Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Meet in the Middle

Right in the middle of town adjacent to the Community Center is a large, rundown community hall. During the time of the Havelock Mine the structure was used as a place to grab a drink after a day at work and was also used to host community meetings.
           
Today, even in its dilapidated state, the building is sporadically used for large community events and is home to one of the Community Center’s classrooms. The vision, however, is to transform this building into a multi-purpose community hall to host community events and to be the new home for Bulembu’s church by the end of this year.

“The process of renovating this building is quite simple,” says Colin Cotterrell, Bulembu’s Resident Engineer. “We will strip off the cladding on the side walls but leave the roof on. We will brick up the walls, fit all the doors and windows, redo the floor, upgrade the stage with a new lighting and sound system and build adequate washroom facilities.”

The renovations on the 656m² space are scheduled to move ahead at the beginning of June and are estimated to take just over four months to complete.

“The best part about this building is that it is in a central location that will fit over 1,000 people seated,” Cotterrell says. “It is the ideal spot to gather the community from the Village, the Orphan Homes up on the Dvudvusi hill, as well as everyone that lives up the hill by the Lodge.”
The Community Hall.

A view of the other side.

 
The stage and floor space inside the Community Hall.
 
The back of the Community Hall. Behind the wall is a large room originally used as a kitchen and for storage.
 

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