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CLARAPOLDER, NICKERIE, August 21, 2023 – More than two hundred students of OS Skroetjie are in for a pleasant surprise on October 2: they will start the new school year surrounded by beautiful colors, in classrooms that have been repaired and painted, with fresh-looking furniture in a stimulating learning environment.
As part of PPG’s global New Paint for a New Start initiative, PPG Varossieau is giving this elementary school a complete makeover. This is done through Colorful Communities, a program through which PPG collaborates with local stakeholders to refurbish and beautify facilities. More than 200 students are taught in ten classrooms by a total of 26 teachers.
In the second year of New Paint for a New Start, PPG employees worldwide volunteer their time during the months of June, July, and August to enhance more than 25 schools. The projects aim to create attractive spaces for learning and development using PPG paint products and color expertise. This is the second time PPG Varossieau has assisted schools in Suriname as part of this campaign.
On Saturday, August 19, there was a cheerful atmosphere at Skroetjieweg. Teachers, parents, and cleaners rolled up their sleeves to drastically improve their school. They were not alone. A total of twenty PPG Varossieau employees from Paramaribo and their family members, along with Awinash Beck, Varossieau’s Decorating Center Nickerie store manager, volunteered to help with the restoration and beautification of this educational institution.
Donation Request This project began in 2022 with a donation request for paint to paint the media library, but during a visit to the school, Awinash Beck, PPG Varossieau’s store manager in Nickerie, saw that more was needed, says school principal Sharita Ramdas-Autar. One thing led to another. Beck advocated for extensive repairs with PPG, hired a contractor, and requested quotes. PPG agreed, and the school underwent a complete renovation. “And they did a great job,” says the principal. “Because the roof had leaks, ceilings and walls were not good. Electricity, water, all of that was taken care of by PPG Varossieau. So on October 1, I have a very good start with a new school. A cheerful environment where you enjoy going to school!”
Thorough Approach Ramesh Dwarkasing, director of PPG Varossieau, is pleased that the company can support OS Skroetjie through Colorful Communities. “Painting is beautiful, but if you give a broken building a color, it may look nice for a few months and then it’s nothing again. So we tackle it thoroughly.”
Driving Force In recent weeks, hard work has been done at the school in Clarapolder. Roofs have been repaired, ceilings replaced and painted, toilets restored, and electricity repaired by contractor Gordon Lansdorf and his four carpenters, six painters, and three electricians. Corridors have been leveled along the classrooms, and playground equipment has been refurbished. The driving force behind the project, Awinash Beck, knows the school and the premises inside out by now, makes time for everyone, gives instructions in the meantime, and monitors progress. Since the first project request, he has visited OS Skroetjie at least fifty times. “We’ve made it, we’ve come this far today, it was fun to do.” “It also makes me feel like I’m giving something back on behalf of PPG Varossieau. People use our paint, and we also give back. I hope this Colorful Community project will also motivate other companies to contribute so that other schools will also be refurbished,” Beck concludes.
Butterfly The school facade is adorned with a mural. A caterpillar transforms into a Monarch butterfly, under the watchful eye of a skroetjie, the black-bellied duck or wiswisi from which the school gets its name. “Everything you give attention to, grows,” is the meaningful message beneath the scene. “The subject is very important,” says visual artist Wikaas Girdharie, who painted the scene, along with his colleague Kasian Djiman. The metamorphosis symbolizes the growth of the school children. “The intention is for them to eventually become mature individuals, of course also in society.” The mural is made with durable, environmentally friendly HISTOREX™ Aqua-Lak and other HISTOREX™ paint. PPG incorporates sustainability elements as part of Colorful Communities projects. PPG’s global goal is to earn 50% of revenue from sustainable products by 2030.
Color Works For the makeover, volunteers and painters use about a thousand liters of HISTOREX™ paint from the color palette chosen by PPG experts to create a stimulating learning environment. The colors vary by age group and are tailored to the children’s world of experience. Consideration has also been given to learning goals and local cultural influences.
The youngest children are surrounded by playful, attractive colors like red-orange Coral Serenade, grass green Grassy Meadow, and pink Raspberries. The classes of older students receive motivating colors like the yellow Sol de Yucatan, sunny orange Chinese Lantern, and sea blue Horizon Haze. The exterior of the school is painted with Vining Ivy, PPG’s color of 2023: powerful Caribbean blue with a turquoise undertone. PPG understands the impact that color and freshly painted spaces can have on schoolchildren and students. Research by PPG color experts has shown that these factors contribute to the engagement and academic performance of students – and to the functioning of teachers and lecturers.
Volunteers Fifteen teachers actively help on Saturday with the renovation of their school. Meanwhile, mother Farianaaz Azadkhan of the parent committee gives the Monarch butterfly the finishing touch. Two of her children previously attended OS Skroetjie, and now she has one son left at the school. She is helping with painting for the first time. “I really like it, they are very beautiful colors. I am proud of the principal, she is doing a lot of her best, and the teachers too.” Spencer Vorswijk, warehouse employee at PPG Varossieau, is also hard at work. “I like to see the children really do better at school. If we can contribute to that, then I’m ready for it.” He spends his day off with pleasure on this project. “It was very nice working with the teachers and everyone who came along to help. Really cozy and we have done what we came here for. So: amazing!”
New colors for your next project
We are delighted to share our recent collaboration project with Basisschool De Cederboom, where color and friendships come together.
We are proud to have donated Historex paint to make this Buddy bench as colorful and cheerful as possible, because as you can read in De Cederboom’s message, this bench will bring many smiles and friendships to kids who may feel sad or have no one to play with for a while. Also, thanks to Fabian de Randamie, whose creativity, along with our Historex paint, has made the Buddy bench incredibly cool!
It’s a fantastic initiative by Basisschool De Cederboom, so we wholeheartedly support this project! 🤩🥳🥰👏🤝👍🤛🤜
#buddybench #togetherstrong #friendships #basisschooldecederboom #colorfulfriendships #colorbringsjoy #colorful
