Mbita Boys’ Vocational School


The first priority of Solace's work with YCG orphanage was to rebuild a campus in desperate shape and provide a safe home for some of the many children left without parents by AIDS. As the construction on campus progressed, the question arose what hope for a future to offer older students. Orphans of AIDS in Africa are treated as "untouchable" and face discrimination because of the stigma and misinformation surrounding the disease. The Mbita Boy's Vocational Training Center was started in 2008 to teach marketable skills to young men. Located on the island of Mbita in Lake Victoria, the school is now fully functioning.

Campus structures

  1. Main vocational building (12,000 sq ft with 3 workshop/classrooms)
  2. Boys' dormitory
  3. Student latrines
  4. Main kitchen
  5. Dining hall
  6. Guest house
  7. Guest bath
  8. Main gazebo
  9. Soil stabilized block (SSB) production area

Vocational Programs

  • Skilled labor
    • Welding
    • Carpentry
    • Mechanics
    • Masonry
    • Soil stabilized block production
    • Ferro cement construction
  • Agriculture
    • Crop production
    • Orchard development
    • Composting
    • Animal husbandry
    • Chicken farming
    • Beekeeping
Hospitality

This campus has already produced some of the most talented labor that Solace is using in Africa. Solace would like to thank the community of Mbita for their strong support of this program and of Solace's work in general.


Soil Stabilized Block (SSB) Production

Searching for an affordable eco-friendly alternative to wood construction, Solace found a low cost solution in SSB manufacturing. A mixture of 1 part wet cement to 14 parts soil is compacted in a metal press to form a strong and low-cost brick which can be used in 1- and 2-story construction. Solace and YGC have constructed ten structures in 2 years using SSB, and plan for six more in 2009-2010.