The Local Team

PolyU team is working along with a team of local youths from the Center of Champions (CFC) vocational school.  About 40 students and teachers.  Many of them have worked with us last year, and knows what to do already.  They are particularly needed for securing the solar panels on the roof.  The roof is usually made of one layer of corrugated metal sheets. Not enough to sustain the weight of an adult.  One can stand on the roof by laying something flat, such as the top of a bench, on the roof and stand on it.  By spreading one’s weight over an area larger than your feet, one can avoid damaging the roof or even falling through it.  This is physics and the local youths know how to so this.  But not our students.  

On the first day of the installation in the field, progress is, unsurprising, slow.  Students are not familiar with the houses, and are often unsure how to even get started.  We group them in larger groups of 6 or seven to work on one house together.  After doing one or tow houses this way, they have mastered the skills and are more confident.   We then split them in smaller teams so that everyone is fully occupied and progress is much faster. 

Most youths and their family would like for them to attend university, because they believe therein lies a brighter future.  But the country also needs skilled workers for construction, electricity, plumbing, health, …, which may not require an university education but rather practical skills.  There are plenty of opportunities to make a decent living there, and beyond.  Hence the importance of vocational schools.  We hope that the practical technical and organisational skills the local youths pick up from this project is serving them well.