​ GRACELAND  INTERNATIONAL  SCHOOL  (GIS)

Gusau, the capital city of Zamfara state in north-west Nigeria, has a population comprised of approximately 90% Muslims and 10% Christians.  In a country where religious tension is a daily reality, the building of a school in this area was indeed a challenge.  

Begun in 2009, the building of the Graceland International School (GIS) campus has taken care, time, and strategic planning.  Thanks to Bishop John Danbinta's hard work in establishing a positive presence within the community, the school is a flourishing, fully-accredited campus and is considered a school of rigor.  The school enjoys full support from community and religious leaders.  The school board is comprised of both Muslims and Christians. The student population is approximately 35% Muslim and 65% Christian, and attendance is equally divided between girls and boys. About 65% of our graduates continue on to university.

We take great pride in the accomplishments of our partners with the funding provided by our generous donors. In a part of the world full of challenges, Graceland International School serves as a model of how children and communities can come together to learn about and understand one other.  

 RECENT UPGRADES:

PURCHASE OF NEW HIGH-CAPACITY LAPTOPS   
COST: $2,250
​The use of computers has expanded to include more and more students.  The computer skills class is very popular and the aging desktops, originally purchased in late fall of 2018, had become slow and cumbersome to use.  With a small amount of available funding, GIS now has 15 new high-capacity laptops.  The new machines will be able to handle programs with simulations, enriching student experience in classes such as chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics.  It is hoped that in the near future, we will be able to provide more. 

RENOVATION OF WATER STORAGE TANK   
COST: $1,250
Water is a precious commodity, especially during the dry season. Water at GIS is stored in a large inground containment tank. The tank was in need of a complete overhaul, having been in use for many years. The inside was cleaned out and parged; the drain was also reworked. In addition, a new cover was constructed to replace the dangerous sheet metal cap that was originally placed over the tank. The results can be viewed below.

REPAINTING/WINDOW AND DOOR REPAIR OF GIS CAMPUS   
​COST: $2,200
Last summer, AEP was able to fund the repainting of the entire GIS campus.  In addition, the funding included the repairs to doors and windows.  This project was long overdue and gave the school a fresh, clean look.  The results, seen below, are quite beautiful!

DORMITORY COMPLEX: COMPLETE

COST: $190,000
Our latest project at Graceland International School has proven the most challenging.  Material shortages, soaring costs, and economic instability exacerbated by the Covid pandemic led to major cost overruns.  Thankfully, the deep friendships established over many years of working together have helped us weather these storms.  
​
Education in Nigeria is compulsory through age 15 or the equivalent of grade 9. Senior secondary schools (high school), educating students in grades 10-12, are fewer in number and sometimes non-existent, depending on the area of the country.

Schools offering secondary education find it necessary to offer boarding facilities so that students from farther distances may continue their education as opposed to entering the workforce at age 15.  Such was the case at Graceland.  As the school gained an educational presence as a place for a quality education, a dormitory complex became a priority.

The walled, adjacent parcel of land was the perfect location.  After reviewing blueprints, fundraising, and surviving the supply chain and economic issues created by the Covid pandemic, ground was broken in early 2021.  When completed, the structure will easily house an additional 100 students.  In addition to separate wings for girls and boys, the facility includes toilets, showers, laundry facilities, a kitchen, and dining hall.

At this point, the project is completed.  Unfortunately, the local government has temporarily closed all boarding facilities on school campuses.  The security situation in that area of Nigeria continues to be unstable.  Luckily, GIS is in the middle of the neighborhood in a relatively secured area, with both police and military bases within a mile of the school.  The school continues to operate as a day program and is currently full of students.  The dormitory facility is currently used as overflow classroom space.

pavers

COST: $9,000
​Graceland International School campus is located in northwest Nigeria- about 150 miles from the Sahara Desert.  During the dry season, winds carry a powdery dust that coats everything both inside and out.  Many structures have bars and shutters; some even have screens.  But glass windows are not to be found.  Unless structures are closed up, dust filters inside.
​
The GIS campus suffers this dusty fate on a daily basis.  Windows are open to allow for ventilation.  Students are constantly moving about, adding to the dust layer.  In an effort to keep the dust at bay, the entire campus was paved with blocks.  The blocks serve as a barrier to lessen dust accumulation in classrooms and prevent damage to equipment.   ​

exam  hall

COST: $160,000
​In order to achieve accreditation as a secondary school of merit, the GIS campus was required to have an examination hall where secondary level students could sit for their exams, opening the door to possible acceptance at a university upon graduation. 

The exam hall, started in summer of 2015, was completed in spring of 2018.  The two-story structure was a huge undertaking; the ground floor was to house a computer lab, administrative offices, a library, and a teacher workroom.  The entire second floor was designated as the exam hall.  The hall would also be used for student assemblies. 

The school received accreditation from Zamfara State in 2016.  At that time, only the first floor of the hall was complete.  However, it was "roofed" with second floor framing in place and students were able to sit for their West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) exams that spring.  Several board members traveled to the campus in the fall of 2018 for the official dedication of the structure.
​

security  wall 

COST: $10,000
Early on, AEP had helped fund the purchase of an adjacent parcel of land meant for the expansion of the school.  While the existing campus was secured with a gated wall, this parcel of land was left open for almost four years.    

In Nigeria, "vacant" land can be subject to encroachment.  As the population of school students increased, more and more people began building small homes and businesses in the vicinity of the campus, dangerously close to the boundaries of the parcel.  A perimeter wall was a necessity and would also serve to protect students when expansion occurred. 

In fall of 2015, perimeter wall construction began around adjacent property; it was completed in spring of 2016.  AEP was able to fund the purchase of block-making equipment in addition to the supplies needed to complete it.    ​

 Primary  classroom  building

COST to complete: $14,000
In the spring of 2014, our partners began construction of a second L-shaped block to handle the larger than expected enrollment.  This new building was designated as a primary building.  The single story design made it safer for younger students to navigate and served to separate the smaller students from those in the secondary grades. 

AEP was able to raise funds to complete the construction and the interior finish work.  The building was completed in time for the fall 2014 start of school.     

additional  land  purchase

COST: $32,000
Available land in Nigeria is at a premium.  As building 1 was under construction, an adjacent parcel of land came up for sale.  Anticipating future expansion of the fledgling school past the boundaries of the current, very small parcel, a bid for the land was made.  When the bid was accepted, it came with the caveat that the note was to be paid off within the the current 2011 year.  That gave our partners only 10 months to raise the additional funds.
​
Immediately after returning from the February, 2011 visit, board members rallied to raise funds for the land's purchase.  Thanks to generous donors, the note was fully paid in October, 2011.
​

 first  classroom  building

COST: $125,000
​Graceland International School was the first project undertaken by AEP, the result of a friendship forged with Bishop John Danbinta while he earned his Master's Degree in Christian-Muslim Relations in Hartford, Connecticut.  His vision was to create a school where children of all faiths and ethnic backgrounds could learn together, fostering understanding and acceptance of differences.

After an exploratory, 2009 trip to see the proposed site in Gusau, Zamfara, the partnership was forged.  Construction on the first classroom block, a two-story structure, was started in 2011 and completed in the fall of 2013.  Although it was designated as a secondary school, Graceland's first building was quickly filled with students of all ages as parents arrived to register their children.
​ ​