We're happy to announce that our confidence was well-placed and we have raised enough money to cover the bathroom renovations at Foyer House at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo. As many of you know, +/-75 young people have been sharing two toilets stalls and living amidst pools of overflowing sewage. Project manager Madlen took a leap of faith and borrowed the money to get started on the project and it the progress has been quick and efficient. The latest project is that the bathrooms--six new toilet stalls, big windows, attractive tiling, modern sinks and showers--may be open for business by the first of April. (And the sewage pools--they are already a grim memory from the past.) Let's have a look at a couple of before and after shots:
(Note not just the floors and tiling, but also the air and light that the larger windows will provide. Oh, and the plumbing works. And the olfactory effects should be taken as a given.) Using the money that we have raised so far, we've decided that we can afford a related add-on to "Phase I"--the construction of a small annex that will house an industrial-strength washing machine. We think that will run about $1,200, which will leave the funds raised so far essentially exhausted.
A washing machine will go here
So, it's on to Phase II. Foyer House currently has 40 young people sharing the two older bedrooms. They are crowded, run-down, and starved for air and light.
The Old Bedrooms; Sleep ~20
For about $6,000 - $7,000 we can add huge air- and light-producing windows and ceiling fans and give the bedrooms a major structural and cosmetic makeover. For double that, we can add lofts, which will create new beds and free up a lot of space. More details to come.
Confident that support would start rolling in when our fundraiser officially opened, we okayed some spending of funds and commencement of work before we had actually gathered any money. With $1,800 received over the first weekend (and--not quite a spoiler alert, but a hint--strong reason to be confident that this dollar amount is soon to grow dramatically), our confidence served us well. In order to combat the ever-looming threat of inflation in the D.R. Congo, Madlen did some massive purchasing of materials and hired work crews to get started. Here's a few looks at the situation on the ground:
Yeah, this is raw sewage.
And this used to be a toilet.
And this is how you attack decrepit bathroom plumbing.
And this is the first shipment of cement that will make it all better.
And this is the beginnings of a new septic tank.
And here is a much later stage of a new septic tank.
And somehow Madlen and the workers got this far in about a week. We have a long way to go until this part of the project is funded (and much farther if we hope to be able to renovate the old living quarters). But our confidence has paid off and Madlen will continue borrowing money in Kinshasa to complete this bathroom ASAP, feeling certain that we'll be able to raise the money to repay the loan.
Alright, my friends...We need about $12,000 for an *emergency* bathroom renovation for 75 abandoned kids at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa. (And, kismet willing, another $12,000 to greatly enhance a very crowded and fairly dank pair of sleeping quarters.) Our friends at Lantern Projects will be accepting your donations (which are US tax-deductible) and safely transmitting them to Madlen in Kinshasa. You can donate here:
If you want to know why you should have faith in this project, please pore over the earlier blog entries to learn how we brought an even more daunting $27,000 building project in *at budget* last year. The D.R. Congo is not an easy place to make this sort of thing happen, but we know the right person. Last time, ~120 donors gave us $27,000 with donations ranging from a few dollars to a couple thousand. This time around, $4 will buy us a KG of nails, $22 will buy us a half-ton of sand (!), $60 will buy us one of six toilet stalls, $150 will pay for the electricians' labor, and $1,100 will buy us a truckload of gravel.
The sad state of the bathroom
Thanks for your consideration. I have pre-wired Madlen some of the money so that she can get started and beat the ever-present force of inflation that the D.R. Congo is facing.
Beginning on Thursday, March 1st, we will be able to start accepting your donations to continue our renovation of the Foyer House bathrooms at the Kimbondo Orphanage in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo. The situation is currently pretty grim, with 75 abandoned kids sharing two functioning toilet stalls (the ones that we built in the new wing last year). The plumbing in the old bathroom has collapsed completely and the sewage is literally bubbling upon onto the ground, creating a health and olfactory crisis. For ~$12,000, we can install a new septic tank, replace all the old pipes, and fully renovate the toilets, sinks, and shower facilities. Below is a look at the situation as of a year ago. Know, however, that the situation has deteriorated and that the single toilet stall identified as functioning at the point no longer is.
If we are able to make this happen--and we are cautiously optimistic that (with your help) we can do so--the next step would be to modernize the old sleeping quarters at Foyer House. More on that half of Phase II soon.
After a stunningly successful Phase I (in which we turned two bedrooms for 75 abandoned children in Kinshasa into four bedrooms for 75 abandoned children in Kinshasa), Dean, Madlen, and Robert (and we hope *you*) are set to embark upon Phase II. Before divulging the nature of that new project, here's a look back at what was accomplished last year:
Phase II involves two separate projects.
The first is the most vital and involves ripping up the decrepit plumbing in the old Foyer House bathroom. Before we built the additional rooms and added 2 toilet stalls in that structure, the 75 residents were sharing a single functioning toilet. In the year that's past, even that one is unusable. Sewage is bubbling out of the ground and the smell is said to border on the unbearable. The second video at the bottom of the final blog post for Phase I shows the state of the bathroom (as of a year ago), as well as a prototype as to what the remodeled version will look like.
Nothing is cheap in Kinshasa--one of the poorest cities in the world, yet cruelly one of the most expensive. But our source on the ground Madlen has worked with a local architect and contractor to create the cost estimate below. Estimates are, of course, only estimates; but we note with pride that last year's even more imposing project came in essentially at budget. To give these kids a functional and dignified bathroom, we will need to raise $10,000.
In an act of faith in our ability to raise these funds, Madlen has already begun advanced purchase of some of the needed items (as inflation is rife in the D.R. Congo) and hired workers to do some of the preparatory work. A couple of recent photos give at least some sense of the current state of affairs.
And, yes--that is an overflowing septic tank on the left. This is a fairly massive (and unpleasant) undertaking. Madlen's architect has created the image below as a model for what it could look like:
Assuming that we can raise $10,000--and we *will* raise $10,000--this is our priority. The second part of Phase II involves a massive renovation of the older Foyer House sleeping quarters. Now that the 75-80 kids are sharing four bedrooms instead of two, the overcrowding is less overwhelming. Still, the old rooms are terribly cramped and are designed to create as little light and airflow as possible. Madlen, the architect, and the contractor have drawn up plans and an estimate to build lofts into the high ceilings, which will create more beds and more floor space, as well as to replace the cement wall with light- and air-producing windows. As of this point, I have not seen the blueprints nor the computer-generated prototype. But from my on-the-ground experience last year, I can juxtapose an old Foyer House bedroom (which, again, housed 40 kids each night):
with one of the new rooms that we built last year:
The renovated room won't look exactly like this--but the difference in terms of light and air flow should be evident. The cost estimate for this second part of Phase II:
As was true last time, we are partnering with Lantern Projects, which will allow for secure and efficient collection and transfer of funds, as well as the ability to offer tax-deductible status for all donations from US taxpayers. The fundraising will begin on March 1st. Stay tuned for updates.
More accurately, there is still some work to be done. The outdoor tiling is not in place and the dirt road (provider of a vicious form of parasite to the bare feet of the children) is still awaiting its paving. And there are, I'm sure, some other minor matters to contend with. But the Grand Opening was held on Sunday, March 26th and the kids are now sleeping in their new beds. And it makes a huge difference... Still to come? Once we get this part fully completed and can provide a clear financial accounting, we may pass the hat once more for two related projects:
* The more affordable one will be some heavy plumbing work. For the past year, the 80 children have shared a single toilet stall. The new addition has added two more. With another ~$5,000 we could redo the plumbing in the main building and have all six original building stalls working. * The more pie-in-the-sky idea would be to add lofts and huge windows to the two old rooms, which would provide much more space, air, and light. This one would be more expensive, and as my time in Congo is running short, it might be harder to fund. But then again...maybe we can do both. Given that we started fundraising on November 1, work started on January 2nd, and the kids had a new home before April, I'm starting to think that the unlikely is more than possible in this case. I'll leave you with a video look at how the project unfolded:
