With the year coming to a close and the darkest days of the year amoungst us its important to celebrate the ongoing success with the boys and disabled latrines on the faith school site and the visits achieved this year.
Wales and Africa
Late 2023 EFOD were fortunate to recieve the Wales and Africa grant of approximately £27,000 to help the sanitiation development of Faith School and to upskill Welsh engineers. This grant has enabled EFOD to deply 8 people as part of four teams to assist Ugandan construction workers in the completetion of two latrines. We are extremely greatful for this support which has provided valuable experiences for engineers and improved wellfare significantly within the school site.
The teams
In early January of 2024 Olivia Spinola Richards (Mott MacDonald) and Tara Sirati (Jacobs) went out to oversee the construction of the girls latrines, working to construct the waste chambers and suspended slabs. They also worked with the school to better understand how and where to deploy the next structures.
This trip was then overlapped by Lizzie Triptree (Rappor) and Matt Butler (Mott MacDonald) who worked on the same latrines, working to get the walls up and the roof on. Lizzie and Matt also worked on the site flood management, constructing drainage features to manage runoff and installing guttering onto existing roofs.
Works for the boys latrine were completed remotely by Micheal and the team, as well as the construction of two 10,000L rain water harvesting tanks with the support of LifeSpring.
Following on in August, Eddie Keegan (Jacbos / Beaver Bridges) and Ngozi Orji-Chukwu (Arup) took up the batton to start works on the boys & disabled latrines. During this time they focused on designing and building the base slab and working on the chamber walls.
They were met by Francesca Crawford-Merrett (Mott MacDonald) and Sophie Jones (Arup) for a day of overlap and coordination, but things were unfortunatly derailed with the extremely sad and upsetting news that Pastor Cuthbert, the custodian of the school, had passed away suddenly in the night. Cuthbert had been working with EFOD on the school since 2015 when the project was proposed and the groundworks for the development were put into place. He will be missed greatly.
While Fran and Sophies trip was heavily disrupted they managed to work on the cubicle walls and start work on the suspended slab reinforcement.
Michael and the team worked on to complete the building, working with Tara and Matt in the UK to manage the costs and control the design. They completed the walls, roof, doors and stairs to leave the project as shown below going into the new year. Final additions of handrails and painting are still required, as well as drainage for the inside of the structure.
Fundraising, Finances and resources
This year featured another successful year of fundraising both by the travellers who went out to Uganda and by the 2024 Cycle Challenge.
Cycle Challenge 2024
This years cycle challenge was headed up by Jack Davies (Arup) and Holly Webster (Arup) who put in a gargantuan effort throughout early 2024 to put all the parts in place. 21 riders faced 197 miles from the Mendip hills, through the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley, Gospel Pass and the Bannau Brycheiniog all the way to Cardiff. The route was a tough one, taking in some of the finest hills the Mendips, the borders, and the Bannau Brycheiniog had to offer. The riders rose to the challenge though and even with brutal winds and downpours on the first day, excelled well beyond what most thought they were capable of and made it one way or another to the finish for a well-earned rest!
Written by James Challinor (Arup)
I wanted to take a moment to thank the support crew who as always stepped up to face the challenge of getting 21 riders from all different background across the finishline with a smile. A particular mention goes to Paul Carr (Arup) who has thrown his full weight into supporting the EFOD cycle challenge. He does the shopping, drives the vans, takes the photos and always has a plan.
Finances & resources
The financial coffers at the start of the year were significantly boosted by the Wales and Africa grant which where bumped up by the fundraising of the EFOD volunteers early in the year. Having 8 volunteers travel to Uganda is no cheap expense and with the works nearing completetion the coffers have well and truly been emptied for a great cause.
Additonally to finanances the group has had reduced engagement as the team moulds and shifts in their daily lives. Olivia Spinola-Richards who lead the group from 2020 stepped back in March to focus on her chartership and life. The remaining core group have now been working with EFOD for over 3 years and fresh leadership is needed to reinvigorate the group.
Looking forward
The main focus going into 2025 will be to introduce the next group of young and optimistic engineers into the world of EFOD. I (Matt Butler) will be stepping down after from the lead role of EFOD having been working with the charity since 2021 as I begin to focus on my chartership and so a new leader will have to take on the mantle of keeping the ship steady.
There will need to be a big focus on high return fundraising as well as regular small scale fundraising to enable the next phase of works, currently proposed as another classroom. This structure is likely to cost from £20k - £30k and will need an enthused and driven team to deliver the building with the learnings from the previous buildings. Lizzie Triptree will lead a team to develop and refine the next proposed building.
And with that EFOD Cardiff close out the year,
Merry christmas and a happy new year,
Matt
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