In August 2010, Hazels Footprints Trust gave PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) a grant of £7,100 to build a permanent kitchen building at Sarah Ntiiro High School in Eastern Uganda. This is a report on that project, which has now been mostly completed (apart from painting the exterior of the building).
Need for the project:
Sarah Ntiiro High School is in situated in Eastern Uganda near Mayuge. It opened in 2009 and up until now provided lunch for its 117 students from a temporary kitchen constructed of wood. Lunch was cooked on open fires, which represented a health risk to kitchen staff, and also used large quantities of firewood.
The new kitchen will provide a larger space for lunch preparation, will be more hygienic and protect kitchen staff from smoke inhalation because lunch will be cooked on fuel efficient stoves.
Project details and time frame:
Start of build: 5 August 2010
Completion of build: 7 November 2010 (wood burning stoves were commissioned)
Contractor: Kibinge (internally supervised by the PEAS Director of Project Management, Robert
Tusiime), stoves built and installed by Mr. Alip David.
Budget:
Original budget:
£4,600 for the construction of a permanent kitchen block.
£2,000 for three wood burning stoves.
£500 for a rainwater collection tank
Total: £7,100
Actual budget:
£6,683 for the construction of a permanent kitchen block
£425 to paint the block
£1480 for two wood burning stoves
£49 to glaze the stoves
Total: £8,637
Budget variances:
The overall cost of the kitchen project was higher than we expected, and additional funds to complete the build were contributed from other funding sources. The reason for the increase in the budget is higher construction material costs and a higher than anticipated cost for the stoves. For this reason, two fuel-efficient wood burning stoves have been installed, instead of three, however we are confident that two stoves can fully support the needs of the school at its current capacity.
When the school becomes much larger we may need to install a third stove and there is room in the kitchen to achieve this. Due to increased costs, we also did not install a rainwater collection tank. We have spoken to the school and they feel that a shallow well or bore hole will in fact be a more effective local source of water for the school, and we hope to install one of these in December or January if we can obtain funding.
(The old, temporary kitchen)
Despite the higher costs, the build has been completed efficiently and quickly and the school is now benefiting from the kitchen and the savings in wood costs, which will provide an extra boost to school finances in the next academic year.
Successes and challenges in achieving objectives:
This project has been a resounding success and kitchen staff are now working in the new building and using the new fuel-efficient wood burning stoves. We anticipate that the savings in fuel will allow the school to create five free places from February 2011, at the beginning of the next academic year.
The major challenge in the project was the increase in the price of construction materials and particularly the increase in the price of the stoves. This meant instead of building three fuelefficient wood burning stoves, it was only possible to build two. However, these two stoves will be more than adequate for the school at its current size and the kitchen is large enough to accommodate a third stove once student numbers require it.
Ongoing projects and remaining unfunded needs:
The kitchen still requires a bore hole or shallow well, which requires funding. Eventually we would also like to build a refrectory shelter next to the kitchen, where children can sit in the shade to eat their lunch.
In other PEAS school, we are building a dormitory block at Kiira View secondary school and three new schools in Ntungamo, Mityana and Padibe districts, all of which will open in February 2011.
Our remaining urgent funding needs are an additional dormitory at Onwards and Upwards Secondary School near Buloba, which is experiencing unprecedented demand for places, and kitchens at Onwards and Upwards, Green Shoots and Kiira View Schools.
Construction photographs
Arrival at the site, day one
Off loading down construction materials at the site.
Space where the stoves are going to be constructed.
Setting up the frame in it position.
Setting and laying up the brick work end of day one.
The 4th day tiling.
You can see some more photographs from the project here.
The 5th day cleaning up tiles work.