Tim Jackson has been the director of Impact Mentoring Academy since September of this year. When he first took a walk on the campus, located at the former Berkeley Institute, he noticed that the steps were not in the most ideal condition. So, he spoke with staff, colleagues and students at the school about fixing them or replacing them altogether with new steps.
“ We started a fundraising campaign [for the project] and we were able to raise all the necessary funds within seven days,” Dr. Jackson said. “ We made sure that our young men knew how to do the calculations and dismantled the [old] steps last week Thursday and Friday and were able to start the refurbishing process last Friday.”
Eight senior Impact Academy students are working on the refurbishment, which should be completed by tomorrow (Dec. 17).
Allanette Hayward from Urban Construction Services (UCS) helped to oversee the project as well and thoroughly enjoyed working with the students.
“ We did the logistics for this project before we started the actual construction,” Ms. Hayward said. “ The students have to apply Pythagoras to understand the layout of the stairs and now they have to put the stairs back. First, we removed the existing stairs, then cleared the area and filled areas around it which were not in good condition and when everything was cleared, students dug holes using the old-fashioned method, learned how to mix fast concrete, put the sides in allowing the concrete to set and today we are back here so that the refurbishment can be completed.”
Trey Vance is one of the students who worked on the project and is following in his grandfather, Sylvan Richards Sr. ‘s, footsteps and plans to receive a college degree in Engineering and work either at BELCO or in the U.S.
“ My grandpa taught me a lot of things when I was younger, and I am able to use a lot of what he taught me and apply it to fixing our steps,” he said. “ This project is just one of the many opportunities that Impact has given me.”
Any company on the island who needs to be certified can do so through Ms. Hayward and UCS. They can certify people in carpentry, electrical work, plumbing and other trades. They can email urbanconstructionservices@gmail.com or contact 703 0120.————————————————————————————————-Any content which is considered unsuitable, unlawful, or offensive, includes personal details, advertises or promotes products, services or websites, or repeats previous comments will be removed.
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