The inventory was completed quickly. Two buildings had significant structural defects, which posed a danger to pupils and teachers. In addition, the classrooms were not big enough for the many pupils, which meant that many of them had to be taught outside in often unacceptable temperatures (up to +40 degrees in summer and +2 degrees in fall). With only five cubicles, the existing latrines were far from adequate and were in serious need of renovation. The lack of access to clean water also impaired school operations and the children’s learning success, as they suffered from severe thirst in summer.

The first step was to complete the construction of the five unfinished classrooms and fit them out. The measure was successfully completed at the beginning of 2016 and cost around €4,000.

After careful planning and preparation of the next steps, we realized the construction of eight gender-segregated, barrier-free sanitary facilities including hand washing facilities with clean drinking water at a cost of € 23,771.00 in 2017 with our local partner VUSAF. We received 75% of our funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Thanks to the optimized hygiene conditions, the pupils’ health, educational opportunities and learning success have improved ever since.

In 2017, we also provided the school with 15 weatherproof tents as part of an emergency aid measure to temporarily ease the acute lack of space. This has already increased class attendance. Of course, tents are only a temporary solution, which is why we tackled the expansion of the school with new buildings in several phases.

The construction of eight new classrooms began in 2018 in order to improve the quality of learning in suitable rooms. There was also a science laboratory and week-long workshops for science teachers. The project was successfully completed in summer 2019 and science subjects can now be taught in practice. The project costs for this phase amounted to around €185,000 and we received around 85% of our funding from the BMZ.

However, as there was still a shortage of classrooms, we started building a new classroom wing in August 2019. This was completed and fully equipped in January 2021. The building houses 12 furnished classrooms and four teachers’ rooms. The latter now enable teachers to prepare and follow up lessons thoroughly and in peace, which significantly improves the quality of teaching.

We also equipped a room in the new 8-classroom building as a computer lab right at the start. In October 2019, computer science courses were launched for pupils in the 8. and 9th grade. After a forced break due to the coronavirus, four groups (64 participants each) had already completed their computer courses by February 2021. The courses are led by professional trainers who introduce and support the responsible teachers for 16 months so that they can then take over the lessons independently. Computer science lessons are part of the national curriculum, but have not yet been able to take place due to a lack of materials and knowledge. This enables students to acquire important key qualifications that increase their chances of finding a good apprenticeship or further education. The total project costs for the 12 classrooms incl. IT courses amount to around €419,000 and the BMZ is subsidizing this project with around €290,000.

In addition, we were able to build a playground for the younger children at the school in summer 2020 with financial support from the Hamburg Senate Chancellery. This creates a place for pupils to relax and let off steam during breaks, which increases their ability to concentrate. This project cost around €4,000.

The infrastructure measures were completed in December 2020. After that, computer courses were held for a total of 384 pupils and 4 teachers until the end of March. The teachers were trained to continue the IT lessons prescribed in the curriculum. At the start of the courses, over 50% of participants aged between 14 and 17 had never worked with a computer before. In today’s world, this is fatal, as most further education and training programs require computer skills. In fact, before starting the courses, over 70% of participants expressed a career aspiration for which they needed this knowledge. For example as an engineer, doctor or teacher. After the courses, over 85% of the students even aspired to this. We are all the more pleased that the participants have come one step closer to this future perspective: Our surveys showed a significant improvement in Microsoft Office and other IT skills, such as knowledge of basic hardware components. This opens up new training and further education opportunities for students and paves the way for them to lead an independent, digitalized life.

In 2019, we began conducting surveys of pupils and teachers for the first time in order to better track the results of our activities, measure their impact and identify any modifications for follow-up projects. The initial results already showed an enormous increase in positive attitudes, hopes and motivation among some pupils as a result of the improved learning environment. At the end of the project in 2021, we plan to carry out an external professional evaluation to measure the impact of the entire project on the quality of teaching, attendance rates, learning success and motivation of pupils and teachers even more comprehensively.