- Tender report has been approved by streetfootballworld/FIFA on December 21, 2012.
- Negotiated contract has been signed by contractor. Waiting to be countersigned by Architecture for Humanity San Francisco.
- Insurance for contractor has been finalized but not paid for yet.
- Expected start of construction: January 28, 2013.
- Expected completion: June 2013, hopefully sooner.

Project Update 12/12/17

- Tender report has been submitted to streetfootballworld on December 14, 2012.
Expected approval date: after the holidays.
- Negotiated contract with contractor ready to be signed.
- Insurance for contractor ready to be finalized early January.
- Expected start of construction: January 14, 2013 pending on completion of well, which was started but not finished.
- Expected completion: June 2013, hopefully sooner.

DRC terminology:

- Je suis en route: ‘I’m on my way’ means: when you are waiting for someone that you have an appointment with he or she will arrive anywhere in between 30 minutes and 4 hours.

- When you ask someone a specific question the answer depends on:
1. Who you ask
2. The time of the day
Example: People tell you that the Governor said the power will be shut off for a week.
This means:
A Not true
B True for all of Lubumbashi
C True for all of Katanga Province
C True for all of Congo, DRC
D I’m running out of battery

- White folks are called ‘Muzungu’. It means ‘the white guy’ or ‘Monsieur le Blanc’, but as per Google it actually means: "confused person wandering about" and "someone who roams around aimlessly".

- Monsieur Flamingo: White guy with skinny legs walking around in shorts (sans-culottes).

Currently working on:

- Tender Documents
- Construction Drawings
- Meetings with Contractor and Architect of Record for preparation of Tender Documents, Insurance issues and Contract questions
- Greenfields and Yingli/Phaesun Documents

Design Fellow wants to get as much done as possible so that even more can get done when Mark Warren, Program Coordinator Architecture for Humanity Cape Town, will be in Lubumbashi next week.

Good News:

The Design Development Package has been approved by streetfootballworld on October 15.

Now:

Tender Package Preparation

September 9, 2012

First donation to the project besides the donation of the football pitch (Green fields) and the Solar System (Yingli/Phaesun):

Lubumbashi based Vin Mart Foundation committed to donate the well for the Football for Hope Centre Kalebuka. This is the first important step of the construction. After its completion we can start fabrication of Hydraform Blocks with soil from the FIFA site, water and cement. Thank you Vin Mart !!!

Second donation to the project:
Now we are looking for 500 bags of cement !!!

Links:
http://vinmartfoundation.org/

http://www.greenfields.eu/

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/socialresponsibility/fifapartners/yingli.h...

August 25, 2012
Working over the weekend trying to finish design development set.
Saturday 2pm meeting with Architect of Record.
Electricity at house where I live: weak, not even enough to power a laptop. Battery dead. Saturday 9pm-midnight: working in walk-in closet where there is a working fluorescent light, marking up drawings. Incandescent bulbs not working , need too much electricity.
Sunday morning: no electricity, no coffee, bucket wash with cold water.

Design Fellow (DF)is trying hard to satisfy all demands from various sides (Architecture for Humanity HQ, AfH Cape Town, Center Host (CH), Design Development submission, budget restraints, schedule). He’s not trying to find excuses and he would be the first and happiest if he could satisfy every demand immediately.
There are things that can be considered:
- Electricity in Congo gets turned off every day, every where, erratically for various periods of time.
DF stays in house of mother of center host. Example: 08/21: Electricity gets turned off at 9.30 am. DF works at house until battery is dead around noon. DF dislocates to nearby restaurant w/ electricity to work and for lunch. 3.30pm: DF dislocates to nearby hotel for internet connection, he works there often in the lobby (cappuccino: $9, coke, sm. Beer: $5, croquet monsieur: $16, salad nicoise: $19), internet 1hr: $5, internet 12hr: $10). 6pm: DF returns to his house, continues to work till battery of laptop dies.
No electricity at house. 9.00pm: DF meets with contractor of center host for construction of tennis court at CH school. DF does this as a favor, because he likes the CH and because he’s is interested in good working relationship. The meeting takes place with candle light at house of DF - not for romantic reasons. Electricity returns to the house the following morning at 8am.
- Internet connection is not easier: USB stick, wireless connection: $10 for logging in, checking messages, answering some, maybe sending attachment … $10 gone.
DF can work at school of CH but doesn’t want to go there because it takes b/w 1 and 2 hours to get there plus expenses for transport (first week: $80).
- Housing: DF is lucky and happy to be staying in house next to house of the mother of the CH on the same property. She and her 3 daughters are very nice and cook every day breakfast and dinner for DF outdoors on a little wood charcoal grill. Cost: $400 rent/month (a steal in Lubumbashi), plus expenses for food, plus $50 for night guard, plus $100 for lady who cleans house, washes clothes and carries water every morning for DF from I don’t know how far away. There is no running water on property; bucket showers (in the case there is electricity: warm) do the job and safe a lot of water.
- Meetings: Get canceled without notice. DF finds out when he arrives at location.

RESULT: DF is happy to do a good job, design a good building, make the most space possible for the amount of money available, likes the Congolese People and Center Host and satisfy most of the small and big favors asked for.

Hi all,
I arrived well in Lubumbashi.
All is well, working in the office of the CH. Met with AoR and Minister. Trying to speed up things a bit. It is dry season (very dusty, since most roads are unpaved), temperature comfortable.
People are fabricating bricks here all over. They are using the clay rich soil of termite mounds, form and burn it to make bricks and houses. Some areas look surreal; the Architecture of brick making. Not very ecological since they use a lot of wood.
Electricity gets turned off every day periodically to dedicate the available power to the mining industry. That means cold showers, candle light, no coffee making, dying of laptop battery ... feels like heaven compared to Cape Town:)
More news to follow, if I can get online!
Oliver Kienzi