Giant slates

The Parents' Associations (APE) of the 3 schools in the Kou valley have requested the support of the ADVK to obtain “giant” slates. To facilitate learning in overcrowded classrooms, schools in Burkina Faso have adopted a new teaching method by having children work in small groups on “giant” slates.
However, the purchase of these slates is left to the charge of the APEs, which only have as their operating budget the registration fees (3 € per pupil and per year). Between the unpaid and the internally displaced who do not pay school fees, the APEs have great difficulty in meeting current expenses (chalk, electricity, etc.).

Goals

Provide “giant” slates to the 3 primary schools in the Kou Valley.
In total, the 3 schools have 1,500 students at the rate of 6 classes per school and an average of 80 students. With work groups of 7 to 8 students, 10 slates are needed per class, i.e. 180 slates in total.
The APEs of the 3 schools will finance approximately 10% of the total budget, i.e. $200.

What to do

The manufacture of a wooden slate of 60 by 80 cm, painted in slate costs $10.

Counterparties

Each slate purchased will be calligraphed with your first name. A photo of your slate with the schoolchildren will be sent to you by email.

Forecast budget $1,900

School perimeter wall

In Burkina Faso, the school space is still, nowadays, most often open, and its delimitation is not materialized.
In rural areas, the crossing of the school grounds by individuals or livestock is frequent, whether during school hours or not provoking accidents and preventing the development of the school yard. For this reason, fencing is often one of the first demands of school principals or teachers.

Goals

Construction of an 800 m perimeter wall around the 3 primary schools with 1,500 students.
In order to limit costs and the environmental footprint, it was decided to build the brick wall of compressed and stabilized earth.
The brick is compressed with a manual press of the CINVA-RAM type designed by engineer Raul Ramirez in 1952 in Colombia. Stabilization with 3 to 5% cement increases the resistance of the blocks to compression, erosion and the harmful effects of water.
Land is an abundant and renewable local resource. Manual compression does not use fossil fuel (without cooking) and the small amount of cement used limits CO₂ emissions.
On such a site, the use of earth bricks saves around 30 tonnes of CO₂ (The equivalent of the annual emissions of 6.5 French people or those of 150 Burkinabés).

What to do

The press was built in France and transported in a container on site.
The test phase should start in January 2022 with the construction of a low wall before the start of the 2022 rainy season (April-May) to test the resistance of the bricks and the construction technique with this type of brick.
If the low wall test is conclusive, work on the perimeter wall of the schools should begin in early 2023.

Forecast budget $30,000