St. Monica's Washroom Renovation
Location: Gulu, Uganda
"We want these girls to know they’re worth something. They are not begging or asking for money. They’re learning a trade."
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe
Summary
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe became Director of St. Monica’s Girls’ Tailoring Centre in the northern Ugandan city of Gulu in 2001 and converted it into a refuge for thousands of girls whose lives had been shattered by the Lord’s Resistance Army. The civil war is over, but Sister Rosemary continues to transform the lives of young women who enroll in her school, now called St. Monica’s Vocational School for Girls, to learn lifelong vocations in sewing, food preparation, jewelry crafting, childcare and other skills that allow them to earn a living for themselves.
The campus has facilities to house and school up to 400 students. The dormitories and wash facilities are close to 50 years old. Two years ago, the girl’s washroom was condemned due to extensive structural and plumbing decay. The girls are now sharing a staff washroom, pushing that service well beyond its intended capacity. Without renovation, the increased pressure on the only existing washroom will result in its failure in the near term, leaving the school with no student wash facilities.
Pipeline Worldwide plans to repair and renovate the girls’ washroom, bringing it up to current building codes and safety standards, and re-establish a dignified facility for the girls to use for their daily routine and bathroom amenities. With this renovation, the facility will be in usable condition for another 50 years.
Progress
2023
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Assessed existing conditions and alternate facilities, the general contractor has reviewed and provided a cost estimate, and we’ve contracted with an architect for design of the renovation. Construction is expected to begin December 2023.