A Dedication Ceremony for all donors, students and faculty is being planned for 17 May 2010. Formal notices will be sent to all donors.

To date the Ministry of Education is pleased with the project and is prepared to accept it when we make final payment to the Contractor. This final payment is expected to be made early January 2010. The Ministry has agreed to sponsor the Dedication Ceremony on whatever date we decide. Due to weather constraints we are planning to hold this ceremony around mid May 2010. A firm notice of the date will be made later. The new School will open for the children this February 2010.

Construction Funding

Upgrades are funded and underway except for 3 Laboratory Tables and the plant and tree selections which will be done next week.

Scholarship

We will be establishing an annual scholarship fund for worthy Caykisla students and or teachers. The capitalization for this fund will be invested with the Turkish Egitim Fund (TEV) pool of funds. The annual proceeds from the investment will be utilized each year for incentive giving to needy and worthy students as an incentive to proceed with furthering their education. More details on this Fund will be provided later.

We sincerely request your continue to support for this Scholarship Fund.

Funding for the entire construction project with the approved upgrades is 100% complete as long as the dollar exchange rate does not weaken any further. We thank you for your generous support.

Scholarship

We will be establishing an annual scholarship fund for worthy Caykisla students and or teachers. The capitalization for this fund will be invested with the Turkish Egitim Fund (TEV) pool of funds. The annual proceeds from the investment will be utilized each year for incentive giving to needy and worthy students as an incentive to proceed with furthering their education. More details on this Fund will be provided later.

We sincerely request your continue to support for this Scholarship Fund.

We have received a total of $6,500 toward the following upgrades and another $14,500 is required. These upgrades would have the most beneficial effect:

• Add wainscot high wall ceramic tiles in all classrooms, corridors and main stair for cleanliness and ease of maintenance.
• Add additional landscaping to screen the abandoned building from view on the adjacent site. This building faces the front entrance of the new school.
• Substitute hydraulic for the electric driven handicapped elevator specified. This will double the archive space in the attic.
• Substitute wood parquet floor for the carpet specified in the pre-school. This will wear better and is healthier for the children.

We sincerely request your continue to support the project.

The Governor delivered as promised and had the new access road’s base course, to the school site, installed by the local municipality in time for the “Concrete Placement Ceremony”. This event took place on 30 July 2009 and over 150 people attended (see previous email).

Considering that this is a fasting month in Turkey and most workers refrain from eating or drinking anything between sun rise and sun set, the progress has been steady. The ground floor frame has been poured and the next floor forming is underway. The current agreed substantial completion date is now 20 December 2009. This delay was due to the late bidding and award of municipality supplied concrete and reinforcing steel. However, the ongoing supply of concrete has been timely and there are no complaints by the contractor. Concrete core break test results are higher than the minimum specified. Please click on the “Construction” tap for the latest progress photos.

Funding

Funding for the contract lump sum amount of $510,000 is 100% complete. However the school principal has requested a number of upgrades and the below shortened list represents those upgrades which would have the most beneficial effect:

• Add wainscot high wall ceramic tiles in all classrooms, corridors and main stair for cleanliness and ease of maintenance.
• Add additional landscaping to screen the abandoned building from view on the adjacent site. This building faces the front entrance of the new school.
• Substitute hydraulic for the electric driven handicapped elevator specified. This will double the archive space in the attic.
• Substitute wood parquet floor for the carpet specified in the pre-school. This will wear better and is healthier for the children.

The cost of these upgrades is only $21,000 since the contractor has agreed not to charge for the labor cost of these upgrades and a deep discount is being discussed with the supplier of the tiles. We have $3,000 toward these upgrades.

Bids for the supply of concrete and reinforcing steel were opened and a low bidder was awarded the supply contract. Seza Contracting says the supplier is reputable and capable of delivering the required quantities. All the reinforcing steel is on site.

Today I visited the Governor to request his assistance in accelerating the City’s commitment in bringing the new road to the site as was agreed. The current road is a village unpaved road with numerous potholes which for the concrete trucks is difficult to use. The Governor agreed to have it done before the end of the month. This will coincide with the first Concrete Placement Ceremony being scheduled by the Ministry on 30 July 2009.

All Donors are invited to attend this ceremony on Thursday 30 July at 10:30 AM at the construction site in the Village of Caykisla, Adapazari. The Governor Sayin Huseyin Atak, the State Education Manager, Murat Yazici and others will attend. Some speeches and lots of photographers on hand.

Funding

There is still a budget short fall of $7,500. All eight Named Classroom Dedications have been allocated. There is an un-named Dedication available for the Science Laboratory.

Please be as generous as you can so that all future “Updates” will focus only on construction progress and photos.

Because of a recent change in the bidding law, Ministry Bids for the concrete and steel had to be reissued and are due to be opened and awarded on behalf of the Milli Egitim on 21 June 2009. This represents almost a 3 week delay in the construction completion through no fault of the contractor. Seza Contracting says he will try to make up some of the time. Therefore the steel and concrete placement for the earthquake slab is now expected to be completed by 15 July 2009. Stone floor material and window frames has been selected and approved.

Timeline

• Construction Contract Signed 16 April 09
• Construction Started 1 May 09
• Building Permit Approved & Issued 18 May 09
• Concrete & Reinforcing Steel Bids Delayed to 21 June
• Earthquake Concrete Slab Completes 15 July 2009
• Building Shell Completes 1 September 09
• Substantial Completion expected 15 October 09
• Dedication +/- 30 October 09

There is still a budget short fall of only $18,000 and one “Named Classroom” remaining out of eight. Please be as generous as you can so that all future “Updates” will focus only on construction progress and photos.

1. The Protocols with the Turk Egitim Foundation (TEV) and with the Milli Egitim (State Education Office) in Adapazari have been negotiated and executed by all parties. Asli Basgoz, an equally contributing donor partner in this school project, has helped a great deal with the inclusions in these protocols. On 13 April we had a signing ceremony in Adapazari with the Governor (Huseyin Atak). All parties to the Protocol were present. The following are the main points in the Protocol:
   • Milli Egitim will provide, at no cost, all the concrete and steel for the project
   • Balance of the Building and site costs are paid by the Donor
   • Construction will be Turnkey but exclude furnishings
   • Donor has sole contractor selection right
   • Donor to negotiate and execute the construction contract
   • Donor to have free access to the construction site
   • Donor will approve all materials prior to installation
   • Donor to have final approval on all invoiced payments construction or otherwise
2. After receiving and analyzing bids from two contractors’ active in Adapazari, SEZA Insaat was selected due to their experience, reputation and the responsiveness of their bid. The final agreed Turnkey Contract Price is 650,000 YTL (+/-$410,000) and the contract was executed on 16 April 2009. The value of the concrete and steel provided by The Milli Egitim is approx. $100,000, therefore the Total Construction Costs is now $510,000. This construction turnkey price as viewed by the engineers both at the Milli Egitim Office and TEV is said to be at least 20% under the government pricing standard. SEZA Insaat has agreed to this price by foregoing profit. While the Building Permit is currently being secured, SEZA Insaat will mobilized and start layout and rough excavation 22 April 2009. The contract substantial completion date is 30 September 2009.
3. To date most of the donations have been in Euros and Dollars and these donations are currently still being held in these currencies. The relative rates of exchange today with the Turkish Lira is less than it was since my last update on 2 March, therefore although over $17,000 has been collected since then, the shortfall today is $37,000.

I am hoping this will be the last call for donations. Please be as generous as you can so that all future “Updates” will focus only on construction progress and photos.

TEV is still reviewing the Milli Egitim generated Protokol and I hope to have their inclusions this week. The construction drawings are progressing nicely. I hope to review the elevations on my next visit to Adapazari 4 March.

For anyone waiting or wanting to make a Turkish Lira donation, the TEV address and wire instructions will be posted on the “Donation” tab of the web site within a few weeks. On the Donation page please note the named donations contributions are almost complete however there still remain some available slots. The funding balance has reduced to only $59,000. I hope to have a zero balance at the time of construction start (April 2009).

I will travel to Adapazari next week to review the construction drawings with the architect and the engineers.

The next update will include the TEV wiring details.