Construction continues at our new training centre, our Centre for Excellence, in Lusaka. It is estimated that Zambia needs around 17,000 new construction workers each year but very few school leavers are given the opportunity to gain the necessary skills to pursue this opportunity. Our new centre will allow us to substantially expand our training… Continue reading Centre For Excellence: Next phase
There is growing concern about the effect of plastic waste on the environment recognising the urgent need to reduce our plastic consumption. Build It has been re-using unwanted plastic bottles and turning them into useful building material. Used polyethylene terephthalate (PET) drinks bottle have been filled with earth and used in the construction of a… Continue reading Clean and green: New use for old plastic
Over 100 children in the isolated rural community of Katole are looking forward to the opening of their new school with hundreds more children to benefit over the coming years. The original old mud block building had collapsed. However the children continued to be taught in the remains of the school which was unsafe and… Continue reading Completion of Katole Community School
 84 young Build It trainees have recently taken their National Trades Skills Test. Forty of them have been working on our Community Projects building schools at Bissell and Katole. The other forty four are part of our Fast Track training programme at our new training facility, our Centre For Excellence, just outside Lusaka. This group… Continue reading Trainees Take Their Exams
We’ve got two main projects on the go: Learning Plaza 2 and the new Ablution Block plus a few smaller site works and improvements. Managing construction sites is not straight forward. There are different challenges every day, ranging all the way from deciding how to adapt the programme because the roofing sheets are delayed, to… Continue reading Deborah’s Blog: Centre for Excellence – Dec 2017
I’m writing this blog from my site office, which means it will get written piecemeal; I definitely spend more timem out and about on site than I do behind my desk. The Centre for Excellence feels so alive! Aside from all the trainees and workers involved with my construction projects,the Centre is currently hosting Cohort… Continue reading Deborah’s Blog: The Centre of Excellence is feeling alive! – November 2017
Our 2017 community school projects, at Bissell and Katole, have been progressing rapidly over the summer! Supported by our fantastic partner, BGL, construction at Bissell Community School is progressing really well. Under the supervision of one of our experienced contractors, the trainees are making fantastic progress. Having completed their basic training they have laid the… Continue reading A Summer of Progress: An update on our Community Schools
It’s been a very exciting week – works for Learning Plaza 2 have started! Learning Plaza 2 We’ve started off on site by doing site clearance. This means collecting rubbish, removing loose stones and earth, digging out tree roots and generally flattening the ground. I won’t lie, it’s tough work. Back in the UK, this… Continue reading Deborah’s Blog: Breaking Ground (literally) – August 2017
A busy summer lies ahead for Build It in Zambia as we continue our community projects at Bissell and Katole Community Schools. With Parliament entering its recess, Wimbledon ending in one too many up-close shots of Marin Cilic’s feet and attempted barbeques being scuppered by seemingly unrelenting summer ‘showers’; the British holidays are undoubtedly in… Continue reading Summer 2017: Build It Community Projects
Hi all! It’s been a while. I have no doubt that you’ll all be pleased to hear that I am in a state of readiness; I have drawings, schedules, resource plans, programmes of works, risk assessments, health and safety plans, contracts, and inducted trainees. All I need now is the money [insert shameless plug here].… Continue reading Deborah’s Blog: Landscaping and Languages – June 2017
