
storeroom is complete. The official handover of the project to the school
will be on Tuesday (Nov 29). The transformation of what was an unhygienic facility
with rotting wooden floors, into a modern tiled facility with proper washing
up facilities, hot water, stainless steel preparation tables and secure
storage spaces is amazing. Some recent pictures are attached. But probably
the most gratifying part of the project has been the wonderful feedback
Rotarians have received from unexpected parts of the community as well as
the teachers. The gratitude for what Rotary is doing is so heartwarming.
The upgrades of the toilets and kitchens at Khutliso Daniels Secondary
School and at Fikizolo Primary School are well underway. Khutliso Daniels
will be finished before the end of January, and Fikizolo should be finished
in February. We are due to get final quotes from 3 contractors for Tantyi
Primary next week. We will award the contract before the start of the
holiday so that the project can begin when the builders commence work in
January. The awarding of the contract for Nombulelo Secondary School will
happen early in the New Year.
That will leave us with George Dickerson and Samuel Ntsiko Primary Schools.
Contacts will be awarded for these schools as soon as the other schools are
complete, and the builders working at current schools become available for
new projects. We believe we are still on track to compete all 7 schools by
mid-2023.
A big focus in the early part of 2023 will be to get the required (hygiene) training
programmes operational, and to ensure the maintenance relationships with the
well-resourced (private) schools are operating properly.
None of this would have been possible without the support of you, our
amazing donors and fundraisers. So, when we members of the Rotary Clubs of
Grahamstown and Grahamstown Sunset eat our turkeys or roasts for Christmas
(instead of Thanksgiving), we will toast your generosity, continued health,
as well as the extraordinary global community that is Rotary. We hope that
you do likewise.
Regards
Gavin