IMCD China kickstarted the ColourUpMySchool initiative with the first stop at Shangcun Primary School
IMCD gave a facelift to the school walls with environmentally friendly coatings solutions and on-site technical guidance, as well as 100+ care kits as part of the ColourUpMySchool @daliangshan initiative.
ColourUpMySchool is a CSR initiative that falls under the IMCD Cares programme. It consists of enhancing the facilities of schools located in remote areas in China, by painting their buildings with waterborne coatings and providing them with sports equipment and care kits.
The first stop was the Shangcun Primary School, located in Luguhu Town, Yanyuan County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, which is surrounded by mountains with an altitude of more than 3000 meters above sea level. With more than 60 years of history, the current buildings of the school were built in 2012. After ten years, due to the harsh climate conditions in that area, the walls had lost their original colour and were peeling. That's why IMCD China decided to partner with Ayitudou, a local NGO, to reverse that situation.
Leveraging the expertise of our Chinese coatings team in paint applications, they developed water-based solutions for interior and exterior walls that give long-term protection to the harsh climate condition in the mountainous area of the country.
“This is a meaningful and beneficial initiative by refurbishing the school compound with our expertise and resources. We target to benefit more schools in the Daliangshan area in this 3-year-long project,” remarked Ian Anderson, Managing Director, IMCD China
The painting process
The activity, led by Ivy Li, IMCD China Marketing & Communications Specialist, and Sam Zhang, Technical Consultant of Coatings & Construction, followed a structured action plan:
• Cleaning the walls
• Repairing the walls with waterborne putty
• Spraying primer
• Brushing surface coatings
The interior walls were painted during the weekends to avoid disrupting the students' classes. A total of approximately 345.6m2 were painted.
Once the job was done, the students had the opportunity to showcase their drawings on the newly painted walls.
Due to the unique architectural style, most of the exterior walls could only be painted manually with a brush which prolonged the painting time to around a week. Other obstacles were rain, low temperature, high humidity and strong UV.
“We specially chose the formulation of 2K waterborne polyurethane coatings, which are durable and UV, stain and water resistant. They also feature a lotus leaf effect making it hydrophobic and easy to clean,” said Amos Liu, Technical Manager, IMCD China Coatings & Construction.
Finally, the school showed a new look with a selection of warm colours.
Regular paint
“Thank you, IMCD. You have transformed Shangcun Primary School from an old, fading facility into a new, colourful property with your help and expertise. We are also thankful for your donations, with which the kids will be able to enjoy a warm, lively, and pleasant campus,” stated Xinyu Wang, Project Leader, NGO – Ayitudou.
As part of the design and commemoration of the effort that everyone put into this project, a wall painting, including the handprints of the students and the IMCD and NGO teams, was done on the exterior of the building.
After finishing the painting, the teachers guided the kids in decorating their classrooms. And, as a final note, the IMCD China team delivered:
• A table tennis table and equipment
• Colouring crayons and acrylic paints, to stimulate the kids' creativity
• Educational toys that allow the children to practice their logical thinking, concentration and social skills
• Care kits with basic first aid items
“It is wonderful to see children studying and playing on the beautiful campus with happy smiles. I am delighted to be here to participate in this meaningful CSR project,” said Ivy Li, Marketing & Communications Specialist IMCD China.