TESS

Shalom is situated in Kapir parish in the centre of Teso, exactly half way between Kumi and Soroti on the main road through Teso which is being improved as it is part of the “Great North Road” running through Africa from Cape Town to Cairo. Land has been given by the Anglican Diocese of Kumi next to Atiira Primary School. It is a flat site with some mature trees and large rocks, all of which will be retained. The existing small church will be incorporated into the school.

The school is being designed for free by the brilliant German architect, Marion Regitko, who is the founder and Director of Buildings for Human Development (www.bhdinternational.org), to provide an inspiring living and learning environment. The overall plan for the site is laid out in the form of a flower. The buildings are designed to reflect traditional styles of building and the layout will help develop a sense of community centred around the community church and central green which has already been marked out and planted with flowering and fruiting trees. Classrooms of irregular shapes and gently curving walls will each be unique and are designed to encourage participative teaching methods. The illusion of ‘floating’ roofs will keep all the buildings cool.

Phases
The building work has been divided into phases. Each phase, when completed, will form a viable institution which can function while funds continue to be raised for subsequent phases. We aim to complete the whole school by 2020 - if funds can be raised fast enough.

The building of the first phase has already started next to Atiira Primary School, to provide some staff housing, accommodation for builders and volunteers and a temporary clinic until the larger community health centre is built in a later phase.

Phase 1 is a small phase being supervised from August to the end of November 2011 by continuous teams of engineers from EFOD in Wales (http://www.efod.co.uk). They are training teams in Teso in the new skills and alternative technologies being used who will then continue building subsequent phases. This will enable us to trial the new methods and technologies as well as cost subsequent phases more accurately.

Fundraising is in progress for Phase 2a, which is due to start in December as soon as Phase 1 is completed – providing we have enough money. It is very important that there is no break between completing Phase 1 and starting Phase 2a. Any delay would cost money and lower morale, as well as make it impossible to take the first students in 2013 (the academic year in Uganda starts in February).

Phase 1 is costing about £56,000 to build and furnish. It includes:

• installing guttering and tanks on the existing church and some of the classrooms at Atiira Primary School to collect water for building purposes
• two sets of semi-detached family houses, one of which will be used temporarily as a community clinic
• a guest house with five en-suite twin rooms, a lounge and kitchen for volunteers, builders and engineers to use initially, with furnishings
• setting up the first income-generating projects

Recoverable costs for completing Phase 2a are £400,000. This includes:

• tailoring workshop and storeroom, to be partitioned for professionals and students
• carpentry workshop and storeroom, to be partitioned for professionals and students
• bricklaying and brickmaking workshop and storeroom, to be partitioned for professionals and students
• part of school kitchens + storerooms (can also be used for catering training)
• multi-purpose hall (half of the proposed dining hall)
• two classrooms for vocational students
• compostable toilets for classrooms and workshops
• 12 dormitories for 96 students plus bathrooms and toilets connected to bio-gas system
• eight three-bedroomed houses for staff
• four offices/staff facilities
• furnishings and equipment throughout
• development administration costs
• staff costs for two years
• running costs for two years until the first vocational unit becomes self-sustaining

Image of some of the workshops (left) and vocational training classrooms (right)

Image of how the Health Centre (right) will look

Aerial view’ of the planned layout, showing blocks of buildings