Qibirha School Construction Project

The story begins several years ago when Wilton Mkwayi, a founding member of the board of directors of CELD, identified Qibirha in South Africa as the kind of village that CELD would want to help. The community needed a school for the children, so the headman of the village took the decision to build a school in the community.  The villagers provided contributions of about $18 and ten hand made bricks from each household in order to build their own three-room school.  This clearly demonstrated a desire to help themselves. They ran into some problems due to the quality of the bricks contributed.  They varied significantly and in addition, they needed other resources. CELD stepped in to help by providing support for over the next 2 to 3 years. 

…we were suffering very much. We didn’t have enough classes for learning because we were learning in the shearing shed and churches. Students got sick from spending too much time in the shed, and others dropped out. The shed was in very bad condition because the roof leaked and anytime it rained normal classes stopped. We didn’t have toilets and taps…