September 2020

16 Buckden Roundabout September 2020 African orphanage An Orphanage School in Africa by Keith Lawrence, Buckden resident Parts 1 and 2 were published in the on - line August edition of the Buckden Roundabout. Go here to read them: https://tinyurl.com/yy6q4vue Part 3. Visiting the site After breakfast we set off on foot to walk down the mountain to the proposed construction site. With me were Samwel and his brother Kennedy. Kenne- dy was carrying a big strong stick. “ What ’ s the stick for? ” I asked. “ For your protection ” an- swered Kennedy. OK I thought. Let ’ s hope we won ’ t need it. The path was long, steep and very rocky. Walking down it was surprisingly tricky, but after about an hour or so we arrived safely at the bottom, hav- ing met no dangerous animals, human or other- wise. A short walk along the road and we entered the site. Kennedy hung on to his big stick. My objectives on this first site visit were: • To meet Samwel, and get to know him and his needs for the school • To evaluate the site and consider its characteristics in terms of ground conditions, drainage, gradients, acces- sibility etc • To evaluate local resources in terms of man - power skills, materials availability, etc. Getting men and mate- rials to the site could be a problem. I was reasonably satisfied with the site, which is accessible from the island ’ s ring road. The section of road from the ferry terminal to the site, although unsurfaced, did seem to be rea- sonably firm and level, and not a serious challenge to an off - road 4 wheel drive vehicle. I was later to discover how bad this road can be after heavy rain. It turns into a sloshy slippery quagmire of mud. But still just about passable on a motor bike or by 4WD. The site climbs gently up - hill away from the lake. Good for site drainage, so that ’ s OK. Years of heavy rain have turned a cen- tral downhill strip of the site into a drainage valley. A lot of water can be expected to come off the mountain, so it was useful that the site was essentially already self - draining. The rest of the site seemed rocky and stony, and not representing any problem for foundations of low rise, light weight, construc- tion. Just keep off the drainage zone I told myself. The site had not been properly surveyed, so Samwel arranged for this to be done, and also for a couple of trial pits. These confirmed the well compacted nature of the rocky, stony, con- dition of most of the site. I met the young and talented Daniel that same day, and we went, with Sam, for a cool drink at the nearby Beach Club. Dan- iel impressed me with his knowledge of building construction, and I felt reasonably happy about the availability of man - power skills. (Continued on page 17) With Kennedy, Sam ’ s brother, on the way down the rocky path from the top of the mountain with his big stick Entry into the site. Steep and rocky at the entrance In the dry After heavy rain The main road (Ring Road) adjoining the site