The Emmanuel English Language Centre (EELC) is located in a neighbourhood that used to be right next to the sea but over the last 40 years more and more land has been reclaimed – but the salt is still everywhere even in the walls of the building. That has meant that paint easily peeled off so the walls had to be repainted at least every two years. However, in several places the damage went deeper causing crumbling and cracking of the concrete with profuse efflorescence and corrosion of the steel reinforcement.
In July 2019 the school director gained the agreement of Kerith Trust to fund a thorough renovation. In September we found a skilled builder who had learned his trade from his father who used to be a famous contractor in the country. He gave a very reasonable quotation.
Ahmedin, the school’s maintenance man, with the help of some sessional workers, removed the peeling paint and crumbling concrete. Badly affected sections of the steel reinforcement were replaced, then Youssouf, the builder, added a layer of a protective tar-like substance wherever the salt had damaged the wall. Once dried it was rendered and painted with two coats of an oil-based paint.
The library was closed for two weeks so the builder and his helpers could repair the three class rooms, library and office. The outside walls were repaired after the library was reopened. The water from two air conditioning units from the flat upstairs and the school office had been dripping onto the patio in front of the school, often causing puddles, so Youssouf also installed some drain pipes to take the water away.
A light blue colour was used in the office and mocha in the coffee lounge, so now the building looks brighter, cleaner and friendlier. An Ethiopian artist painted a new EELC sign in bright colours with the African map and an open book with light going out of Djibouti into the whole continent.
It is a great joy every morning to come to a building that no longer looks run down, but is presentable to our students and library visitors again. Even though the library members were eager to come back to the EELC after the summer, they understood a delay was needed for the renovations to be done. Some even offered their help. Many library visitors attend several times a week and they proudly call EELC, ‘our school.’
Kerith Trust 