Construction World February 2016

BUILDING THE MIRACLE CAMPUS

Roland David, environmental monitoring manager at GIBB.

The Urban and Peri-urban Water Supply Project is an ongoing water supply project which incorporates the upgrade of current water supply infrastructure and the establishment of a new system in the province of Semonkong. “Compiling a procedures manual for use in a water supply network and reticulation upgrade project that includes five towns in Lesotho, GIBB worked with the Water and Sewage Company (WASCO) to ensure that the beneficiaries received safe, fit for purpose, quality infrastructure,” explained Roland David, environmental monitoring manager at GIBB. The initial conclusions arising from the project were that themonitoring aspects of the environmental management plan needed to be incorporated into the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) policies and procedures as soon as possible so that uninter- rupted monitoring could continue post construction. Furthermore, that WASCO staff operated in a manner that was safe to themselves, surrounding communities and the environment. The Health and Safety Policy Manual is now complete and has been approved by the LMDA and WASCO. There were 10 procedures that were identi- fied in the manual where risks were identified. GIBB developed these procedures to address these high risk areas but also as an exercise to develop the templates in which all future procedures could be developed. “The identified risks included areas such as personnel, skills and competencies relating to health and safety, awareness of health and safety, procedures, systems, documentation, driving, travel, weather and equipment,” shared David. “The direct benefits of this project are the infra- structural foundations, skills development, institu- tional changes that are in turn creating wealth and advancement for Lesotho. We are on the right track to achieve full implementation and sustainable benefits for Lesotho,” concluded David. Engineering consulting firm, GIBB, has developed the Health and Safety Policy Manual for the Urban and Peri-urban Water Supply Project. Developed in partnership with WASCO and the LMDA, the aim of the project is to address the water supply challenges faced by Lesotho. > LESOTHO WATER SUPPLY PROGRESS

Barloworld Equipment, the Caterpillar dealer for Southern Africa, has together with Caterpillar, donated earthmoving equipment to Swaziland-based The Luke Commission (TLC) to assist with the building of its Miracle Campus.

counselling, wheelchair access, cataract removal, laboratory testing, TB screening, x-rays and more. Of the Barloworld Equipment and Caterpillar donation, VanderWal says: “As the TLC Miracle Campus is developed over the next several years, the Barloworld Equipment donationwill help TLC leverage its resources to serve significantly more patients. In 2016 TLC will expand to two teams and increase the number of patients served by more than 50%. The equipment from Barloworld is critical to TLC attaining Swaziland’s strategic goal of taking comprehensive health care ‘close to the people’. “We are thoroughly delighted with this partnership and very thankful for the commitment Barloworld Equipment has made to touching the lives of those in rural communities.” Lesibana Ledwaba, Barloworld Equip- ment’s divisional executive director: strategy, risk and operational transforma- tion, points out that rural communities are the ones who bear the brunt in terms of a lack of basic services such as access to healthcare centres and other services that urban communities take for granted. “When our principal approached us to partner with them for the construction of the healthcare facility in Swaziland, we did not hesitate as this initiative perfectly matches our vision for shared value creation, plus we have a footprint in the country. Some of our employees also come from the same communities that currently experience limited access to quality healthcare services.” “ The dream now,” concluded VanderWal, “is to make Miracle Campus a centre of excellence and training with the intent of training teams in other southern African countries to duplicate what TLC has done in Swaziland.” Barloworld Equipment and Cater- pillar join TLC’s diversified team of part- ners including the Kingdom of Swaziland and USAID.

TLC’s Miracle Campus is the base from which it operates its lifesaving mobile hospital

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out-reach services, taking medical treat- ment to Swaziland’s rural communities, most of whom have limited access to healthcare services. In February 2013, TLC received a dona- tion to buy 30-acres of land in Sidvokodvo – 25 km south of Manzini – to build its Miracle Campus. TLC has been providing mobilemedical services through its mobile hospitals to Swaziland’s impoverished communities for nine years without a permanent base of operations. The Miracle Campus is now home to TLC’s logistics nerve centre, several large warehouses that store inventory and where restocking of its mobile hospital units takes place, staff housing, visitor accommodation, offices and more. The Barloworld and Caterpillar donation, which included a financial contribution by TLC to fund a portion of the cost of the equipment, was re- ceived in early November. It comprised a Cat backhoe loader, Cat utility roller and Cat telehandler. The equipment will be used for further construction at Miracle Campus. It’s a five-year project that will see construction of 37 buildings including a Specialised Care & Surgical Centre and patient accommodation. Echo VanderWal, managing executive director of the Luke Commission, says that without the Miracle Campus as a base for its operations, TLC would not have managed to provide 300 000 medical services to 60 000 patients in Swaziland’s rural communities in 2015. Since starting its mobile hospital services in Swaziland in 2006, TLC has treated more than 267 755 patients and provided more than 1,1-million medical services. Among these services are eye tests and glasses fitted, blood pressure and sugar tests, surgeries, HIV testing and

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD FEBRUARY 2016