Building in Bombita

John helps construction of the classrooms in the Dominican Republic

Building together

Making a difference has always been important to graduate engineer John Leung, so when he saw a RedR-IHE advert on our intranet looking for volunteers to help build classrooms in the Dominican Republic he wanted to get involved.

John set off to work for five months as project manager and construction supervisor on the project located in the village of Bombita and run by the Community Partners Association in partnership with RedR-IHE – the charity combining the Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief and the International Health Exchange.

“We reached the topping out stage three and a half weeks ahead of schedule,” says John. “The single storey classrooms are built in reinforced blockwork with reinforced concrete details designed to increase resistance to hurricanes. These include a ring beam around the entire building and a ridge beam tied into the reinforced concrete roof.”

“The roof was successfully poured in about five hours – using fourteen men, four wheelbarrows, a cement mixer and a tower for lifting the concrete to roof level,” adds John. “Next came the fitting out, everything from rendering, painting and wiring to fitting doors, windows, toilets, sinks and flooring.”