Building project
Although FOCHTA Malawi has offices for its administrative staff, it has very limited space in which to run programs such as the Youth Club and counselling. In 2006, FOCHTA Australia began planning and fundraising for the construction of a new building, the FOCHTA Youth Training Centre.
The new premises will include a more spacious office, counseling and meeting rooms, storage space for sporting equipment and program supplies, a community granary, and an expanded Youth and Community Library. Most importantly, however, the new building will feature workshops and classrooms for FOCHTA’s planned vocational skills training courses.
Two volunteers, Sam Crawford of Sam Crawford Architects and Sacha Coles from Aspect volunteered to design the Youth Training Centre on a pro bono basis. A team from Architects without Frontiers has also contributed to the design, including volunteers Ken Warr, Tegan Waldren, and Tom Williams Moore, as has Jamie Shelton of Northrop Engineers.
The total anticipated cost of the project is A$125,000 (US$95,000). The construction will be staged according to FOCHTA’s needs, and as funds become available.