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The Fire 2: Cleanup and Rebuilding
CLEAN UP
The government's department of environment provided trucks and equipment to
clean up the fire damage. After all the above ground debris was removed, the
same department came and removed the cement and stone floor and foundations from
the old building. God was truly gracious as this cost us very little.
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The school provided volunteers for the cleanup process. |
By April 22, the building was cleared away. |
AFTERMATH
Since the fire took place on a Saturday, the services of First Presbyterian
Church, which were held in the building and pastored by Rev. Asgar Hamid (a
former student of the school and now administrator), were held in the largest of
the classrooms. During the school day, classes that had been meeting in the
building that was destroyed were held under trees during dry weather and under
the walk-way roof overhangs outside the other classes. Administration was moved
to the house of Rev. Asgar Hamid, which was on the existing compound, but not
damaged by the fire. Rev. and Mrs. Poettcker got an apartment a half mile away
from the school, which was shared by other teachers and assistants from the
school. God has clearly provided, but it was a frustrating ordeal and
continuously unsettled.
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Asgar Hamid teaching a class next to his house and near one of the high
school buildings. |
Rudy Poettcker teaches a class under a palm tree at the end of the
volley ball court during the heat of the late morning. 100° heat in the
shade. |
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Rudy Poettcker in his office in the living room of Asgar Hamid's house
next to the school. |
REBUILDING PLAN PROCESS
The process of rebuilding began even though the insurance settlement for the
building had not taken place. At the moment, the final figures for the building
had not been set because many things required extensive research on cost
comparisons, however, the building itself began on July 14, 2003. Prior to that,
a flurry of plans were sent back and forth between Suriname and the U.S. in
collaboration with building. It would be some while before there would be enough
money to complete the first stage of building (the first floor and cement floor
of the second story, but we have proceeded on faith that this would resolve
itself in time. The contractors with whom we were working were Christians, and
were unusually helpful in the planning and rebuilding process, even to loaning
the school a construction container for use as an administrative office while
the building was being built.
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Efforts begin to reroute the water piping for the school. |
Perry, the Suriname contractor on the left, collaborates with Rudy
Poettcker (center) and Asgar Hamid (right) on the second-floor balcony
of Asgar Hamid's house overlooking the school property. |
We had been in discussions, at the time of the fire, with the same contractor
about building a second-story addition to the existing building (the one that
burned). Engineering tests indicated that the columns for the then existing
building were sufficiently footed and reinforced to carry a second story. The
fire verified the fallacy of this, and saved us incredible agony in possible
damages from building further on the then existing foundations. As a result, the
new building was designed to be built out of cement block instead of wood, and
also was designed to be a bit bigger. The insurance settlement for the old
building did not fully cover the cost of rebuilding it. However, there was no
sense in rebuilding it without including the new building plans, so the new
building was planned to be a two story multi-purpose complex which would house
both the school, some classrooms, its administration office, as well as the
church meeting place all on the first floor.
THE PLANS
To continue, click here to go to the next stage of the building process. While
you are waiting for the new page, please pray for God to provide the finances
needed to complete the rebuilding process.
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