Archive for October, 2018
19 October 2018
This is Why We Love Rotary!
A school building isn’t much use without desks and chairs in it. A lot of Australian schools buy new school furniture and are looking to do something with their old ones. Where they can Rotary collect this furniture, store it and then find funding to ship it in containers to places in the world that desperately need it. Belola School is the lucky recipient this time. These 2 huge shipping containers arrived in Belola this week – having travelled all the way from Australia and then on 3 hours of bad roads from Dili. They are packed full of desks and chairs for Belola’s new classrooms – as well as a whole playground which will be reassembled shortly. We’d like to say a huge thank you to David Dippie and the many others who helped make this possible.
 
17 October 2018
Announcing our Next Project
We like to build schools in remote locations, but Railuli school is remote even by Spend it Well standards. It is an hour’s hard 4WD out of Balibo – only 5km from the Indonesian border and feels like a place that the world has forgotten. When the Indonesians left in 1999 they stripped the old school of everything they could use and burnt what was left to the ground. The villagers have built a tin roofed, dirt floored hut for their kids which has no toilets or running water. Everyone who has visited Railuli is blown away by the organisation and determination of the teaching. The school is well organised and there is good quality work on the blackboard and posters on the walls (very unusual in places this remote). We have a great builder working with us at the moment which is the only way we can do a project this remote – and Agostinho and Napo to manage the process for us. We’re worried that if we don’t move quickly on this project and lose the builder to another project then we might not be able to help these kids. It’s going to cost USD68,000 to build a 3 classroom, 3 toilet school that will last generations and to bring the water 1.5km from the nearest spring (Project Budget Summary at Railuli School Building Cost). So we’re raising the money now. We’d love your support in any amount – tax deductible donations can be made through the website 100% of which will go directly to building Railuli School as all costs other than the building cost are funded separately. Just look at those beautiful clean school uniforms – in a place with no running water. Railuli is trying so hard to educate their kids, how great if we can give them a hand.
Thanks Kris
     
07 October 2018
Agostinho and Napo
Schools don’t get built in remote areas of East Timor without a lot of work. The unsung heroes of our Belola School project are Agostinho and Napo, our father and son project management team. They finalised the plans for the school, negotiated the contract and the price and liased with the Timor Ministry of Education. During the construction they made the overnight trip to Belola from Dili time after time to check on progress and quality and to report back to us with photos. They have delivered a school of fantastic quality for a good price. Belola School wouldn’t be there without them and we are incredibly grateful for all that they’ve done.
 
06 October 2018
Belola School is Finished!
I’m delighted to be able to say that Belola School with its 3 classrooms, kitchen and 5 toilets is finished – on time and on budget. This means the 150 children from Prep to Year 2 of Belola village who were walking 5km to and from school each day (while carrying a 5 litre container of water) – or in many cases not going at all, now have a school. I can’t wait to see the school with the children in it. This school is the result of a great collaboration between Belola House Trust, Rotary and Spend it Well’s donors. A huge thank you to all of our donors who contributed to make this possible. Kris
  
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