Improving employee housing

Nine marginally habitable flats have been transformed into attractive, comfortable living quarters for nine employee families. "Addressing the employee housing situation is a high priority for Woodstock's administrators and board members," says Projects Manager Nigel Cooper.

For many years, male employees and their families have lived in tiny quarters originally designed for single men who came from villages to work at the school without their families. There are communal outdoor taps, and one outdoor toilet is shared by up to 30 people. The Projects Department is working with the administration to formulate a sustainable plan for the systematic improvement of all of these employees' quarters. The policy is to provide individual bathroom/toilet and kitchen facilities for each apartment, with the goal of significantly improving living and hygiene standards for every family. Work has progressed steadily during 2006 and includes the follow projects:

• Workshops below New Hatha (employees' quarters) were reallocated to provide space for three brand new employee residences, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and two living spaces.
Godowns below Upper Woodstock were renovated into one two-room employee residence, with its own kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. An unused guest room behind Oakville Lodge has been converted into a single-room employee apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom. The Sunnywood employees' quarters, formerly a six-unit block of tiny windowless flats, have been converted into four large, single-room apartments, each with its own kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Each flat now has windows and a private balcony.

Future plans include renovation of the Tennis Court Hatha below the Hostel and the Aotearoa employee quarters. The largest of the proposals is the complete reconstruction of the hatha below the back of the school's kitchen. (Note: completed in 2008.)

Project Manager Nigel Cooper, his wife Judith, who last year worked in the health center and is currently teaching 9th and 11th grade health classes, and their children, Joshua (8), Benjamin (7), and India (5), arrived at Woodstock in 2005 through InterServe, an organization that facilitates connection and support services for Christians who wish to serve overseas.

Before departing from Auckland, the Coopers raised funds to support their three-year term at Woodstock via friends, family, and their home church. Nigel, who has a degree in construction engineering from the University of Leeds, was a construction/contracts manager for Hawkins Construction, one of Auckland's largest construction firms. He managed large-scale, commercial construction projects, including schools, hotels, hospitals, and apartment buildings. When asked why he and Judith decided to change their lives so dramatically, Nigel said, "We felt a calling to serve, and with Woodstock's strong Christian heritage, it seemed like both of our skill sets well suited the school's needs."