Building has Begun!

Building has begun on Hopeful Academy!

The foundation has been dug, and the start to the walls are there. We’ve reached the point where they have to fill in dirt to level off the floors before they can pour the flooring. We are hoping to get a bunch of volunteers to come out for a few hours on Friday and help pound that dirt flat! Some extra manpower will help move that process along.

After some previous workers abandoned us and left the work stagnant for a bit, a new bricklayer has been hired to finish a small section of the wall that needs finalizing before we can finish filling in the dirt, and a second hired to finish digging a sewage pit and to use that dirt to help fill the floors. Pray for us to make fast progress in the next week or two for this stage to be completed.

We have huge plans and big dreams and they need to be accomplished quickly if we will see Hopeful Academy open in September. 

1. The current work to get the floors filled will take up to 2 weeks. This is in the works, and financially set. 
2. The next stage is to pour the flooring. Some of these materials are on ground, while others need to be purchased. Once this floor is poured it will be approximately a week before we can move on. We need about 2.5 million Naira to execute this project. That’s about $2000 (give or take the fluctuating exchange rate). Ideally, if this money is in the account within the week, we should have no downtime between filling the floors and pouring the cement for the floors. 
3. Next is to take the walls up. We have lots of block on ground ready to go, and most of the materials ready. This might cost us 1 million Naira, to buy the few supplies and pay the workers, which is about $700.
4. Simultaneously we will be working to construct the pillars and beams that will support the cement ceiling/floor for upstairs. This includes iron rod, casting pillars, and pouring lots of concrete. This piece is approximately 5 million Naira, or another $3500. It also needs to sit a week or so to solidify before moving on.
5. Then we will pour that ceiling! This is the hardest, and costliest part. They use wood and bamboo to hold up all that cement that will be poured to make a solid ceiling/floor for the next level. This will cost about 20 million Naira, or $13,333. We are praying that if everything can move along, we will be ready to pour this floor by the first week of August, because it needs a month to dry and cure before you can pull out all those support beams. At this point progress on the school building will take a halt for a few weeks, most likely.
6. Once that has cured, and we can get into the building, lots will happen quickly. Electricians, plumbers, doors and windows, tile workers, plastering walls, painting, all of it will commence quickly! This is approximately 18 million Naira which is about $12,666.
7. Lastly we will build a fence and gate, which is maybe 3 million Naira, or $2000.

We have lots of work to do! Some of those final two steps could happen after school starts. No painted walls? That’s ok! But we wanted to share the whole picture. 

So the rough timeline for finances:

By July 7: $2,000 (step 2)

By July 14: $4,200 (steps 3 & 4)

By July 28: $13,333 (step 5)

By August 15: $12,666 (step 6)

By September 1: $2000 (step 7)

Therefore, the total is about $35,000. Thank you inflation, the price has increased from our initial predictions.