"We believe in being a responsible and supportive neighbour to the communities close to its operating sites," Lafarge South Africa's Country CEO, Ken MacLean, said. "Nothing is more important in our endeavours to contribute to the sustainable development of local communities than helping the children receive a proper education. We are pleased to have made a significant contribution to improving the well-being of these children."
Caring for over a hundred children in dilapidated and unsafe buildings, the small farm school was providing a remarkable service for the surrounding community. "When we asked for a cement donation, we had no idea that it would solicit such a wonderful response. Thanks to Lafarge South Africa, our children have beautiful, warm classrooms," director of the Busy Bee Primary School, Gloria Padi, commented.
A design for a new school block comprising four classrooms, each of approximately 65m², was drawn up. Inclusive of a good outside covered walkway, the total area was 316m². The Lafarge Readymix team provided over 26m³ of concrete as a sound screed and foundation for the floor. Lafarge Gypsum supplied 1,365m of lightweight steel frame for the wall frames and roof trusses, together with all insulation and cladding. All fitting systems and materials such as roof sheeting, gutters and downpipes, were also supplied or sourced by Lafarge Gypsum.
A key strength of Lafarge South Africa is its ability to address a challenging project holistically and offer an innovative, integrated solution that meets the needs of the situation. In the case of the Busy Bee Primary School, the clear need was to provide four well-built classrooms as soon as possible, before the children were exposed to another Highveld winter.
As a leading player in the plasterboard ceilings and partition market, the Lafarge Gypsum business unit was able to take the lead in this project and provide a rapid high quality solution. This approach was also in line with the government's strategy of promoting advanced building technology (ABT) construction in all of its social infrastructure projects.
