Renovating the school in Bakoko
Westkam’s first project is to rebuild the school in Bakoko, the village where Gilbert himself was born and went to school.
The children in Bakoko want to get a good education, but in recent years the structure of the school building is so dangerous that many parents are scared to send their children to school. The school urgently needs five new classrooms, a new roof, and classroom furniture and materials.
The total estimated cost is €50 000 (approx $70 000). In last years Westkam invested more than half of this amount in the school, still there is a lot of work to do.
Our progress so far:
In the summer of 2011 Westkam began the first phase of building using the money raised in the first two years. Two new classrooms were built and the foundations for three further classrooms were laid. In 2012/2013 the second phase of building began and windows were added to the two first classrooms. At the end of 2013 Westkam had collected enough money to begin a third phase of building. We decided to renovate one classroom which was in great need of maintenance work.
You can see photos of the first three phases of building in our photo gallery.
For the construction work Westkam employs builders, engineers and architects from Bakoko and surrounding areas in order to support the local economy.