Boys’ Dorm Rebuilding Project
2026 Progress Update
Praise the Lord! The new Boys’ Dorm is nearly complete, and the boys have moved in! On July 5, 2026, our HBS boys carried their beds into their new home, and the new kitchen and dining hall are already serving meals every day. Thank you so much for your prayers and your generous gifts. God has been faithful every step of the way, and we could not have done this without you.
Here is a look at the work completed so far this year:
January 2026: Exterior Painting and Second-Floor Tiling
The painters went to work on the outside walls from the bamboo scaffolding, while inside the new floor tiles went down on the second floor.
March–April 2026: Windows, Toilets and Plumbing
New aluminium windows were installed, and the second-floor toilet rooms were tiled and plumbed.
May–June 2026: Electrical, Handrails and a New Kitchen
The electricians wired the new panels, stainless steel handrails went up on the stairs, and the new kitchen and dining hall were finished. The students were already enjoying their meals there in June!
June 30, 2026: Roof Slab
The roof slab was poured, completing the structure from top to bottom.
July 5, 2026: Moving Day!
This was the day we had been praying for. The boys carried in and assembled their bunk beds and moved into their new home.
August–September 2026: Finished Exterior, Verandahs and Fire Safety
The exterior painting was finished, the verandah ceilings and beams were completed on the upper floors, and fire pipes and handrails were installed for the safety of our students.
September–October 2026: Teak Doors
Beautiful teak doors arrived, and our craftsmen sanded, finished and hung them throughout the building.
October 28, 2026: Floors 4, 5 and 6 Finished
The fourth, fifth and sixth floors are now finished, with tiled floors, painted walls, windows and teak doors in place.
Help Us Finish the Boys’ Dorm
The building is almost finished, but one big hurdle remains: the government taxes, fees and permits required to complete the project. These are still a substantial amount of money. Would you please help us cross the finish line? Every gift goes directly to this project.
Scroll down for the full history of this project
2010–2021: Our Boys’ Dormitory is in Bad Shape
The old Boys’ Dorm, which also functioned as our kitchen, our dining hall, and our garage, was very old. It was the original building which we used when we started HBS in 2010. It was in very bad shape when we purchased the property, but it was the best we could afford. We did what we could at the time to stabilize the structure and make it safe and livable for our students and staff.
The images below are from when we first purchased the property in 2010. As you can see, it was in rough shape.
After investing several thousand dollars in renovations, we had a very usable building with which to start Hope Boarding School:
Here is one of our first classes of HBS students showing off their new t-shirts and sunglasses, donated by friends in America:
Since then we made continual repairs, renovations, and expansions as we were able to. However, the building was so old and unstable that we were concerned that it might not survive a whole lot longer. We were especially concerned that it would not do well in the event of an earthquake, which is something that happens on a fairly regular basis in Southeast Asia.
January 2021: Repairs to an Aging Building
Another big problem with the building happened when it flooded in North Dagon, something that happens more and more often as the city infrastructure continues to degrade.
Each summer during rainy season we experienced floods, and the foundation level of the old building was not high enough to keep the water out. This caused problems for us in many ways— our dining room and kitchen were on the ground floor of this building, as were the refrigerators and freezers. The flooding also caused problems with our well pumps.
We thought about and prayed about what to do with the Boys’ Dorm for many years. The building needed a complete overhaul, or better, to be demolished and rebuilt from the ground up. This would be, of course, a very expensive undertaking.
We asked our friends to pray with us for this project. It was not something that we could start and work on a little at a time; we needed to have at least the majority of the funds on hand before we could even think about starting such a project.
God has been very faithful to supply all of our needs in the past, and we know that He will continue to supply what we need. We trusted that in His proper time the necessary funds would be made available to us. Thank you for praying and trusting God with us about this project.
2024: Demolition and Foundation
April 2024: Demolition
Work began on the new building project with the demolition and removal of the old building in May, 2024. We hired some heavy equipment, but our students helped with a lot of the work in between their studies. They are very hard workers!
You can see from some of the photos below the poor condition of the wooden pillars that were holding up the old building.
May 2024: Clearing the Site and Preparing for Piling
After the old building was torn down and the rubble removed, work began on the new foundation. We chose the “pile” foundation method so that we could build up to six floors in total. The foundation work took several months, and was completed in September, 2024. To prepare for the heavy equipment needed to drive the concrete and steel piles deep into the ground, we had to cover the area with several layers of sandbags. Again, the HBS students helped tremendously!
May 2024: Heavy Equipment Arrives at Night
We needed to block off the streets in order to get the heavy equipment into our neighborhood, so we had to do it at night.
May 2024: Prayer Meeting and Temporary Housing
Before the piling work started, though, we held a prayer meeting and asked God to bless the work and the workers, and and we prayed for safety and good weather.
June–August 2024: Piling, Sub-structure and Ground Beams
September 2024: Foundation Completed
September–October 2024: First Floor Pillars and Construction
November 2024: Second Floor Slab
Here are some random images of the foundation and ground floor construction progress. As of this date, the foundation has been completed, the ground floor and first floor pillars and slabs have been constructed and poured.
December 2024: Walls, Concrete and Plumbing
2025: Rising to the Roof
January–February 2025: Brickwork, First Floor Walls and Kitchen
Brick walls went up on the ground and first floors, and the kitchen counters were built.
February 2025: Fourth Floor Concrete
The rebar for the fourth floor slab was laid, and the slab was poured on February 24.
March–April 2025: Fifth Floor
Pillars for the fifth floor went up in March, and the fifth floor slab was poured on April 5.
April–May 2025: Sixth Floor and Roof Pillars
Work moved to the sixth floor, with its slab poured in May, followed by the roof pillars. Brickwork continued on the fourth floor.
June 2025: Ceilings, Tiling and the Roof Slab
Inside, the second floor ceiling was painted and tiling began. On June 21 the roof slab was poured.
July–August 2025: Upper Floor Walls and the Stairwell Roof
Brickwork and tiling continued on the upper floors, and the roof over the stairwell was built.
October 2025: Plastering and Painting
Interior walls and ceilings were plastered and painted.
