Uganda & Serbia Special Projects

Cyfle Building Skills and EFOD South West Wales Maternity Ward Cyfle Building Skills/CITB Shared Apprentices have just returned from a charity project in Kachumbala, Uganda with memories to last a lifetime. Various trades from Cyfle Shared Apprentices have been helping to build a maternity ward with charity EFOD South West Wales, helping to make a difference to the people in Uganda. Putting their skills to good use, the CITB Shared Apprentices have assisted on site with the Bricklaying, Carpentry, Plastering, Plumbing and Electrical work on the project, purchasing products and supervision of the local people (40 workers per day). Whilst the Shared Apprentices were working in Kachumbala, there they have made friends with local youngsters who were also working on the project. On their last days working on the scheme the Cyfle/CITB Shared Apprentices would choose to donate most of their belongings (all tools and clothes) to the workers who assisted on the project. One of the quotes from Sam Shaw Bricklaying Shared Apprentice was:  'This was a life changing experience for us all and we look forward to seeing the Maternity Ward completed at the end of the year, with new babies born in a first class facility which will support the local and wider communities.' The Maternity Ward is now in its final phase and Cyfle Building Skills is hoping to send a group of current and ex CITB/Shared Apprentices out as a final snagging team to check on the progress and hopefully this will enable the handover of the Maternity Ward to take place in April/May 2017

Ugandan maternity ward built by CITB Cyfle Shared Apprentices Opens A brand new African maternity Ward built by Cyfle Building Skills and CITB Welsh construction trainees will officially open to the community of Kachumbala, Uganda, on November 3 2017. Since the project started in 2015, 25 CITB and Welsh Government-funded apprentices from Cyfle Building Skills have used their construction skills on the ward, a venture which will bring life-changing facilities to the local community. Anthony Rees, Regional Manager at Cyfle Building Skills will officially hand over the maternity ward. He will be joined by to two midwives from Hywel Dda Health Board Cyfle Apprentices have been working with Ugandan construction worker to build the ward and share ideas. The £100k maternity ward project has been partly financed by fundraising in Wales and has seen CITB and Cyfle work in partnership with Engineers for Overseas Development (EFOD) South West Wales and HKS architects. Mark Bodger Strategic Partnerships Director for CITB Wales, said: “The Cyfle team have worked hard to create a facility that will benefit the community in Uganda for many years to come. This project demonstrates how construction can make a huge difference to communities. It is also a life- changing project for the Cyfle apprentices who worked on the build – what a legacy to already have at the start of their construction career.” Anthony Rees, Regional Manager at Cyfle Building Skills, said: “The maternity ward project has been a significant step in the development of Cyfle’s CITB Apprenticeship Programme. “The trips to Uganda have helped our apprentices’ learning, including decision making and transferring skills. The project will make a huge difference to the local community and I believe will leave a lasting impression on the team of apprentices.”

Cyfle Building Skills CITB Apprentices have recently been a part of a project to construct a new build for 22 local volunteer firefighters in the Serbian village of Tometino Polje. The very active Tometinto Polje Voluntary Fire Brigade consists of 22 members, set up to fight forest fires in summer in and around our small village in West Serbia. Their only fire engine (1957 Green Goddess) is beginning to degrade due to the extremes of summer and winter, hence the need to build her a fire station. The Fire Brigade is legally established in Serbia and are members of Blazing to Serbia and also Fire Aid. The Ground Breaking Ceremony in September was attended by Blazing to Serbia, local dignitaries and the British Ambassador, HMA, Denis Keefe. More information can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/GreenGoddessOdyssey/?hc_ref=ARQJ9smdYiCbPxLr0BdF0LHGQrUGVlXFypkDMDTLJBkmp-TFqWeZ2cF0p3gXNOPFXUs&fref=nf THE BUILD PROJECT: Funding was secured from the local council to enable them to build the station over 3 years but budgets are very tight. Simple plans were prepared and the station site was excavated and ready for activity. The plan for the first year of build was to create foundations, build walls on the first floor and assemble the ceiling. Work began in late May and Cyfle Building Skills sent out their first of two teams in early June 2018 for a two week visit. The basic structure of the fire station will be complete by the 30th of June, when team 2 returns from their 2-week visit. After the first week of the visit to Serbia by team 1 from Cyfle Building Skills, a progress report was sent: It was reported that the first day on the build project was a challenge with water shortages and power cuts; the team overcame this and “on the second day there was 16 volunteers on site and were enjoying good support from brigade members”. Below are some progression images on the fire station build by Team 1 which consisted of Paul Falzon Cyfle Shared Apprentice Coordinator, Steven Brenchley CITB Shared Apprentice Bricklayer, Dylan Evans CITB Shared Apprentice Electrician and Daniel Jones an ex CITB Shared Apprentice Bricklayer. Team 2 which consisted of Owain Phillips an ex CITB Shared Apprentice Carpenter, Kane Lewis a CITB Shared Apprentice Plasterer, Rebecca Coles a CITB Shared Apprentice Electrician and Cerys Burrill a CITB Shared Apprentice Carpenter working cooperatively with the volunteers of the Serbian Brigade.   This is the most recent Photo of the fire station built by the 2 teams of the CITB Cyfle apprentices and volunteers in Serbia, with the completion of the foundations and even managed to get the roof completed.