The construction of a surgical clinic for global charity Operation Smile has been completed in Morocco with the help of architectural and engineering partners Webb Yates and Max Fordham and project partner Sto.
The project, overseen by humanitarian architecture charity Article 25, will provide free medical support to more than 600 children each year who are born with cleft lips and palates and struggle with eating, drinking and breathing.
The clinic was design around a courtyard to match traditional Moroccan houses with modern architectural techniques, with the inclusion of windows and night-time cross-ventilation to keep the clinic cool during the hot summers.
Building products manufacturer Sto donated materials for the project’s external facade and internal surfaces, and sent technicians to the site in Oudja, Morocco, to train the local workforce in their application.
SDL helps raise awareness of mental health
Property services company SDL Group shone a spotlight on mental health during Mental Health Awareness Week in May to get more people talking about the issue. A week of activities were held at its offices to educate staff to be mindful about their own mental health and that of their colleagues. One initiative, called I Got Out of Bed Today, encouraged staff to dress in their pyjamas to highlight the challenges that people with mental health issues can face on a daily basis. Everyone who took part made a donation to the charity Mind.
CBRE pledges to raise £1m to support young people
CBRE has extended its fundraising partnership with Action for Children for a third year following the firm achieving its initial two-year fundraising target of £500,000 in 14 months. The firm has now pledged to raise £1m by the end of 2020 to help the charity, which is committed to supporting vulnerable children, young people and their families.
Orwin gets on his bike
Cushman & Wakefield’s Sam Orwin and a team of 20 riders will set out on a 360-mile cycle ride from Bordeaux to Bilbao over the Pyrenees on 11 June. The team will climb more than 27,000ft to complete the challenge over four days, and will be raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, St David’s Hospice Care and MS Society UK. To find out more and to donate, visit https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Team/LongCrendonCycleClubBordeauxtoBilbao
PMA shortlist revealed
The shortlist for this year’s Property Marketing Awards, organised by the Chartered Surveyors’ Company, has been announced. The winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony to be held on 27 June at 30 Euston Square, NW1. To view this year’s shortlist, visit www.propertymarketingawards.co.uk
Chestertons protects from the elements
Chestertons has donated 500 rain ponchos to the William Stewart Hope for the Hopeless Foundation, which works to support vulnerable orphans in Malawi. Children in the villages walk long distances to get to school, and in the rainy season they often end up sitting in wet clothes in unheated classrooms. The donated ponchos will help the children to stay dry.
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