UK students to give a boost to Limpopo creche

Limpopo’s Rethuseng Creche in Lephepane village is to receive an upgrade to its facilities‚ courtesy of architecture students at the University of Nottingham‚ England.

Starting at Easter‚ a 39-strong group of architecture students‚ with their professors‚ will construct the new facility in just four weeks.

Project Myemyela (which means "smile"’ in Sotho) will provide more than 80m² of new accommodation‚ new toilets and cooking facilities and a reliable water supply.

Students competed in teams over the past few months to come up with designs for the new facility.

According to John Ramsay of the Live Build project at the university‚ the winning design was chosen for its “deceptive simplicity".

“The design permits a quick‚ efficient approach to building and is well suited to available technology and construction methods in rural South Africa. Its form reflects traditional building in the area‚ while using simple modern materials in novel ways‚” Ramsay said.

Participating students were each asked to raise £2 000 (about R32 500) to contribute towards building materials and their flights to South Africa.

The team will be supported by a local network including Education Africa‚ the Thusanang Trust and many small contractors and suppliers in the nearby town of Tzaneen.

The university and its Live Build initiative have run projects in partnership with South Africans several times.

“We are assisted in identifying sites by the Thusanang Trust‚ based in Hanaertsberg‚ Limpopo. This organisation trains the locals (almost exclusively women) who operate the creches in the villages‚ helping them to achieve standards set by local and national government. The director of Thusanang Trust identifies a number of creches each year that are in particular need of improved accommodation and I choose one that best fits our needs in terms of location‚ site and infrastructure‚” said Ramsay.

“This creche had only very basic accommodation but a generous amount of space. The women running the creche were clearly doing good work in difficult circumstances‚” said Ramsay. South Africa had great potential‚ he said. Construction costs were low‚ there were abundant opportunities‚ and it could be the driving force behind a highly successful African continent. "Education is‚ as Nelson Mandela said “the most powerful weapon you can choose to change the world”. We hope very much that we can help in that ambition‚ by helping the very youngest in the education system‚” Ramsay said.

“Architecture should not just be about glamorous buildings for federal or corporate clients - it is also a vehicle for helping the underprivileged achieve more than they may have ever hoped for. There is already significant evidence that the village children who pass through the Thusanang Trust creches go on to be higher achievers in their later education.

"I hope one day to welcome a young man or woman who attended one of these creches as a new student in our department in Nottingham - perhaps just before I retire.” To donate to individual students or the entire team‚ please visit the Project Myemyela Just Giving page.