Village of Hope - the success story continues

A few weeks ago, 25 students from the University of Stuttgart completed their project in Grabouw in South Africa. In a collaboration with the South African non-governmental organisation Tembalitsha and the Patritzia Kinderhaus AG, and thanks to the support of numerous generous donors, a group of students the Prof. Arno Lederer Institute for Public Buildings and Designs was again able to travel to South Africa this year to realise the previously drafted design for the refurbishment and extension of the Village of Hope's children's unit.

The Village of Hope, a former farm located on the outskirts of Grabouw, 70 km to the northwest of Cape Town, takes in AIDS orphans and children infected with HIV. There, they are given hope of an untroubled childhood and a longer life. But the accommodation in the "Village of Hope" was severely overcrowded and so the University of Stuttgart stepped in to help permanently enlarge the facility. Two residential buildings for voluntary helpers had been constructed in the years before. This year, the existing children's unit was refurbished and a new building was added so that a larger number of children can be taken in and cared for.

In all of the projects, the focus was on the use of traditional materials from the regions - wood, straw and clay - and recycling products as well as on energy-efficient construction. For most of the students, actually realising their own planning - including enduring the hard physical work and the foreign climate - was a new experience that allowed them to looked back with pride on their achievement once the project had been completed. And so the Ukuqala3 project "build together – learn together" was realised during a very intensive construction phase with a great deal of joy and enthusiasm on the part of all involved, and the students returned to Stuttgart with many lasting impressions and memorable experiences.

The entire lighting for the project comes from the Nimbus Group, who again provided 52 energy-saving LED luminaires for the third construction phase. The children were particularly happy with the Squeeze suspended luminaires which the Nimbus Group included in its shipment, and they were given pride of place in the children's unit's play area. "Actually, we only intended to use decorative elements in turquoise this year," said Leslie Koch, the project coordinator from Stuttgart University. "But the children were so pleased with the luminaires in their striking shade of magenta that we completely revised our colour scheme. The children's unit now features magenta picture frames and multicoloured doors to the rooms. The children often came to the building site and thought about what colour door they would like to have for their room."

Dietrich F. Brennenstuhl, founder of the Nimbus Group, is very pleased about the students' engagement in South Africa. "It's fantastic what is being achieved in this project with help of volunteers," he points out. "We are proud to supply the children's village with our luminaires. We would like to thank the students for their commitment and are happy to be a part of this project."

More information: http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/ioeb/ukuqala/