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Education Centre Project 2012

Tana River Life Foundation ( TRLF ) is embarking on a project to provide affordable quality education to the communities in the Tana River Delta.  Facilities include a kindergarten, a primary school, a community centre with library, computer lab, seminar rooms, meeting areas, designated areas to house income generating projects (e.g. cafeteria) for the foundation, hostel for staff and visiting donor partners and offices. Oriented to benefit from natural ventilation and lighting, the buildings have been designed to be environmentally sustainable incorporating solar power and rainwater harvesting.

For more information on the project, watch the interview of Gabriel Teo and the architects from AEDAS on Channel News Asia. http://www1.channelnewsasia.com/amlive/2012/03/14/interviews-charity-work/

Frequently Asked Questions :

Q : When will construction begin ?

A : Construction will begin by mid-2012

Q : How many children will benefit from the project?

A : When fully operational, the school will benefit over 450 children annually while the community centre will benefit over 3,000 people.

Q : Will the community be able to afford the school fees ?

A : The school fees will be set based on prevailing market rates. Children from economically disadvantaged families will be eligible for bursary assistance from TRLF.

Q : How much does the project cost ?

A : Sitting on a 12 acre site with a built up area of 40,000 sq ft,  the school, the community centre and office for the foundation will cost S$2,000,000 over a 3-year building period from 2012 to 2015.  This includes the construction cost,  utilities including wells, solar panels as well as professional fees.  Jonaron Foundation, a private charity has committed to match dollar for dollar for all funds raised by TRLF for this project.

 Q : How can I help ?

A : Contribute to our building fund. You can choose to

•Sponsor the computer lab at $90,000

•Sponsor the library / seminar room / outdoor meeting area at $85,000

•Sponsor a classroom at S$22,000 per classroom ( 10 classrooms )

•Sponsor access road and culvert drainage at entrance at S$12,000

•Sponsor an office at $10,800 per office ( 6 offices )

•Sponsor a student bathroom at $2,200 per cubicle ( 14 cubicles )

•Sponsor a second well at $2,000

•Sponsor a solar facility in modules of S$1,000

•Sponsor a window at $200 per window

•Sponsor a door at $100 per door

•Buy a brick at $50 per brick

Contact Gabriel Teo gabrielteo@yahoo.com +65-9232-0222 +254-723-521774

Click here to download a copy of the Tana River Life Foundation Education Centre Project factsheet.

This design of the centre was made possible by Aedas Pte Ltd and Arup Singapore.

Drive to fill the empty library at Sacred Heart Girls’ Sec School in Tana River District

The National Library has a book exchange drive where coupons are provided for each book donated. Let’s help Gabriel and the Tana River Life Foundation fill the empty library at the high school you saw on the slideshow.

The empty library waiting to be filled with books at Sacred Heart Girls, Tana River District

So here’s the plan :

1. Get folks ( you and your friends ) to bring their old books ( see guidelines below ) to the any branch libraries or the National Library between 11 – 24 April ( now till next Friday ). You’ll get a coupon per book with an upper limit of 30.
2. Pass your coupons to me ( plus it would be great if a few more of you could volunteer your time to pickup the books as each person is again limited to pickup 30 books ).
3. We’ll pickup / scavenge through the piles at the National Library on Saturday April 25.
4. Gabriel has provided guidelines on the books he needs for the library ( children’s readers, reference books, good novels suitable for teens and young adults )
5. We’ll have to look for some storage space from April 25 to January next year when Gabriel comes around again. Alternatively we can ship the books to Kenya. We can find out how much it cost and see if we can raise the money.

Let me know if you’d like to help. You can help in any or all of the following capacities :

• Bring your books to the National Library and collect the coupons
• Follow this note to your friends and act as a coordination point ie. collect the coupons from friends and pass them to me
• Volunteer to help me pick out the books on April 25th

Here are details of the drive :

National Library Book Exchange DriveIs your home being “invaded” by an expanding personal library?Do you have books that are crying out to be read (but you have no time to do so)?Are you cutting back on book-buying because of the economic crisis?Then come, participate in the BOOK EXCHANGE!!
Get ready to dig out all your “expired” books for a 1-1 exchange.You can exchange it for a voucher at any public library between Apr 11-24

Selection and collection of other books with your vouchers is on Apr 25 at NL Building.

Details below:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Recycle Your Reading at the Book Exchange!

Date: Sat, 25 Apr 2009
Time: 10.30am to 6pm
Venue: The Plaza, National Library Building,100 Victoria Street

3 easy steps to exchange your used books for new reads:

1. Bring your used books to any Public Library from 11 to 24 April, 11am to 8pm. On 25 April, used books are accepted only at the National Library Building.

2. Drop off your used books and get a book exchange coupon indicating one-for-one exchange for the books accepted.

3. Bring your coupon to The Plaza, National Library Building, on 25 April to redeem for used books dropped off by other book lovers.

Terms and Conditions:

1) Each person can exchange up to a maximum of 30 used books. There is no age limit for participation.

2) We accept children’s and adults’ fiction and non-fiction books (eg. cookbooks, travel guides and romance novels) in any of the four official languages. We also accept used library books bought from previous Library Book Sales. Textbooks, magazines and audio-visual materials will not be accepted.

3) Used books for exchange should be in relatively good physical condition.

4) Coupons issued are transferable. You may pass them on to your family members or friends to help you redeem.

5) Lost coupons are not replaceable. You are advised to keep your coupons properly till the event on 25 April.

6) Plastic/carrier bags and delivery service will not be provided on Sat, 25 April. You are advised to bring your own carrier bags and/or arrange for transportation of books redeemed.

Another Opportunity to meet Gabriel Teo

Some of you missed the events held on the 7th & 8th of March. Wong Siew Fan and I will be hosting another one this Saturday, 28th March. Listen to Gabriel speak about his experiences, and how you can play a part. You can also view and purchase the paintings by the Pang children and contribute to the Tana River Life Foundation.

Lunch at Friends’ Jelita

Date : 28th March 2009

Time : 12.30pm

Venue : FriendsJelita; #02-04 Jelita Cold Storage Building ; 293 Holland Road

Menu : 3 course set lunch at $30 per head

Contact Iris Tay for details and to RSVP

Meet Gabriel on 7-8th March

Gabriel is back in town. Meet him at two fundraising events will be happening this weekend, 7-8th March.

He’ll be speaking about his experiences in Kenya and how you can play a part.

Dinner at Palate Sensations Cooking School

Date : 7th March 2009

Time : 7.30pm

Venue : Palate Sensations, 1 Westbourne Road, #03-05 Aden, Singapore 138941

Menu : 3 course set dinner at $60 per head

Contact Iris Tay for details and to RSVP

Lunch at Buko Nero

Date : 8th March 2009

Time : 12.30pm

Venue : Buko Nero, 126 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088534

Menu : 5 course set lunch at $65 per head

Buko Nero is a Fusion Italian restaurant with a seating capacity of 22, and a waiting list of a month. We managed to book the entire restuarant for this lunch. Seats are limited and you don’t need to wait for a month to get it.

Contact Iris Tay or Darren Smith for details and to RSVP.

Sale of Children’s Art Pieces

Lily Tan has kindly commissioned her 3 budding artists to produce works in aid of Tana River Life Foundation. Kimberly, Nathalie and Alex are 14,11 and 9 years old respectively. We’ll be showing and selling their works at our events this weekend, ie. dinner on Saturday at Palate Sensations and lunch on Sunday at Buko Nero.

Click here for a sneak preview. We’ll be selling the large pieces at $180 and the small ones at $90. You’re always welcomed to pay more The children of Tana River will thank you.

If you’re not able to join us this weekend, please contact me if you would like to view or buy the paintings.