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Oct 17, 2008 –District Education Officer
Matthew Flumo (UNICEF Liberia Rep) and I met with the DEO David Kehdzie to discuss the ownership and responsibilities of the Ministry of Education. It was agreed that the best course of action was to have the Ministry of Education be the “face” of the project to the community, thereby giving them ownership and taking UNICEF/AFH out of the picture for the management and maintenance of the school after construction.
Oct 17, 2008 – Conf Call – Schematic Design Review – UNICEF & AFH
The administration building had been aligned more with the road and the community center to provide a more unified plan for the school campus. The workshops that had been located north of the administration building were either to be omitted or incorporated into the community center. It was decided the workshop “block” was not necessary or redundant to and could be incorporated into more multi-function facilities in the community center.
Oct 18, 2008 – Community Representatives
Matthew Flumo and I met with Saye Yarkpah and Prince Suah. The purpose of the meeting was the introduction of the UNICEF representative to the local representatives that can provide much needed assistance in navigating the town and politics.
Oct 21, 2008 – County Education Officer and County Superintendent
Matthew Flumo and I met with the CEO and the Superintendent of Nimba County. We discussed many of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Education and the ownership that will be required of them to keep the work on schedule. It was agreed upon by both the CEO and the Superintendent that the land issues will be resolved by the government and the MoE. They requested additional copies of the land documents that had been received by AFH to date. The current documents are requesting that UNICEF pay $3,000 USD to the Revenue Department for taxes on the property. As the property is currently government land and is NOT to be transferred to UNICEF, but to be maintained by the government there should be no transfer of money by UNICEF.
It was requested by the CEO that the UN MIL engineers fix the road to the site that continued past the site to Gbuyee. Unfortunately, the engineers had already moved much of the heavy equipment necessary for this to a new job site location. The CEO will need to contact UN MIL for the work as a community initiative and will not be a priority or responsibility of UNICEF or AFH.
Oct 22, 2008- Site Clearing Completed
The site clearing has been completed by the UN MIL engineers and documents to that affect have been given to UNICEF Liberia documenting the work completed. The UN MIL engineers have requested a confirmation letter be sent to the Secretary General of the UN in Liberia that originally approved the work and requested the cooperation of UN MIL.
UN MIL at the beginning of the project had requested the assistance of UNICEF to watch the site equipment. UNICEF Liberia had refused on the basis that they did not want to accept the liability of the security. This then forced the UN MIL engineers to take the equipment back to camp each day, causing many delays (an hour each way) plus was causing much damage to the site. In hopes of expediting the work AFH requested the assistance of several local elders to secure the equipment during the evenings. The UN MIL engineers then agreed to visit the site several times in the evening to check on the security. For the duration of 18 days security was provided by the locals. They were paid $260 ($65 each), given two flashlights and were loaned two cutlasses for their services by AFH.
Oct 23, 2008 – UNICEF HQ Visit of Site
During the return visit to Monrovia, Joshua Palmer was contacted by Amina Osman that she was in Ganta and needed directions to the site. As this was the first communication of the scheduling or arrival of UNICEF representatives in the area AFH was unable to meet or guide UNICEF to the site and explain the current developments.
Oct 27, 2008 – UNICEF Liberia
Bi-monthly meeting with UNICEF Liberia was held. The country offices were informed of the completion of the site and that the development of the design was progressing. The country office was not given any details of the current state of the plans or design as they were not yet approved by UNICEF HQ. AFH requested additional copies of the land documents to give to the CEO and the Nimba Superintendent.
AFH recommended to UNICEF that a site fence should be built around the site soon to protect the site from squatters returning to the site and to aid in security of materials and equipment once construction begins. UNICEF Liberia has requested an estimate by Oct 29 as it will necessary for UNICEF to request the allocation of the funds by Oct 30, should the fence be built.
Oct 28, 2008 - Contractor
AFH met with a contractor (Borbor Nyumah Construction) to request a price estimate for the construction of a site fence. The bid of quantities and project description were drawn up in the offices and given to the contractor’s representative.
Action Item Tracking
-Site Survey – The on-site work has been complete. We are still waiting for the paperwork from the survey team.
-Site Clearing – UN MIL has completed the grading and site clearing of 5+ acres of the site.
-Road/bridge Improvements – UN MIL has improved and regarded the road to the site and also cleared and graded a new road for access to the site.
-Travel Documents – The CEO and Superintendent of Nimba have agreed to take care of and manage the transfer of the land documents.
-Schematic Design – The past several weeks AFH and UNICEF have redesigned the building to better meet the needs of a Child Friendly School.
-Site Fence – AFH has requested pricing from a local contractor for the installation of a perimeter fence to be installed around the 25-acre site. UNICEF Liberia will need the quote by Oct 30 to procure the funding should it be decided to move forward.
-Contractor Vetting – In order to generate a list of contractors for the project it would be best to make a short-list of the available/qualified contractors in the area. This requires an advertisement for a Request of Interest be put into the newspapers. Then after one or two weeks documents would be collected stating the contractor qualifications and financial ability to manage and complete the work. The Request of Interest can be written to include and describe the work for all projects throughout Liberia so that a short-list of contractors can be evaluated and used throughout the duration of the LAB4LAB initiative. As this will be a highly visual and public project it will be necessary to have very transparent means of selecting contractors so as to give no room for anyone to imply that local contractors are being treated unfairly.
Roadblocks
-Approval / Agreement of Schematic Design – A consensus should be reached on the schematic design layout of the campus prior to moving in further development and detailing of the structures.
-Land Acquisition – Pressure will need to be brought to bear on the government and Ministry of Education to move this forward with all due speed.
-Consultants – AFH will need to begin coordinating with consultants to adequately integrate the needs and functional requirements with each other, e.g. Iveneo will need certain area for electrical rooms, solar panels, cable trays, power usage, etc.
-Contractor Vetting – Vetting and shortlisting contractors will be necessary prior to bidding of construction.
LAB4LAB
Ganta, Liberia
October 29, 2008
Milestones Reached
-Site Clearing Complete
-Programming/Schematic Design Workshops
-Ministry of Education Ownership
Meetings Held
Sept 29, 2008 – UNICEF Liberia
The country office was brought up to date with the design and the site: The Bangladeshi are scheduled to begin site clearing between Oct 7-10. AFH has developed a Request of Interest document to advertise in the papers for qualified contractors. The responses will provide a list of contractors that can then be vetted and shortlisted for the bidding of the project. This will cost approximately $200 per day per newspaper. There are 3 newspapers and the project should be advertised for at least one week and two weeks would be preferred.
Sept 29, 2008 – Ministry of Education
Along with John Sumo, from UNICEF Liberia, I went to meet the Deputy Minister of Education and we presented the current design (prior to redesign) to the minister and staff. The Deputy already had all of the information on the initiative and focus of the program, yet we reviewed much of project again. We also discussed the necessity of the Ministry of Education recognizing that this is and will be a school for the Ministry of Education and not a UNICEF school. The Ministry of Education is trying to establish new standards for schools and one of their focuses is to incorporate teacher housing into new school compounds. The housing is an incentive to help pull in teachers from outside areas into the new communities. The MoE, let us take some pictures of the template designs for teacher housing.
Oct 2, 2008 – Site Clearing/Groundbreaking Ceremony
The UN MIL engineers because of scheduling with other worked changed the starting date of the site clearing. In several quick meetings the CEO was asked to meet with the locals neighboring the site to handle several outstanding issues. The CEO talked with the locals to make sure that the squatter on the site would be removed and that certain crops that would be lost because of site clearing would be for the greater good of the community and honorable sacrifices for the community members.
There was a small groundbreaking ceremony which was attending by the DEO, UN POL, UN MIL, Grace Elementary School and members of the community that donated the land.
Immediately following the ceremony, UN MIL began clearing the path from the main road to the site.
Oct 3, 2008 – Conference Call with UNICEF HQ and AFH
There was a conference call between UNICEF HQ and AFH to discuss how to establish a new design direction that was more closely in line with the ideas of the Child Friendly Schools Initiative. AFH was asked to produce some designs that clearly show the change that the CFS schools could help bring to the community. Additionally, AFH was tasked to complete a mapping exercise of Ganta. The survey of Ganta would help to find and analyze the best ways that the new school could best support the community by providing services that aren’t available or are not in close proximity.
Oct 4, 2008 – Interpeace Representative
I met with an Interpeace representative to gather information on the cost of providing a well and soil testing. Two days after, a representative from a well contracting company reviewed the site and then provided a quote on Oct 11.
Oct 6, 2008 – Conf. Call - Schematic Design and Mapping Exercise - UNICEF & AFH
AFH presented the mapping exercise and several new designs for UNICEF to review. The mapping exercise was reviewed and analyzed by the team. After some discussion it became apparent that two of the submitted schematic designs were to be given further development. The “Y” as well as the “super-roof” designs were to be developed.
Oct 8, 2008 – Conf. Call – Schematic Design Review – UNICEF & AFH
It was suggested that the function of the compound would function better if Main Hall was moved to the south and integrated into the Community Center. In addition there was some discussion about the location of and usage of the clinic facilities. It was suggested that the clinic could also have a mobile docking station that could be used for community outreach or would then travel to other LAB 4 LAB schools.
In addition there was some concern in bringing the administration building further south into the center of the “Y” to provide better oversight of the entire compound.
Oct 11, 2008 – Nigel Wakeham
I met with Nigel Wakeham, a British Architect consulting for the Ministry of Education. We discussed many of the issues that may concern projects in Western Africa. Nigel has been working in Western Africa for approximately 35 years. Nigel had some good material he provided concerning solar angles, latrine design and even a suggestion that used engine oil can be used to treat wood from termites.
Oct 13, 2008 – UNICEF Liberia
The status of the site clearing and some of the discussions involving the new design direction were discussed with the country office.
Oct 15, 2008- Site Review
I met the UN MIL engineers out on the site to review the work completed to date.
Oct 15, 2008 – Conf Call – Schematic Design Review – UNICEF & AFH
There was some concern that the “fluidity” of the previous sketches had been lost as the design had been progressing. It was requested that AFH try to recapture the “exciting edge” that was not as apparent as many of design constraints were becoming involved.
UNICEF also request that the radio station and the clinic not be adjacent to each other.
In the modifications to the program document it was requested that the classrooms all be enlarged from 600 to 800 sqft.
It was agreed that the location of the community center should be south of the administration building and be the first building that the public encounters upon entering the site. It was also stated that there should be a dance studio, woodworking shop and home economics teaching area.
Milestones Reached
Site has been surveyed.
Initial site plan completed.
Meetings Held
AFH has met with Major Mahbud at the Banbat base in Ganta to discuss the collaboration with UN MIL in clearing of the site. Later, after some discussion, the a contingent of UN MIL personnel were taken out to Gbluyee to view the site and get a general sense of the site and the scope of work they were being asked to perform. The Major was very open about his willingness to offer any support he was capable of with the caveat that the work would need to scheduled into his already tight schedule. AFH was lead to believe that the UN MIL engineers only required coordination and advanced notice of scheduling in order to complete the work.
AFH has begun to communicate with some of the local county representatives to help organize workshops with the local community. The CEO, George Wuo and the DEO, David Kehzie, have been contacted and will help to gather correct people that will be affected by the initiative. AFH will meet with David Kehzie to plan a meeting this week upon the return to Ganta.
UNICEF and AFH had a teleconference on Tuesday, September 2. In the meeting were Cream Wright, UNICEF; Amina Osman, UNICEF; Susan Ngongi, UNICEF; John Sumo, UNICEF; Joyce Engerbretsen, AFH and Joshua Palmer, AFH. Unfortunately because of technical difficulties the conference call was unable to address all of the issues that were to be discussed.
The meeting began with a discussion of the Talent Academies. Currently there are two Talent Academies planned for Liberia. The location of both was, as of yet, undecided. At least one will be located in Monrovia. If the other is not in Monrovia as well, it is thought that it could be located in Ganta. Separating the initial locations may have some political impact as the concentration will not be in any one city.
The Talent Academies, while not currently located, also need to have some formal decision on their focus or “talents" of each. UNICEF Liberia has been in contact with Super Bella who is going to handle the surveying and studies of the potential “talents”. Once the survey is complete, UNICEF will be able to more clearly prioritize te abilities and wants of the potential Talent Academy students.
It is around this point in the conference that John Sumo, Susan Ngongi and Joshua Palmer, were disconnected from the conversation. There were some additional points of interest that were brought up that are of note. First is the workload of designing the Talent Academies should be thought about beforehand to avoid critical overlapping with the Child Friendly School, in Ganta. It should be noted, that during design, the workload assumed by the architect/engineer follows a path similar to that of a mountain. The work steadily increases from the beginning of design until it climaxes at the submission of bid documentation. At this time, the workload decreases to an amount necessary to overlook the bidding process. After bidding, during Construction Administration, the work remains fairly steady, as the designer is providing oversight of the construction process.
We should be aware when discussing bringing in multiple projects on the amount of work that then becomes necessary and the timing of these projects. If the peaks of work are overlapped, it can be very difficult on the designer, but also inefficient because if the peaks are offset the designer is able to transition the workload from one project to the next.
Also discussed with John, Susan and Joshua was some of the initial budgetary and programmatic concerns of the LAB4LAB school. It has been agreed upon by all members that the budget will be targeted at $150,000 US for Phase I. This will include some of the electrical/mechanical needs of the school, but not the costs of other consultants such as Iveneo, who have been given their own budgets.
I have spoken with an agent for InterPeace, who is putting together information on budgets and gathering the technicians for soil testing and locating a well for the school.
Also, George Wou, the CEO, has planned a meeting with local principals and teachers for Tuesday, September 15. He informed me that we would ask David Kehzie to organize the meeting and he would also call the local radio to invite people from around the community. I will also be going with George Deemie, a local representative, to meet with tribal leaders, students and parents in the area around Gbluyee and Gbuyee this week.
Action Item Tracking
-Site Survey – The on-site work has been complete. We are still waiting for the paperwork from the survey team.
-Site Clearing – Brushing of the site is 85-90% complete.
-Site De-stumping – UN MIL has been contacted for the use of a bulldozer. AFH has contacted and met with the Major Mahbud of the UN MIL engineers. A site plan is required to clear site. There is a squatter on the site that must also be removed prior to de-stumping.
-Road/bridge Improvements – AFH has been facilitating the community and Ministry of Public Works to coordinate improvements in the roads leading to the site. The CEO has delivered a letter, prepared by AFH to the Ministry of Public Works. AFH has been in contact with local Ministry of Public Works engineer Mr. Vapone to discuss the improvements.
-Travel Documents – Signed by necessary community members, waiting to be attached to survey documentation.
-Program Delineation – The program has been discussed with UNICEF. The budget is to be $150,000 with one classroom per grade for grades 1st-9th. There will additionally be restrooms and administrative facilities totally approximately 5,500 sqft.
-Community Building Program Workshop – AFH has been in contact with the CEO, George Wuo and the DEO, David Kehzie to set up meetings with local teachers, parents, administration and students. The workshops will be useful in getting focus on the needs of the school and most importantly to draw in the community and help them to feel part of the process.
-Site Documentation – AFH has finished some additional surveying of the site and topography of the land. Site plans are currently being drawn to be given to the UN MIL for the site clearing.
-Schematic Design – Pending approved program by UNICEF and community.
Roadblocks
-Workshops – organization of workshops with a sufficient number of the community to provide ownership of the project.
-Construction Contract – AFH will need to contact either UNOPS, LCIP or another institution to attain proper legally binding contracts for the construction with sufficient time to modify them as necessary for this project.
Milestones Reached
The site has been surveyed and is currently being cleared.
Meetings Held
There have been no meetings of import in the past week except for the bi-monthly update meeting with UNICEF Liberia. Much of the meeting with UNICEF Liberia dealt with the coordination of program and budget. The local office was unwilling to make direct decisions as to either. They would appreciate following the lead of UNICEF HQ. The meeting was unable to resolve any conclusive results for the budget or the program of the school.
AFH has written a draft letter for UNICEF Liberia to forward onto UN MIL for the requisition of a bulldozer for clearing the site. AFH has also written a draft letter for the County Education Officer as he requests the assistance of the Ministry of Public Works to improve the road and bridge leading to the site.
Action Item Tracking
-Site Survey – The on-site work has been complete. We are still waiting for the paperwork from the survey team.
-Site Clearing – Brushing of the site is 85-90% complete.
-Site De-stumping – UN MIL has been contacted for the use of a bulldozer. AFH will contact and help coordinate.
-Road/bridge Improvements – AFH has been facilitating the community and Ministry of Public Works to coordinate improvements in the roads leading to the site.
-Travel Documents – Signed by necessary community members, waiting to be attached to survey documentation.
-Program Delineation – Overdue – The completion of the program has already impacted the schedule by almost a month. The rooms and space program for this phase of project needs to be established before design can begin. UNICEF has a budget and a project typology that should come into alignment prior to meeting with the community members.
-Community Building Program Workshop – Pending establishment of scope of project program. It will cause confusion to have these meetings prior to an established scope. Once a workshop is held with the community they will feel an attachment to the work and can possibly feel a sense loss if portions of the project are to be removed for any reason later.
-Site Documentation – AFH has purchased some equipment to begin documenting the site conditions. The verification of conditions on and around the site will begin this week (Aug. 11 – 15).
-Schematic Design – Pending approved program by UNICEF and community.
Roadblocks
The main roadblock at this point in time is the clear definition of the LAB4LAB schools program and budget. Without a clear definition, the community has already begun making their own assumptions of what this school will be.
Milestones Reached
The first milestone of acquiring the land is within days of formally being complete. The community members and land owners have all signed the Travel Document to transfer ownership of the property. The survey of the property boundaries has been complete. The documentation of the survey will take a couple days to attain and will be the last portion of paperwork needed to transfer full ownership of the site at this point in time.
Meetings Held
There has been a flurry of meetings in the past couple weeks with regards to the acquisition of a survey team and the establishment of a community mobilization committee to supervise the clearing of the site. At the first site visit with John Sumo, UNICEF; George Zayzay, UNOPS; Emmah Konnah, Commissioner; Noha Ensonnen, Mayor; George Wuo, County Education Officer; and other community members, Architecture for Humanity was told that the survey and travel documents would be completed within a week. This was on July 18, 2008.
After several weeks had transpired with no further information, myself and a couple members of the community began to investigate the schedule of the land transfer. The community, seeking a cost efficient method of surveying the land, requested the help of the Norwegian Refugee Council to survey the land.
I went with George Deemie, a community representative to meet with Mr. Flumo at the NRC to gather some more information. Mr. Flumo told us that they expected to have the survey documents completed sometime near the end of August. The NRC was being brought in to help settle a land dispute for a 100 acre parcel of land that the 25 acres for this project was to be taken out of. The dispute was not over the portion being taken for the school. The NRC was working to resolve the larger portion before turning their attention to designating the school site. I related to the community members that we could not keep waiting to get ownership of the land and hope to maintain our schedule. Without ownership of the site or specific site boundaries we would very limited in our ability to correctly clear the site and to locate the school structures on the site. If one week had turned into one month, the land needed to be resolved to ensure the land acquisition did not drag out further.
In a meeting on Friday, August 1st, with the Commissioner and several community representatives (this refers to a group of individuals designated by the community authorities to assist in this project and typically includes Saye Yarkpah, Prince Suah and George Deemie), we discussed how to expedite the land survey and the clearing of the site. It was decided that the clearing of the site would be necessary for the school at some point in time and would be most beneficial if it could happen soon so as to provide a clearer understanding of the site and to locate the school buildings. It became apparent from discussions with the community that they were unable to fund the clearing of the site or a survey team, thus why the NRC had previously been recruited for the work. I was unwilling to commit UNICEF to any money without consent, but asked for the community to establish budgeting for the surveying and clearing which I would then take to UNICEF when I met with them Monday, August 4th. After talking to the survey team and the establishment of the tools and labor required for the clearing, two budgets were defined by the community. $4,000 was requested for the surveying of the land, including travel, food and some minor site clearing of paths through the bush. $3,445 was requested for the clearing of the site, a breakdown of materials and labor costs was submitted.
On Monday, August 4th I met with Stella Kaabwe at the UNICEF offices to discuss recapitulate the proceeding, and to decide how to move forward. It was concluded, that UNICEF would cover the costs of the site survey and site clearing in order that the project would progress. UNICEF required that the community establish a committee for the delivery of funds. The community representatives, mentioned above, established a Mobilization Committee and sent official requests to UNICEF for the surveying and site clearing costs. To ensure the immediate delivery of funds I waited in Monrovia until Wednesday when UNICEF had the necessary paperwork completed and had the funding ready.
As a side note, the community members had some slight difficulty with fully accepting and trusting one another with authority of the money once on site. We may need to discuss how to handle the transfer of money, so as to alleviate any perception of improprieties or dissent in the future. This was not a large problem, but one that could increase exponentially as the amount of money increases. One suggestion, given by a member of the community, was to have AFH establish a bank account specifically for project funds that UNICEF could deposit directly into. AFH would then monitor the distribution of money and collect receipts as work progressed. As a third party, AFH may have the ability to stand outside some of the local politics and distribute funding more efficiently.
I have also been in contact with Major Zahid of the UN Peacekeeping forces stationed in Ganta to request the use of the UN MIL bulldozer to remove the stumps on site. The Major has directed me to the Force Engineer Colonel Siddique based in Monrovia, as he is the supervisor bulldozer that we would be able to attain. I have worked in coordination with UNICEF Liberia to draft a letter to Colonel Siddique requesting his assistance. The letter has also requested the widening of the main road to the site and the clearing of the path from the main road to the site. The Commissioner said that she will get in contact with the local engineer for the Ministry of Public Works to have his additional approval for the road clearing.
Action Item Tracking
-Survey of Site – Complete, waiting on final paperwork.
-Site Clearing – In progress.
-Travel Documents – Signed by necessary community members, waiting to be attached to survey documentation.
-Program Delineation – Overdue – The completion of the program has already impacted the schedule by almost a month. The rooms and space program for this phase of project needs to be established before design can begin. UNICEF has a budget and a project typology that should come into alignment prior to meeting with the community members.
-Community Building Program Workshop – Pending establishment of scope of project program. It will cause confusion to have these meetings prior to an established scope. Once a workshop is held with the community they will feel an attachment to the work and can possibly feel a sense loss if portions of the project are to be removed for any reason later.
-Site Documentation – AFH has purchased some equipment to begin documenting the site conditions. The verification of conditions on and around the site will begin this week (Aug. 11 – 15).
-Schematic Design – Pending approved program by UNICEF and community.
Roadblocks
The main roadblock at this point in time is the clear definition of the LAB4LAB schools. Without a clear definition, the community has already begun making their own assumptions of what this school will be. I have already heard everything from an International School, to Vocational School, to a High School complete with a gymnasium. Once the program is established we can stop the rumors and begin to cultivate a cohesive image of what we are bringing to the people of Ganta.
Well, I have officially been in Liberia for one week now! It has been an adventure to this point. Already I have gotten to see a beautiful country with many fascinating sights and people.
Tuesday, I met with the local UNICEF staff. John Sumo, Education Specialist, was my main point of contact. He was able to outline the schedule for the next week, introduce me to the rest of the staff, including the Security Officer, Pierre (who managed to tell me every horrible story imaginable). Pierre also had me take the Advance Security program and test. The test described a range of information from where to place a camp site to sexual harassment to the difference between UHF, VHF and HF to whether or not a ballistics blanket will keep you safe from an anti-tank mine (no, it won’t).
John Sumo later that day provided me with an initial program for the building which had been compiled by the local UNICEF staff. The program and scope may still need to be clarified and hashed out before it will be complete. Currently, the scope of work includes a primary and secondary school (elementary/middle school), with administrative offices, restroom facilities and outdoor recess/athletic
t. They later mentioned that many people and organizations have come to assess Ganta before for schools and many have left without any sort of implementation. This has left the city leadership with bad taste for big hopes without the action to back it up. I explained that the reason I will be stationed here to do everything in the power of Architecture for Humanity and UNICEF to see that this project happens and can be something they can be proud of for a very long time.
After several more minutes of introduction, I was told by one of the members of the school leadership that they would be sure that by the time I left with a Liberian wife on my arm. The mood from that point on was very jovial and heartwarming. The commissioner has since decided to call me her son-in-law at every point. I am very pleased with the relationships that have already begun here. I did not expect to have such laughter and joking so quickly. I have also been teased a bit by the locals as I am still trying to get a hang of the handshake. It is a typical handshake, but then each person grabs the middle finger of the other and snaps. If they are being friendly there are added steps added. My snap could use a little help still.
Thursday was spent going out to visit the site for the school. The site is located directly south of town in an area called Buyee. Along the way we picked up the traditional owner of the property (indigenous leader). He was a remarkable man for his conviction to see his land used for the development of his country. He was kind enough to tell us where is conviction for development stems from. Some years ago, before the conflicts and civil wars, his grandfather wanted to see the improvement of his country and community and had given the land to be used as an airport/landing strip. For unknown reasons to me, an airstrip was never carved out an the land and it has sat dormant ever since. His grandfather’s dream of helping the development of his country had failed and his grandfather has no passed away several years ago. Because of the wishes of his family and all that his grandfather had gone through for the land the owner said that he would proudly give the land even to the point that it meant his own death. Though I needed a bit of translation to understand him, I was still struck by the power of that level conviction and by how infrequent one finds it in people.
The land itself is mostly bush and stretches to the St. John’s River, which is the border with Guinea. The total area of the land being given for this and the future project phases is approximately 25 acres. The town said that they would be able to get a Travel Document and survey of the land within a week (July 24th) in order to procure the site.
The site is somewhat flat, but has some gradual level changes that will definitely effect the placement of the buildings and athletic fields. The land, except for a small football (soccer) field is nearly all bush and trees. This will be very difficult to clear without mechanical means. It was mentioned that the locals may be able to de-stump the trees and larger plants, but it may take some time and effort to complete. A possible solution was to ask the local UN peacekeepers for the use of their bulldozer to clear any area that was necessary. I do not think the entire area should be cleared immediately; primarily because it will be an added expense and time constraint that will not be needed. In addition there are several larger trees on the land that may be worth working around. A entirely clear site may be nice, but why tear down a tree 30 years old to plant saplings around the school. Leave the old tree and plant new ones that will hopefully mature before the old tree dies.
While in Ganta I have been put in contact with several local contractors with whom I plan to meet with in the coming days. I will use their local expertise to find the most efficient use of local materials and acquisition that will provide the Child Friendly School with a great facility. Ideally most of this information can be gathered within the next couple of weeks.
During a conversation with UNICEF personnel here in Ganta and a local contractor an issue was brought up that requires attention or should at least be in our minds moving forward. It seems that most contractors here in Liberia are unable to prefinance construction. Many contractors require money upfront to purchase materials and pay laborers. This has evidently led to issues with some contractors taking the money and not finishing the work, as they have no further incentive once the money exchanges hands. In the discussion the contractors can become unconcerned with quality of construction or schedule with this method. Sadly though, as I found out a few days later at UNICEF in Monrovia, this can kill a project even before construction begins.
Anthony, an expatriate with the Ministry of Education described this past Monday that the ministry recently tried to build several schools without success. They had pre-qualified the contractors and even stipulated that they would be required to pre-finance the project. Later, after bidding the final three contractors all refused to prefinance which ended up killing the project. In order to keep from this happening to the Child Friendly Schools, it may be necessary to make the qualified contractors get a Bid Bond or some proof of ability to acquire a loan prior to bidding.
I have met with a fantastic expatriate couple here in Monrovia, Graham and Heather Farbrother, who both work in construction. Graham is currently working with PAE, the firm overseeing the reconstruction of the military, as an architect. Heather works with LCIP and has been handling a lot of infrastructure and construction in Liberia. They have been in country for approximately a year and a half now. Their time here has given them experience pre-qualifying contractors, advertising for bids and general construction which will be a valuable resource as this project proceeds.
After eating some American pancakes and Turkish coffee – freaking great breakfast, thanks guys!- the Farbrother’s helped impart me some additional knowledge. Heather said that while PV panels can be very useful in the rural areas, they also may not always get the level of charge needed to supply the school. During the rainy season, at least 5 months a year, the sky is generally overcast, which will be deleterious to the potential gain of solar energy. One way to see this is accounted for would be to add additional PV panels, which may be problematic as well because of the high cost of solar panels. Another problem which may affect the functioning of the panels is the harmitan, a wind from eastern Africa th
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Time has been flying the past couple weeks as we have been pushing to put together a "DD Package". I have totally lost track of the days. Last week, Graham Farbrother and Heather Robertson, were kind enough to let me spend the week with them in Monrovia. Being in Monrovia was beneficial as I can use the UNICEF offices and get many more hours in a day of electricity and internet.
The DD package, was sent out yesterday officially and has a lot of valuable work in it. The campus has been modified just enough to increase the interconnectedness of the buildings and to add some distinction between the school buildings and the community building. The real work has been in getting the building plans working in elevation and section. In our investigations into the sections we may have figured out a way to turn lemons in lemonade. There has been a lot of concern over how much heat can be generated by the typical corrugated metal roofing. We in turn are using that heat buildup to help pull air out of the building.
While we have been pulling together the DD package, I have gotten in touch with a couple of local people who can provide some help to the project. Augustus Caesar, the president of the chamber of architects in Monrovia, has generously offered his help in grabbing some local engineers and other people to help provide some accurate cost estimating. Gus, has a lot of valuable experience working as an architect in Liberia and also walked me through exactly what we will need to do as we submit drawings to the Ministry of Public Works for review. A letter from UNICEF or the Ministry of Education will hopefully expedite the process. It is likely to cost around $.15/sqft for the review as well. Typically, it takes about a month for the review, thankfully this can be done concurrently with the bidding of the documents.
I was fairly busy while in Monrovia, but I also had the chance to be connected with Benjamin Mantranga, with the Soros Foundation. It seems the Soros Foundation is beginning an initiative to help guarantee construction loans, to help contractors secure pre-financing. Pre-financing is a big concern with a lot of construction here in Liberia as many contractors do not have the capitol on hand or the credit to finance even 30% of a project. Without pre-financing contractors are severely limited in the projects they can undertake. In turn, with few contractors able to acquire financing many are forced to cut corners or bid on projects they are unable to construct. There have been many issues that have stemmed from this problem, even leaving some government programs without the ability to contract work. I am looking forward with meeting with Benjamin next weekend to discuss some of the technicalities involved and how best we can approach the project with this background knowledge.
Since, the last update there has been addition to the team, Finley Pitt. I have yet to meet her in person, but so far, I must say she has been a valuable asset to the team. I am looking forward to arriving in Liberia in the next week or so, so that I can introduce her to the community and get her up and running before I take a small break to visit my family. I’m sure Finley is going to love learning how to speak Mano and how to eat Geebee. It’s going to be great!
With Finley on the ground, and once we receive comments on the DD package, we will really be able to move quickly on the project. To help expedite the project even further, we have been discussing fast-tracking the project, splitting it into separate bid packages. Fast-tracking can definitely speed up a project, but it also requires some good foresight, and quality project management to make sure the packages run smoothly. Finley and I have our work cut out for us for a while. It will be great to see the construction begin, I can’t wait.