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  • Relatives Support Programme
  • Malaika Children’s Home
  • Design Malaika Village
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  • with money
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  • with gifts
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  • Organisation
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The Infrastructure of the Children’s village is ready!

We can now begin building the children’s village at Mkurunga. The first part of the terrain has been cleared and leveled. The cleaned and leveled area provides the basis for the first living cluster, two school buildings and a building which will serve as a storage place and office to begin with. In this building there will be room for a large kitchen and a garage later on. The basis has also been laid for the calculation upon which everything is referenced, the middle point of the buildings, and the access roads to the children’s village have been laid.

The top layer of the access road laid according to the specifications of Oranjewoud Engineers

Two years ago The Hague City Council sent two surveyors to measure the land. Together with employees of Mkuranga, Raymond Felisie en Errol Brice mapped out the terrain. At the end of September 2007, they went back to Mkuranga. In line with our policy of getting as much of the work as possible sponsored, their employer once again gave them time off.

The highest plateau of the village ready for building.

The terrain on which the children’s village is to be built, consists of three plateaus. The first buildings, with room for fourty orphans and their carers, will be built on the highest plateau. This has been leveled at one height by the local contractor. In some places a meter of ground has been dug away, in other places it has been added. The surveyors have laid the basis. This basis consists of three fixed points in the landscape, from which all other points can be determined. The help of these surveyors was very fortunate because this work needed to be undertaken very precisely. Use was made of the Total Station of Malaika Kids, a gift from Leica Geosystems.

Errol Brice with the Total Station, donated by Leica Geosystems.

Also the X, Y and Z coordinates of the middle points of the buildings were determined. A precise task, because the village is to have a central water reserve. Rain water coming from the roofs, will be collected via gutters and lead away to a central point. For this to work, the buildings need to inter-connect perfectly.

Middle points of the buildings given in X, Y and Z coordinates.

The access road to the children’s village, designed by sponsor Oranjewoud Engineers, has been laid. The road was realized at low cost and should have a long life cycle. To ensure that the top layer does not wash away in heavy rains, good drainage has been provided. Ditches dug on both sides to drain away water and the top layer of stone from a quarry 32 miles away from Mkuranga, ensure that some of the water can seep through the top layer. The road has been laid by us but is owned by Mkuranga council.

Ditches dug on both sides to drain away water from the road.

Due to some delays, the surveyors needed to stay a week longer than planned. The Hague Council gave their immediate permission for this and extended the insurance of the measuring instruments by a week. Due to this extended stay one of the surveyors celebrated his birthday in Mkuranga, a well earned celebration for their invaluable work!