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Africa

Europe

GandoPrimaryScho

ol

Sometimes solving a seemingly impossibleproblem just takes a fresh way of thinkingabout it.

That was the case in Gando, Burkina Faso,where the village school was about to collapsein 1999. Without it, kids would have to walkfor hours to the closest school or stop goingaltogether. There was no money to repair theold concrete school, and building a new oneseemed out of the question.

Smart DesignThe old concrete-and-tin school was dark andhot inside. According to Dibdo, it was likea room to bake bread, not to teach somebody.He wanted the new school to be comfortableaplace where students would want to be. Dibdocame up with ingenious ways to make the newschool naturally bright and cool without airconditioning, fans, or lights. His design was so

impressive, it won awards around the world.

NewIdeasforOldResources

Build a Better School,Build a Better LifeWith a lot of hard work, Dibdo made his dreamof building a school to sustain his community a reality.Since 2001, Gandos villagers have built an additionwith a public library and teachers housing. More than800 students attend the school today. And with thenew construction skills they learned building theirschool, Gandos villagers are earning money worki ngon projects in other towns. Following Gandos lead,

other communities are building sustainable schools

and houses using clay bricks.

But not to Dibdo Kr, an architectwho grew up in Gando. Hed been studyingarchitecture in Germany, and he believed thatGando had everything it needed to build a newschool. It wouldnt be easythe village had noelectricity, few resources, and no money to buywhat was needed. But the biggest challengewould be convincing the villagers that claytheone resource they had plenty ofcould be usedto build a sturdy school. The villagers had givenup building with clay long ago because the rainyseason damaged and destroyed clay buildings.Theyd been building with expensive importedconcrete for years, following designs broughtin from places with cooler climates that werentwell suited to Gandos hot temperatures.

Fact:Dibdthe school. It isa gap where hthe school. It ain. The wide ovfrom the sun s

TheGandovillagers are m

puttinga vegetablegarde

Gando,Burkina Faso

Dibdo was the son of the chief,

and had the opportunity to go to

boarding school in another town.

He earned a scholarship to

university and became the rst

person from Gando to get a degree.

Thewhole village helpedbuild theschool.Womenstampeddowntheclayoor;children carriedmudandstones; andmen madetheclaybricks,constructedthewalls,andputtheroofinplace.