The medical equipment and supplies for the new health center in Konkourona made it to the port in Accra, Ghana 4 weeks ago, from West Grove, PA in the US. While we are waiting for the shipment to clear customs, work has started on several new projects.
Desertification is a major concern in Burkina Faso, where trees are becoming scarce. Mami Siara Na sought the advice of the Department of Forestry to begin reforestation in the community. 1,000 native shade and fruit trees will be planted for food and 5,672 seedlings will be planted to create living hedges around school and health center grounds.
Meters were installed at all faucet and fountain locations for the measurement and subsequent payment of water used, to ensure long-term sustainability of the the overall program.
Dounko Sanou, Friends of African Village Libraries, Edmond Millogo, KAFO Program and Partnership Liaison, and Victorien Millogo, KAFO Field Program Director, met to discuss the terms of a contract to begin work on the creation of a library program in Konkourona. Sebre Ayouba (not shown), SCMS Technical Partner, will lead the renovation of an existing building for the program.
While meetings are typically conducted under trees, development in Konkourona has created the need for a more structured meeting and document storage facility. A headquarters is being constructed to serve as a meeting place for the management team overseeing construction, and sustainable maintenance of schools, the water system, the health center, environmental projects, and economic development activities. The headquarters will include 4 bedrooms for visitors from outside of this remote location for partnership, inspections, and temporary housing of skilled labor and teachers, as new schools and more permanent houses are built.
Fieldstone was gathered from the grounds around Konkourona for the foundation of the headquarters building.
Now that the number of students progressing to middle school has soared, there is a need for a middle school in Konkourona. There will be 4 classrooms, a meeting room, an office for the principal, and a storage room. We plan to start construction of the new middle school in September 2022 and expect approximately 140 students from Konkourona to attend when it opens in 2023.
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