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2008 November
REFILWE Project (512) FURNITURE AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT HANDOVER
For the newer Rotarians and readers of the Sandtarian, what we termed the Project 512 is now the Refilwe Hall and Community Centre. The project was valued at R2,5 million and thanks in particular to Mark Batchelor, was completed at a significantly lesser figure. At the time of the plaque unveiling, we had the hall and a wish list of requirements to make it more functional. All this is thanks to a matching grant for the RC of Sandton in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Hertford, Hertford Shires, and Amwell in the UK.
We have now been able to provide 40 tables and 500 chairs, a sound system, and heaps of sports equipment. Last Thursday a party of Rotarians went off to Refilwe to hand these over.
The picture here is the Director of Refilwe Jaco van Schalkwyk, President Di, and Dudley Schnetler who handles all our matching grants. Here to the right is the expanse of the hall that is being made use of for numerous events and activities.
For those unacquainted with the Refilwe "campus" a visit to the facility and a tour thereof with Jaco will surely be an eye-opener. The site accommodates a pre-primary school, a primary school, a high school, and also an orphanage. Refilwe is also involved in food gardens there and all sorts of other activities.
 
2008 February
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
During 2003 the World Championships of the International Golfing Fellowship of Rotarians was held in South Africa and more specifically at Sun City that is situated 160
kilometres (100 miles) from Johannesburg. Rotary golfers from all over the world assembled here for a week of golf. The convenor of the Rotary Golf was Peter Dupen from the Rotary Club of Sandton and a Past Governor of District 9300.
The route from Johannesburg leads north-west along the route 512 (hence the project name) past the Lanseria airport, Broederstroom and the Hartebeespoort Dam and it
was estimated that, at that time, 50 000 people live in the scattered informal settlements and communities bordering the route in the area of Lanseria. High unemployment with the accompanying social ills and lack of services are features of this rural area.
En route to Sun City these squalid conditions that people lived under were pointed out to the tourists and during the golfing week sufficient funds were raised to kick off the project towards the upliftment of this impoverished community but primarily to build a Community Centre cum School Hall And so the story began...
THE LOCATION
The first objective was to find a suitable site in this area. At first a site on Blair Athol, Gary Player's farm, was identified but, when this was sold, it was necessary to find a new site. Most land was privately owned farms but one site that stood out was where the St Ansgar's High School was located. Originally this site was a resort by the name of The Wilderness with the Crocodile River running right through it.
On both sides of the river were about 18 chalets for guests together with all other buildings that one would expect in a holiday resort. There were tennis courts, an Olympic sized swimming pool and many other facilities. The bridge over the river was an old box-girder bridge which we believe was on the old road that preceded the main route as we know it today. When The Wilderness closed down many years ago, the land was purchased by the Anglican Church. Here they built St Ansgar's Private School using some of the resort's
building and ultimately the land and the buildings were leased to the GDE (Gauteng Department of Education), also taking over the administration of the school.
By Aug 2004 through the efforts of Peter Dupen it was announced with the club that the Anglican Church had offered this land which was to be split 50/50 with the GDE who would use their portion for St Ansgar's High and for a primary school that was to be built, while the other half would be used for a pre-primary school, recreational facilities, a community centre, school hall, food gardens and leave some room for a church.
Up the road was the farm Blair Athol that belonged to the champion golfer, Gary Player. On this farm was the Blair Athol Primary School that had been built some years earlier by the Player family and other benefactors, and run by the GDE. The Players had recently sold the farm to developers who intended to build a golf estate and these developers had undertaken to build a new school once land could be obtained.
THE PLAN
1. The relocation of the Primary School from Blair Atholl Farm
2. The relocation of the Pre-Primary School from Blair Atholl Farm
3. The construction of a Community Development Centre/School Hall adjacent to the above schools.
4. The development of the site as a rural community node to incorporate food gardens, skills training, clinic and pension facilities.
THE ROLE PLAYERS
- The Gauteng Department of Education (Relocation of Primary School).
- Wraypex, the Blair Atholl Farm developers who have undertaken to re-locate the schools.
- The Gary Player Foundation which runs the Pre Primary School and assists with services to the Primary School (eg. Resource Centre).
- The Anglican Church, owners and lessors of the land and buildings of the St Ansgar's High School.
- The Rotary Club of Sandton, facilitators for the self help building of the Community Development Centre/School Hall
- The Community Trust, a body yet to be formed.
THE ACTION REQUIRED
By the Gauteng Department of Education:
1. Site development plan allowing for:
a. Upgrade of existing High School
b. Existing Housing
c. Siting and plans for new Primary School
d. Siting of Pre-Primary School
e. Services upgrade including roads, sewers, electricity, water etc.
f. Siting of Community Development Centre/School Hall
g. Food Gardens
h. Site for future building (Church)
By the Anglican Church:
1. Letter confirming donation of land
2. Formation of Community Trust (Project cost)
By Wraypex:
1. Establish mechanism for the building of the Primary School with the GDE.
2. Draw up plans for Pre Primary School and schedule building as soon as site available.
By Rotary Club of Sandton:
1. Remain as coordinators/facilitators until Community Trust established
2. Progress training of community members in preparation for building the Community Development Centre/School Hall
By the Community Trust:
1. Establish Articles of Association
2. Set Objectives
3. Plan administration of the site
All that was missing was the Community Trust or an existing organization.
THE PARTNERS
Usually Rotary plan, build and then hands over projects to organizations already in place. The Rotary Club of Sandton was committed to building a community centre and doing projects to uplift the community in the process but they needed to find a partner that would run and administer the centre once it had been completed.
Initially it was envisaged to establish a trust with Rotarians and community leaders to hold the assets on behalf of the community. However there was no tribal history or infrastructure in the area with most of the informal dwellers being alien to the area. Also, given the poverty, non-literacy, and unskilled abilities of the population, establishing such a trust and leaving it to be run by inexperienced persons would be a risk. Therefore the priority was to find an existing organization in the area with that experience and ability.
A few kilometres back up the R512 was another pocket of shanties and in their midst was Refilwe, an organization occupying some self-built basic buildings that housed a pre-school, an 30-bed AIDS hospice, a clinic, organised food gardens, and other projects to assist in the upliftment of the informal settlement dwellers.
This organization was established by interested church groups and other communityminded individuals. They seemed to be the ideal partners to administer and run the location.
THE RED TAPE
1 Land claims:
A search was done at Denys Reitz by Rotarian Peter Viljoen - None were found.
2 Lease agreements:
Lawyer Rotarian John Bird prepared the new agreements. There would be 3 agreements:
3.1 The cancellation of the existing lease agreement between the Anglican Church and the GDE.
3.2 The new agreement between the Church and Refilwe.
3.3 The sublease agreement between Refilwe and the GDE.
THE SITE PLAN
Architect Rotarian Michael Thomas undertook to draft these plans as well as the draft building plans.
Below is a Google view of the site before construction:
THE CONSTRUCTION
Now that all the red tape had been taken care of and our partners were in place, we were ready to get the construction going. Refilwe moved in, Wreypex built the primary and the pre-school, the clinic was opened, the people living in the some of the cottages were re-located, but still construction did not get going.
We encountered set-backs and limitations in the construction training of the local inhabitants that created difficulties and impracticalities. The Rotary Club, through its network, tried to get contractors to quote and involve these contractors in community responsibility projects given that the cash on hand amounted to 40% of the budgeted cost. This did not materialise.
It was then decided to move away from traditional concrete and brick construction and use steel instead. Once the bases had been cast and the steel work erected, the locals could then fill in the bricks. This too exceeded the funds available and it was then that property developer Rotarian Mark Batchelor the area he persuaded a number of specialist contractors to charge reduced prices and "piggy back" the work needed onto other commercial projects he was busy with.
The hall was relocated onto the top of the old (long drained) "Olympic size" pool and the concrete walls were incorporated into the design as the foundations. This resulted in the hall increasing in size by about 30% as well as reducing the cost. The adjacent trees were thus retained and the problem of the "sunken" netball court was solved.
The effect of using a number of small specialist contractors, the subsidies they provided, and the use of the defunct swimming pool walls enabled the basic structure to be completed at a cost of about half the original commercial budget (and 30% larger). The available funds were thus sufficient to complete the basic elements.
There was always an intention to use local labour and to thereby provide employment as part of the project. This the specialist contractors did, but an area where there was an even greater opportunity was in the provision of the bricks. A very simple Brickmaking machine was donated by a cement manufacturer and despite the fact that the project was slowed down by several months (and the bricks were no less expensive than those commercially available) a brick business was started. Over a period of 5 months the site team (composed entirely of locals) made the 55 000 bricks needed for the hall. The first bricks were tested by a laboratory and the mix design adjusted to produce a product which met the necessary standards.
This operation has continued since as a commercial venture providing a number of people with ongoing employment.
Work started on site during February 2007 and progressed quite rapidly (earthworks, floor slab/raft, structural steelwork etc) until April 2007. At that point the brick manufacture was the limiting factor. The last bricks were ready and cured by August and the hall was then completed sufficiently to enable it to start being used by the end of October 2007. Since then elements such as the stage area and the entrance canopy have been added.
THE PICTORIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE THE HALL
The "Olympic Pool" before and after the earthworks.
The brick making process:
Steelwork & Brick Laying:
The Roofing & Cladding:
Coming along...
And finally...
Then and Now .... See the tree that lived though it all!
The Interior measures approximately 50 metres by 35 metres and has four badminton courts laid out.
It is large enough for an indoor basketball or netball court.
The high school... and the pre-primary
At the plaque unveiling from left to
right:
Rob Peacock, 2007/8 president of the
Rotary Club of Sandton
Peter Dupen, PDG and project
initiator.
Mark Batchelor, project developer
Jaco van Schalkwyk, general
manager of Refilwe
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Project 512 - Refilwe
