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Having been confronted with delays during the whole building period of our kindergarten in Goudiabya, we were able to meet the deadline as if by a miracle. The last jobs were completed much faster than expected. And this thanks to a professional bricklaying team from Dakar. They were in the area and we could win them over to complete the plastering. It didn't take us long to see, that it wasn't only the quality of the work that was very good, but that this team was also organized way better and therefore could finish the job much quicker than expected.
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A Thankyou to the great Building Company
Lucky for us, the construction supervisor, Ibrahima Faye, and his "Chef de maçon" Aboulay and some other workers, agreed to finish some additional jobs. In no time at all, the windows and doors were installed, as well as some refinishing after the pipes for the water and electricity were layed. Even the so called belt, made of bricks that surrounds the building like a bench, was layed in only a couple of days. The belt can be used for seating and it also protects the building during heavy rainfalls.
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Colors bring Cheer
Thanks to the good headway, the painter could start with the priming and the second layer of paint earlier than expected. For the face of the building we chose a nature-orientated color that will not be easily marred, especially with children's finger- and handprints. Right now, the building still looks slightly pink, but after the third cover of paint, it will look more like the reddish brown of the sand. On the inside, every classroom has a different color. Lilac, lime green and light blue. Even though these colors are unobtrusive, they give the rooms a nice atmosphere.
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Beaming Children, thankful Parents and impressed Inspetcors
The generous kindergarten is finally finished and sparks everyone's enthusiasm. The community members voice their appreciation time and again and when you look at the children, you can see the joy and also that they are almost bursting with curiosity. And the large classroooms exceeded all of the inspector's expectations. Accordingly they showed themselves very thankful for the aid of our relief organization, my personal commitmend and all of the donations, in favor of the education of the children of Senegal.
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Happy and Contented with the Successful Teamwork
I was more than a bit relieved, when all of the work and jobs were completed a couple of days before my departure to Switzerland on 12 June. In the end, these very intense months that used all my strength as well as the tireless commitment of my project partner, were every bit worth it and helped our project to become a great success. I am extremely thankful to Elhadji Dieme, president of our partner organization «Ndimbal xale yi». The sight of the (nearly) finished kindergarten triggers unbelievable feelings in both of us and lets us forget all of the problems and struggles. Thus I could travel to Switzerland with a light heart and can fully dedicate myself to all of the different tasks of our association.
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And on it goes....
Unexpectedly the local ants were no less busy than we were - they ate through the concrete floor. So during my absence Elhadji Dieme is taking care of the laying of the floor tiles also. This job should soon be done too. Additionally we figured out where we could buy small toilets for the children in the nearby Ziguinchor. the toilets will be installed in the next few weeks.
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Opening of the Kindergarten
Now there are only a few jobs left to be done before my arrival in Senegal in September 2018. Then we will start to furnish the kindergarten. After the first delays, we were worried that we would not be able to open the kindergarten on time for the new school year. We are more than happy, that it worked out in the end anyway. We will be opening the doors of our "Ecole Maternelle" for the first children attending kindergarten in the new schoolyear in October 2018. Just thinging about it makes a wonderful feeling spread through me. I can hardly wait until the new building is filled with happy children that have the chance to develop their skills thanks to the versatile education of our kindergarten.
Greetings
Marielle Furter
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Here some more impressions....
 
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