Aveng Group
Inline with its commitment to building a lasting legacy, leading infrastructure group, The Aveng Group, on Friday 19 March 2010 launched a community school project in conjunction with the David Rattray Foundation. The David Rattray Foundation has a firm belief in providing sustainable solutions to disadvantaged schools by ensuring maximum community investment and engagement. The Mablomong School Project utilises traditional African-inspired architecture and design in order to capture the pride of culture and to promote community engagement, with the intent to develop a cost effective and globally aspirational model for school construction. The project provides school infrastructure conducive teaching and learning for a farm school in the Randfontein area on the West Rand
Education and skills levels in Randfontein remain low, with the most recent statistics from the Randfontein Municipality estimating unemployment at around 41%, whilst at least 24% of the population has not completed their primary schooling.
Commenting on some of the benefits of the project, The Aveng Group human resources director Juba Mashaba said: “This project shows the true spirit of Ubuntu. We have witnessed a significant level of community involvement in this project, which has seen an administrative block built for the pupils, along with sustainable skills transfer to the local population. The project involved the training of 22 formerly unemployed people in the ‘rammed earth’ building model. It also enabled 11 teachers at Mablomong School to incorporate these methods into their curriculum, this providing practical teaching to 365 learners.”
Speaking on behalf of the David Rattray Foundation, Rob Taylor added: “This project provides significant community and environmental benefits. The rammed earth method uses different types of majority locally mined soil to erect a building. This ensures that the use of cement, which has high carbon emissions, is minimised. Given the poverty levels in this area, this cost effective, low maintenance method of building provides jobs and SETA accredited skills development to the most needy. Furthermore the design means that the buildings are fire and pest resistant. They are also energy efficient because the heat captured from the sun during the day is radiated back out at night as a source of warmth.”
The next step in the Mablomong Project is to build a media centre that will include a library and computer centre, at the Mablomong School. Other divisions within The Aveng Group will also get involved in due course. Grinaker-LTA, for instance, will offer construction planning skills, while E&PC will provide water saving and waste management solutions. The Aveng Group and the David Rattray Foundation plan to expand this project nationwide. Another similar project is also on the cards for KwaZulu Natal.
http://www.aveng.co.za – The Aveng group incorporates many of South Africa’s leading civil engineering practices.
Processing your request, Please wait....
