Posts Tagged ‘Building the St. Clare Centre’
Our engineer, Mr Mbogo, sends the following progress report. We are getting there! 
Exterior Walls- Painting 99% Complete
Courtyard (Gathering Space) 95% complete
Podium – 95% Complete
Compound – 60% Complete
Matron Rooms- 100% Complete
In addition: Perimeter Wall -100% Complete - Septic Tank/Water Treatment Plant- 100% complete - Rehabilitation of 1st Floor Sanitation- 100% Complete - 2nd Floor Sanitation- 100% Complete
We need to take the fence down.
We can do it! 
Can we get the tank up? Oh yes we can!
Roll it out! 
Keep it rolling! 
We’ll just roll it up the ladder! 
Oh! Oh! The ladder broke. 
Andrew (in yellow hat) to the rescue 
Up, up! 
Almost there…..
One more good tug! 
A little more……
WE GOT IT! 
The septic tank and pipes are in place to carry waste water from the building to the tank where it will be processed into grey water. However, the grey water must go somewhere and that is the next challenge. With Sister Kathryn supervising the construction of the drainage into two different fields and Mr. Steven A. Bennet from Texas generously donating the funds for the project, the septic system is well on the road to completion.
The first step involves connecting a holding tank for the grey water. You must remember that EVERYTHING in Kenya is done using manual labor. The photos below reveal the tremendous effort needed to raise this huge tank to the top of the platform. From this elevated position, the grey water will be carried by gravity to the drainage fields and supply nutrient rich water to the fields which supply much of the food for St. Clare.
Our next posting will be a photo collage (with comments) of the work it took to get the holding tank in place.
Concerned with for the safety of the girls, Fr. Riwa took action two years ago. At that time, he constructed a ten foot stone wall across the front of the St. Clare compound and along one side. This is because there are busy public roads which pass that way. However, Father did not have the money to complete the wall around the back and far side of the St. Clare compound.
But there is good news! Work to complete the perimeter wall around the back and side has begun due to increased violence in the area and in Kenya. With national elections only a few months away, people are becoming more and more agitated. Recently, several young men came onto the property to steal mangoes. Fortunately, Sergeant Susan, a police officer assigned to St. Clare, apprehended them and they were arrested. This action made it clear that the perimeter wall needed to be completed. A recent donation has made this possible, so “safety is just a few stone blocks away!”
Mr. Mgobo, the chief engineer in charge of the building at St. Clare Centre, has sent the following report regarding the ongoing construction at St. Clare. Two postings (work on the septic system and work on the perimeter wall) will appear in upcoming posts.
ST. CLARE COMPOUND~
- Graveling work complete.
- Maaram work complete.
- Reinforcement materials delivered.
- Ballast, sand and cement delivery in progress.
- Concrete work scheduled to start on 14 April 2012.
GROUND FLOOR ~
- Tiling work going on- 5 classrooms tiled.
- Sanitation drainage being improved.
2nd FLOOR SANITATION~
- Drainage system 99% complete.
- Drainpipes added per recommendations.
- Scheduled to be commissioned April 2012.
- Remaining incomplete roof being worked on.
TOP FLOOR~
- Tiling complete.
- Toilet and bathroom drainage complete.
- Working on procurement of rubber paint.
- Cloth lines to be put up on April 28-2012.
- Fresh water pipes installed.
Science education and a good background in science are vital for the girls at the St. Clare Center. In order to make this happen, the Adrian Sisters at St. Clare requested funds from a donor so that science labs could be built. These labs will allow science to become an integral part of St. Clare’s curriculum and provide the girls with the educational opportunities they need to pursue higher education and future careers. Next door to St. Clare is the parish health dispensary, which contains several unused rooms. 
These rooms are in the process of being refurbished so that they can be converted into the site for the science labs. 
The new year presents a new challenge. Since 2004 the focus has been on constructing a building. Now that the building is almost complete, for the first time the focus is on acquiring a sponsor for each child. At this time we have 103 sponsors for 340 girls, presenting us a new challenge for 2012, a challenge we hope you will accept with us.
As we close 2011, we are most grateful to all our donors who have make St. Clare possible. We are especially grateful to all the wonderful donors who responded to our Famine Relief Fund and provided food for the children at St. Clare.
We enter 2012 with confidence, knowing you are walking this mission with us.
We wish you a year of grace, peace and health.
Bud and Sue Ozar
SINKS, TOILETS AND BASINS are reason to celebrate at St. Clare. The main lavatory is quickly coming to completion and will 
be ready for use when the new septic system is up and running.
This was made possible by the generosity of many wonderful people around the world such as Mrs. Marianne Bruchmayer in Germany who donated a majority of the funds to start the project.
This is a great step forward for the children at St. Clare. Up to now they have depended on an outside faucet outside as the place to wash each day. This new facility will allow them to wash in privacy and totally.
Sr. Kathryn reports: “In the Sanitation Block the metal doors are all completed and hung, toilets are installed, pipes for showers are installed, lavatories are all installed, overhead lights are
installed, walls are plastered. What remains is to set in place floor drains in each of the three sections. slant the floors as they are sealed and readied for tile and then finally the tile work on the walls and floors.”
The last step is to install the tiles on the floor and walls.
It is not a “thing of beauty” but it is beautiful to see the huge septic tank being filled in, shovel by shovel. It took two months of 26 people working all day to create the hole. It partially filled-in when there was a collapse on one side, but fortunately it was lunch time and no one was in the hole.
Now the tank is completed with special waterproof plaster on the inside and outside and it is time to bury the tank. What a beautiful sight. 
Now we only need to install the processing pumps and pipes to bring the grey water to the drainage field and we can call it a success.
ABOUT
In Meru, Kenya, thousands of orphans and abandoned children live in unspeakable conditions on the streets, the victims of gross poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. THE FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS is a nonprofit organization formed to assist The Children’s Village in improving the lives of these children.
The Children’s Village is the inspiration of Fr. Francis Limo Riwa who in 1999 began to rescue orphaned and abandoned street children. Today the Children’s Village is home, family and school to more than 750 children, living on two campuses: the St. Clare Girls’ Centre and St. Francis Boys’ Home.
FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS is committed to rescuing, housing, feeding and educating these abandoned orphans. Learn how you can support this effort.