June 30, 2012

This past Wednesday the cement slab of Children’s Academy’s very first building was poured. This is a major milestone and we’re so grateful for the supervision of Miyamoto International and Architecture For Humanity toward making sure that it’s done well and that it’s an earthquake resistant building.

We’re also deeply grateful for huge amounts of probono work done by BAR Architects for Children’s Academy and Learning Center. In addition to designing the entire complex, they’re also providing ongoing support. BAR are superstars!

In the video, I estimated we’d be done by 9:00 or 9:30 pm. It was 11:45 when we finished. What a day! This is a huge step forward in this construction. I (John Engle) find cement pours in Haiti to be inspiring and invigorating and fun. People sing, work as hard as anyone I’ve ever seen work, joke, laugh, yell and just keep pushing on until the job gets done. And, it’s gotta be done all at once so it’s a race against the clock and takes careful planning to make sure there’s adequate materials, food and water for workers, and electricity for lighting if necessary. In the pour we did Wednesday night, we used 431 50kg sacks of cement. Rain water collected in the 50,000 gallon reservoirs underneath the school was a Godsend.

For future buildings, I plan to invite Children Academy supporters to come be a part of these pours of major cement slabs. What an experience it is. We give thanks to all the people who are making this exciting vision become a reality. Click here to learn more about the Children’s Academy and Learning Center vision and plan.