iLM involvement in building Schools in Irrawaddy

 Background

During Cyclone Nargis, over a thousand schools were destroyed in the Irrawaddy Delta; the destruction was especially severe in the townships of Laputta and Bogale where winds exceeded 160 miles per hour and storm surge levels exceeded 20 ft.

Current Situation

Although there is ongoing effort to rebuilding a portion of these schools, as of the beginning of November 2008, NGOs have only committed to rebuilding 137 schools, just under 10 percent.

Hence the majority of students now attend school in temporary buildings, mostly built out of Bamboo and polyethylene tarpaulin. From an optimistic point of view, these schools are supposed to last up to 2 years. One year may be a more realistic assumption as UV rays from the sun weakens the tarpaulin, making them tear more easily. Other schools are built with palm leaves.

Others patch up their badly damaged school with scrap metal and tarpaulin which usually tears within 6 months.

These temporary schools are usually crowded, fostering a poor learning environment which also allows for easy disease transmission. Moreover, the cyclone destroyed significant amount of school furniture and a portion of the students have to sit and write on uneven floor.

i Love Myanmar Involvement in School Building

Below are the schools that I Love Myanmar is currently rebuilding:

*RC— Reinforced concrete structure with extra thick brick walls

The above are currently known locations; ILM will potentially be involved in rebuilding many more schools in 2009.

Designs

Below is an example of a 80 x 30 ft Reinforced Concrete (RC) school building with extra thick brick walls. All schools will be built in a very similar manner.

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