Philippines Disaster Relief - Monthly Report February 2014
This month saw our volunteers split into two separate groups in order to make headway on our next project
in Anunong Norte elementary (School IV) to divide the workload and tasks evenly among everyone. The
Anunong Norte is a school similar to size to that of Bung-aw. However it is even more remotely located at
12km from Bogo City centre. The school has also been very badly damaged by Typhoon Yolanda and
Projects Abroad volunteers aim to completely rebuild two of the larger halls which will then join on to the
H.E room.
Progress is still being made at the Bung-Aw Elementary School with the volunteers renovating the second
classroom. The sun also reappeared, heating things up, but also allowing for much needed roofing work to
be completed without disruption. This improved weather also makes it easier to hold more outdoor
activities with the children, which they thoroughly enjoy.
Bung- Aw Elementry Group
Renovation & Building Work
Volunteers have helped put in all of the concrete
pillars, and supports have been completed on the
last room so the temporary plywood fixtures are
no longer needed. Here our volunteers have
begun laying down the halo blocks and building
up the walls for the classroom. At the moment,
alongside the local carpenters, they have been
making more scaffolding in order to fully
complete the walls and are also building the
wooden frames before in preparation for fitting
the windows.
The volunteers have also been repairing the
toilets or 'Comfort Rooms' as they are referred to
here and have successfully finished the project!
Volunteers have thrown themselves at the task of
resealing all of the CR (Comfort Rooms) around
the back of the building. This included fixing up the walls, filing in any cracks or holes with extra blocks and
also giving the rooms a smoothened finish. After finishing the cement and brickwork on the CRs, the
volunteers then gave them one coat of primer and two coats of paint. The Comfort Rooms are ready to use
and look brand new! This has been a great success
this month.
There has been a lot of painting this month.
Volunteers have focused around the back of the
school, the volunteers finished painting the walls
which had been resealed with cement as well as
those which were rebuilt with metal sheets, in
keeping with the buildings original structure.
The roofing of the first room has now been fully
completed. Fully sheltered from both the rain and
heat it is now suitable for the children in grade
three to temporarily resume their classes, before
our volunteers start work on the ceiling. Our local
tradesman has begun welding together the beams
for the roofing on the final classroom. Here the volunteers have been able to assist him in preparing the
beams as he works. One this has been set up and secured, we can then move on to placing the metal sheets
in place for the roofing.
Stage
The volunteers have begun helping the local carpenters with starting work on the stage area. Graduation is
soon approaching at Bung-Aw elementary and we aim to have the stage completed as part of the work here
in the school. They have cleared the area in order to begin building and also helped set up the supports for
the roof and back wall. The volunteers aim to start work on the next wall whilst continuing work on the
stage.
The volunteers used the same methods they learnt from building the classroom walls. First they bound new
wire rods together with the remains of the previous structure. After setting up the foundations they began
to pile the halo blocks for the walls and bound them together with cement. For the resealing of the support
fixtures, these were first bound using both coconut lumber and plywood, before being filled with buckets of
cement and left to dry. Once this has dried fully, the volunteers can continue to build the walls to the height
of the roof before removing the temporary plywood fixture and smoothing out the walls.
Teaching
This month our volunteers who are teaching taught the children Zumba! All the children were taught Zumba
as part of their daily lessons. They followed her lead and together they formed a mini dance routine to
Shakira’s ‘’Waka Waka’’. At the end of the week all the children from each class in the school performed
together along with the other volunteers. They absolutely loved it and even the teachers joined in too!
The Anunong Norte Elementry School
In its early stages, and although some clearing had
been done by our volunteers here just before
Christmas, much dismantling work remained. Here
the volunteers cleared any remaining debris as well
as completely demolishing and removing the broken
down concrete walls and rubble. Since then
volunteers have been working hard painting and
working alongside skilled local workers on the roof
and walls.
Painting
Here they began adding primer to, and painted the
metal beams and bars that will soon serve as
supports for the roof. The volunteers picked up from
where they left off last week as they applied primer to all of the metal beams to be used for the roofing.
Continuing on after completing all of the metal beams the volunteers have now began prepping each of the
gi sheets, getting them ready for the roofing. This has involved applying a coat of primer followed by acrylic
green paint to add a little colour to the hall!
Scaffolding
Alongside our two new local carpenters, the volunteers began constructing the scaffolding which they will
use while building up the wall and supports for the building. Our volunteers helped with both the cutting of
the beams and also the welding of the angle bars as they begin working on the roof. All of the metal beams
have been installed on the roof and this is now ready for the fitting of the insulation foam, prior to placing
each of the gi sheets.
Walls
The volunteers have also managed to set up two of the concrete beam fixtures. This will allow them to start
with the piling of blocks and working on the walls as of next week. After setting up the supports and fixtures
for the walls of the room, the volunteers have now began stacking and cementing of the halo blocks. This
has involved the mixing of sand and cement as well as bagging and unused sand. The walls are almost ready
to have both the primer and paint applied.
During breaks, some of the volunteers have also begun playing football with the students of AnunongNorte. The children really enjoy this, and the materials and equipment used has been donated to the school
by past Projects Abroad volunteers. Overall it has been a very productive and positive month making
brilliant progress at both schools!