SDA School St. Eustatius happy with renewed accommodation
The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) School on St. Eustatius organized a festive gathering last Sunday around the official opening of the new and renovated school buildings.
The highlight of the gathering was the cutting of the opening ribbon by Gerene Joseph (SDA education director for the North Caribbean region) and group 8 student Syesha Pemberton. They did this in the presence of deputy government commissioner Mervyn Stegers, local education stakeholders and various dignitaries from the regional SDA organization.
Because the school grew out of its shell, a new wing including four new classrooms, was built on the left side of the terrain. The old school buildings were drastically renovated: the constructions are made earthquake and hurricane resistant and roofs, panels, window frames and ceilings have been replaced. Furthermore, plumbing facilities and tile work have been renewed. In front a new fence was placed and both the new and the renovated spaces are equipped with new climate control service (ventilation and air-conditioning with CO2 measurement).
“This school is an example of what a school should look like according to the SDA church”, Dr. Gandalai Samlalsingh (president of SDA Stewardship for the Northern Caribbean region) stated during his speech. On behalf of the SDA organization he expressed his gratitude to the Dutch and local government for the improvement of the schools accommodation.
Deputy Government Commissioner Mervyn Stegers did surprise the attendees during his speech, with the announcement that the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) will also finance an upgrade of the outdoor area. The terrain will be paved, a draining system will be constructed and a small roof shall be placed.
The construction of the SDA School was mostly conducted by companies from St. Eustatius.
The project was executed by construction company D&M Enterprises N.V. following a design of Pream architects (St. Martin), supervised by De Jong Construction. The technical installations were designed and realized by respectively CECC N.V. en Howard’s Enterprises N.V.
The new construction and renovation project for the SDA School is part of an educational housing program for Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius which started in 2012. This program is financed by OCW and the Public Entities.