Up! Up! And away…

March 9th at 9pm I will fly out and the mission will begin. As a case study for finishing my diploma at FAUP (Porto Architectural School), I've decided to volunteer and join A4A (Architects for Aid) in one of their humanitarian architecture projects. The projected on which I've been assigned is the construction of the LCCU (Lesotho Children Counseling Unit) centre in Lesotho. The building has been halted and an assessment, survey and new proposal and program will be drawn up in order that the building might finish to be built. Once this is completed a second trip will be organized and I'll be overseeing the building on site. The objective of this blog is to keep record of the work that is being done, both for the benefit of the members of A4A in London, FAUP to whom I'll also be reporting, my own record as well as friends and family that might want to know what I'm up to. Please comment on any post that you have an opinion, as this will undoubtedly help me in the completion of my thesis. Disclaimer: The information displayed on this site has not been previously edited or checked by any A4A staff and I'm the sole responsible for it's contents. A4A or any of the other involved organizations are not to be hold responsible on any account for what is published on this blog.

Tuesday 13 November 2007

Up in smoke

If God exists he must be a mean little being!

Two fires in less than a year and this time it was at the new LCCU! Everyone is OK, it’s just material damages but still we were so close…

Block A is almost intact, the roof did catch fire but it was possible to control it in time. Thank you to the Moshoeshoe 1 airport fire brigade for replying to our call for help!

But Block B is all burnt down. The plumber was welding some pipes when the fire ignited. Accidents happen to all but it is just so unlucky that it happened now. I guess it’s better now than with kids in the building but still we were nearly there…

Time now to assess and regroup and decide what to do, who knows this second time around the fenix will be reborn quicker!

God probably just doesn’t really care about the ones that work hard and suffer… or maybe he’s busy with something else, but then again I’m not a believer!

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pedro,
I have been reading your blog for quite awhile. We visited Lydia and the kids last March. When the 1st house burned we wired over money from the states. I am considering a return trip after the 1st of the year. Can you help me with understanding the damages now so that I can convey that to supporters? Thanks.
Mike Kruger

18 November 2007 at 04:37
Pedro Clarke said...

Mike,

Thank you for your contact. I'm very happy that the blog has actually served its purpose.
The damages to the building were not as bad as I had originally thought. The structure was not affected and that is great news.

However there has been damage to all the render on the walls as well as the screeds on the floors and the pipes and tubes that were inside the walls and floors.

I believe that this will set us back a couple of months and any help we can get is always welcome although I would prefer to discuss these matters privately.

Please send me an email (pck.clarke@gmail.com) or post yours so that we can continue this discussion.

Thanks for caring

Pedro

19 November 2007 at 01:00

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