Greetings from Kenya!
October was a busy month in Kinangop. This month, the workload and tempo continues to gain momentum. The activities are very demanding and equally exciting. As you recall, we commissioned a water engineer to find water for the school on the site. We are excited to know that we have great mineral water in our borehole. We witnessed the testing of the borehole and water sample collection with some of our local community members and children.
It was overwhelming to watch Wangari and her two brothers Nick and John exclaim, "you mean there is water under our feet? It is clean and so clear compared to the water in our dam," they continued to converse in vernacular as they watched in awe water jet from a steel pipe during the exercise. This water will change the lives of many in this community. We expect water borne diseases to begin to reduce for children and adults when they access water from the Beverly School borehole next year.
The Head of School takes a taste of the wonderful water
We continue to make great progress on construction of the barn. This week the contractor will be putting in the second level ring beams and columns. The young men from the surrounding villages are happy to work on site as they also receive some wages to support their families. We expect to complete the barn by end of November. The barn will be used to store food for the school.
The Beverly School expects to feed the school community from the 12 plus so acres of farmland. In order to prepare the fields we shall need some tools and equipment. We have invested in a tractor that was ordered in July. We are happy to let you know that the tractor arrived a little over a week ago and we shall soon begin preparing and ploughing our fields.
Some of you might be wondering and asking when does construction of the Beverly School begin? Just to bring all of you to speed we are happy to let you now that we have a great team lead by the Edon Consulting Firm. Together with their engineers and quantity surveyor the architects have completed drawings including elevations and floor plans of phase one of the school. These buildings comprise of a dorm, classroom, guesthouse and sentry. As we wait for approval and construction permits the team continues to prepare the tendering documents for contractor bidding. We anticipate contractor tendering to be completed at the end of November. We expect to break ground on December 17, 2007 and construction to begin immediately thereafter. Phase one of the school is scheduled to be completed at the end of June. The total construction costs are estimated at two and quarter million dollars ($2.25m). While this is a daunting task, the impact that this will have on children is priceless.
To learn more about the Beverly School, please visit our website at www.beverlyschoolofkenya.com
You can support and help a child attend the Beverly School in several ways:
Purchase a giraffe t-shirt designed by Hilary, a box of holiday cards for yourself or for a friend. Invite us to speak at your local parish, school, college, club, synagogue or throw a cocktail party with your friends, and invite us to speak. We will come! Read about our mission statement and spread the word.
I want to thank Mary Jane Higgins of New York for organizing a successful fundraising event at the Ashton's last month. Eleanor, thank you for providing us with your restaurant and l thank all of you who attended. We are honored and grateful for your gifts to the Beverly School. Sharon and the HC Graphic Arts team, thank you for the beautiful greeting cards. To Nancy and Tom Maher for all that you continue to do to keep us moving. To the Hillside Family, thank you so much for the CD sales.
We wish you all a joyous and peaceful Thanksgiving season. We have made significant progress. Thank you for your continued support and for making all this possible.
Warm Regards,
Alice Mudiri Head of School
