Blog

Today we reached a number of key milestones, including the sag setting of the cables. Cable sag setting involved various team members in a coordinated effort to ensure the bridge will be safe. Luckily we have a number of hand-held radios (kindly lent to us by Geoff at ESS Safeforce) which came in very useful for the team who were using a theodolite from a far part of the site to speak to the winching team at the abutments (thanks to the Balfour Beatty plant team for donating the winch and cable!). We also managed to tar one set of cables.

We also took delivery of a couple of truckloads of rocks, which we will use to fill the abutments.

A number of training activities with the local community took place – Jack and Holly trained the 10-member community bridge team in drilling and using circular saws. Anna explained how to use the bar-bending jig to Hama.

Other key achievements of the day include cutting and treating the nailers, starting eight swinger assemblies and bending reinforcement for swingers.

In the afternoon we were invited to a community meeting. This was to introduce Bridges to Prosperity and our team and give the community a chance to ask questions. We were made to feel very welcome and feel lucky to be working with such lovely people!

Today was very busy, as it was our first full day on site. The local bridge committee (formed of 10 community members) plus a number of other locals had turned up to help us with some of the early tasks.

We started our day with a warm-up from Simon, our construction manager, and a health and safety briefing by Jack, our Heath & Safety manager. We then divided into groups and completed a number of tasks – Holly checked and approved the temporary works, a number of us helped bring rocks to the site to fill the left and right abutments while others cut bars and painted steel beams. Josh also trained the local bridge committee in angle grinding.

In the afternoon, we achieved a key milestone for the first day – all four bridge cables were slung across the bridge, with one of them raised. We also prepared and painted all 31 steel cross beams.

Today we travelled to the Gasyogogo bridge site. Gasyogogo is a few hours drive south-west of Kigali, and we stopped off on the way to pick up some food for the next few weeks as our accommodation is in a fairly remote spot.

On arriving at our accommodation mid-afternoon, we quickly unpacked and headed to the bridge site. The local team have done a great job in helping with the preparations, including building a temporary bridge and starting to construct the abutments on either side of the river.

Later in the evening,we were greeted by several local officials and had dinner with members of the local bridge building team.

Our main goal today was to re-charge our energy levels and catch up on some much needed sleep before heading to the Gasyogogo bridge site tomorrow.

We enjoyed a late breakfast at Question Coffee – an amazing coffee shop in central Kigali which is supplied by female-led cooperatives.

After this, we drove up to Mount Kigali, which boasts amazing views over the city and surrounding countryside. A couple of us even headed out for a horse ride around Mount Kigali’s summit.

In the evening, we met Gregory from B2P and had dinner at a restaurant called Pili Pili.

Excited to get to site tomorrow!

Following a long overnight journey from the UK, we arrived in Kigali this morning. Thankfully all our luggage and equipment also arrived – this was a great relief as not only will we have clean clothes for the next two weeks (important on any building site!) but we brought quite a lot of bridge-building equipment with us which we will leave for Bridges to Prosperity to use once we’ve left (including a winch).

After sorting out some essentials (currency exchange, SIM cards etc.) we made our way to our Kigali accommodation, the lovely Mijo Hostel. We had lunch at Baso Patissier, where we were met by the outgoing Mott MacDonald country manager, Sebastien Mellot. Sebastien gave us an informative briefing on Rwanda, including the current Ebola threat from neighbouring DRC.

The Mott MacDonald contingent of our team followed Sebastien to the Kigali office, where we received a very warm welcome from colleagues Francine and Aimee. Meanwhile, the Balfour Beatty contingent met with Gregory from B2P to source some of the materials we will need for our build.

This afternoon, we visited the Rwanda Genocide Memorial. This was a very moving experience and gave us an opportunity to develop a better understanding of this wonderful country’s turbulent recent past.

For dinner, we headed to a nearby restaurant called Papyrus, where we enjoyed stunning views over the city. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring!

Last week we were informed by Bridges to Prosperity that unfortunately – due to circumstances beyond their control or the control of Mott MacDonald or Balfour Beatty – we will not be building a bridge at Serugeme. This is due to difficulties getting the correct amount of material required into Rwanda in time for the build.

However, since signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Rwandan Government (to build 355 bridges in Rwanda over the next five years) Bridges to Prosperity have a pipeline of communities in need of a bridge and we have been allocated a new site at Gaysogogo in southern Rwanda. The community currently has limited access across the Kiryango River, which is too dangerous to cross due to flooding 3-6 months of the year.
The Gasyogogo Bridge will provide safe, year-round access for the members of the communities in close vicinity.

At this late stage in preparations, we will be keeping the name ‘Serugeme Bridge’ for our social media profiles and website. Also, the Serugeme bridge will be built, just not by us!

We thank you for your support so far and hope you will continue to back this great charity and follow our progress.

Currently, over 4,000 people in the Serugeme and Nyakabuye communities of southern Rwanda do not have safe access across the Mwogo River. The river floods 330 days of the year, cutting people off from critical resources such as healthcare, schools, markets and farms. With swimming as their only option to cross, some students take an extra hour and a half journey to a distant passing to attend school and access to the nearest health clinic is over two and a half hours away.

In June 2019, a team from Mott MacDonald and Balfour Beatty will be working in collaboration with Bridges to Prosperity to construct a 92m long suspended bridge that will provide safe passage for the Serugeme and Nyakabuye communities for years to come.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton