“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6

What a blessing! The new community schoolhouse, which was on the drawing board last year, has come to fruition, with construction beginning last month. With the assistance of some dedicated gracious financial support from two of our partners, The Salvador Foundation and Rotary International – St. Helene Adopt A Village program, materials were purchased and local islanders hired (over 12 hired for various roles and time periods).

The finished two-story community school will have 12 classrooms and measure 30 feet by 66 feet. As the picture to the right shows, the schoolhouse is two concrete buildings side by side, with a roof covering both the buildings. The open space between the buildings will be used as an outdoor community gathering place for events, etc. This new school is being built next to the current smaller one, which is very old, in poor condition, and will be demolished soon (yellow one-story building in a picture below). Future plans include being able to serve K-12 grades.

Rotary International, who had teams on-site in the past, currently has a person on-site leading the building effort, along with our local expert (our own Executive Director, Larry Benson) who manages the difficult logistics of obtaining the various supplies. The complex situation of where to order, arranging shipping, etc., in Helene is not quite as easy as going to the local Home Depot. Below are some pictures of the early construction.