The Bore Hole at Gbergu is complete

We may have been silent on the blog for some time, but we are still active in raising funds for Ghana.

The coalition of Parent Teacher Associations and School Management Committees is still going strong. Ruby continues to support them. As she is now spending more time in Accra, rent for the house she has been using as a base, needs to be funded if the success of the project is to be maintained long term. We have funded the rent for 6 months to give them time to find funds for the future, or to find more sustainable accommodation for an office, meetings, and storage. They are currently storing and distributing computers recently secured from a UK charity.

The coalition has been focussed on the borehole at Gbergu, financed through the generosity of the students, parents and teachers of Aylward Academy in North London. The school held a fun day to raise the money.

 

They also raised money from ticket sales at their school performance and this money was presented to us at one of the performances, pictured below.

The story of the borehole is given in pictures below

The test drilling produces samples to show where the main drilling is likely to be most successful. One of the difficulties of drilling for water is that if the drilling does not yield what is required, it still costs money for the drilling operation. Soil samples are required to ensure the drilling is worthwhile. Soil samples are pictured below.

In this case the drilling was successful

Once the hole is capped, so the work on building a platform for the pump begins

The drainage channel for excess water keeps the area by the pump dry.

The formal handover attracted many of the villagers. Ruby is pictured to the right and was accompanied by committee members of the coalition.

To be the first to use the pump is a great honour. This women was chosen by the villagers.

A sign recognises the endeavours of the students of Aylward Academy. When Haydn went to the school recently to report on how their money had been used, the students were clearly moved by seeing that the villagers in this remote village in North West Ghana have taken the trouble to record their appreciation. Indeed if and when they can afford it, the villagers will erect a more permanent metal sign.

A regular and reliable supply of water will enable the villagers to focus on growing more crops, selling them at market and beginning to work their way out of poverty. The borehole also releases women and children from a very long walk to collect water, Children will be able to attend school more regularly. This is our main motivation for continuing our work in Ghana. 

Update on Naku.

 

Now that the school at Naku is open, Justus is attending meetings with the local Director of the Education Service, seen below, to ensure there is secure funding for teachers, resources and furniture. We hear that his negotaiations went well.

He has sent us these pictures of the school in operation. Let us hope that furniture can be secured soon.

The villagers have sent us some Ghanaian clothing as a token of their appreciateion for our support.

 

Ruby has been very busy in Accra recently, taking possession of a container of computer equipment and getting it up to Wa. This is a major operation in Ghana. She will be progressing the bore hole we are trying to fund, on her return to Wa.

As Christmas approaches we have fond memories of Christmas 2009 in Koforidua with a number of volunteer friends, most of whom we are still in contact with.

The School at Naku is Open

The School at NAKU is open.

Congratulations to all involved. The building is there and it has been formally opened. The challenge is now with the Wa West District authorities to ensure there are teachers allocated to the school. Members of the community were certainly excited and had a good look over all the facilities. It will take time to get the school fully staffed and our great champion, Justus Ayataaba is keeping the pressure on the authorities. It appears there may have to be a period of volunteer teachers only, but there will be takers in the context of Ghana, where people are keen to support local communities and accept there may be periods where they receive little or no remuneration. The spirit of Ghanaians wanting to improve their country is inspirational. Their desire to better the lives of members of their community is a lesson to us all. We wish the community of Naku every succes for an ever improving future.

The next great challenge for that community will be to secure a borehole to enable them to have a more consistent and healthier water supply. The Catholic students are on the case and we wish them well.

Aylward Academy in London is still rasing funds to help us fund a borehole in the Wa Municipal District. Ruby is working on this through the coalition of school management committees and PTAs. It is over two years since we first went out to Wa and we still feel a tremendous affection for the people there.

Naku School Nearing Completion

It is now just two years since we first went to Ghana. Most of those who went out with us are now back in their home countries and settling to a very different life. Very best wishes to them all and every success for the future. We all have amazing memories of such a life changing experience. We shall also never forget the people we met in Ghana, and we know some relationships built in the last two years will last a lifetime.

The school in Naku is approaching its formal opening later in October. In August the building structure was completed.

Windows were installed.

Furniture was made.

Play quipment was produced.

Painting was done.

- and the gates finally installed.

Few schools have such good toilet facilities as this one.

We are delighted if this project can be a model for others.

None of it would have happened without the young man, Justus, pictured below with his wife and child. He was not only persistent in securing our interest in the plight of the population of the village of Naku, he engaged the architects on a speculative project which may not have been funded. He maintained contact with us on our return to the UK. He worked with a Catholic brotherhood in the area to manage the finances of the project. He has managed all aspects of the project from start to finish. He is studying in Wa at the University of Development Studies. He will, we are sure, continue his philanthropic approach to life, building the capacity locally for self-improvement. He is a remarkable young man and we are the richer for having met him.

Local children came to visit the school before the start of term.

Meanwhile back in Wa, Ruby carries on her excellent work with the local Coalition of school management committees, supporting them in finding funding for improvements to their communities.

The Aylward Academy in Enfield has just presented us with a cheque for £2,797.95. This will soon be on its way to Ruby and another village should be getting a bore hole earlier than they might have hoped. Once installed, the children of that village should be able to attend school more regularly, as the daily chore of collecting water will have been made so much easier and less time consuming. Collecting water is one of the key reasons why some students, especially girls, fail to attend school.

Progress is made

The work in the Upper West Region has progressed enormously, and we extend a great big thank you to our friends in Ghana, Ruby Yap and Justus Aatayaba for all their hard work in ensuring that the various projects come to fruition.

Building a school in Naku:

An after school club in Nako, pictured below, is encouraging young people to visit the site to see the progress on their new school.

Just look at the school now:
One day there is a roof under construction.

Two days later, a roof is in place.

Recently, windows have been added and plastering is taking place, ready for the school opening in September.

Justus has been meeting with officials from the Local Education Department to ensure that teachers are allocated to the school. He turned to his left to go to the education offices after this picture was taken - not to his right!!

Here he is with the Assistant Director for Human Resources, discussing the allocation of teachers to the school. In Ghana, it is the Education Service that allocates teachers.

Well done to all involved on such excellent progress with this project.

Provision of electricity:

In Wa, Ruby carries on the good work, with more and more projects sourced from our funds. The Coalition of School Management Committees and PTAs decides on priorities. Ruby vets applications, and funds are granted through the Coalition Committee. Each community is expected to contribute something towards projects. This is often their labour.

At a recent handover of a generator to the village school in Jonga, many villagers turned up, headed by the Chief of the village. Ruby can be seen in the centre of the picture.

A wonderful Education Officer, Imoro, can be seen speaking to the gathering to explain how the generator is to be used and how it well help the young people of the community to access computer technology. Another VSO volunteer, Sandra Scantlebury, inspired the community and the school administration to make good use of the electricity to promote quality learning and teaching. The Chief spoke on behalf of the village and said that, "because of so much happiness, they couldn't even speak".

This school caters for a large number of children, as the village is the centre of five communities. The Coalition required the community to plaster a number of classrooms, before electricity would be provided. According to Ruby, when the generator was ready to be tested, "the children ran to their respective classrooms to witness the first lights to be turned on; it was overwhelming to see the children cheering loudly when the generator was turned on and the lights came on. One could see the happiness in everyone's faces, especially the children. They wanted to stay in the classrooms, because of the lights that were shining on them. The light will change their lives for the better."

In the picture below, the electrician is showing the teachers how to operate the generator.

Provision of desks:

More desks have been delivered. Ann Brougham, a wonderful colleague with whom we have worked in the UK for many years, sadly died recently. Just prior to her death, she donated money to be specifically spent on desks. She was very moved by pictures of students having to sit on the floor for their lessons, whether outside under a tree or in a school building. The first set of desks has now been produced, and all the desks bear Ann's name. While we were living in Ghana, Ann regularly emailed us with lots of supportive comments, as well as news from the UK. It is therefore a great pleasure for us to be able to mark her memory in this way.

Provision of bore-holes:

Ruby is currently exploring the use of funds to provide a borehole to a needy village. She indicates that there are real problems, because the ground water is now so deep down in many areas, that the available machinery is unable to reach it. She continues to look into this, and is also considering the provision of a stand pipe as an alternative.

Aylward Academy in Enfield has decided to adopt fundraising for Ghana, as its annual charity. We have given presentations to all year groups about life in the North of Ghana and students have been learning about various aspects of the history and geography of Ghana in their humanities lessons. The student council has decided that they would like to raise funds for a borehole, since they were very concerned to learn that children, especially girls, do not attend school, as they have to spend their days walking to and from the borehole to collect water. Ruby has identified a particular village, Hamile, where the children have to walk 10 kilometres to reach the nearest borehole. She will carry out further research to look at the possibilities of providing a borehole to this village.

The Aylward students have already started to raise money. They are carrying out a number of activities, including raising funds from the programmes that were produced for their recent production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. At the end of this performance, we were presented with a cheque for £1,300. On 20th July, they will be holding a "Ghana" day, when the whole school will be involved in raising funds.

We are delighted that work on all projects is progressing at this pace and we are very grateful to those in Wa who are working to establish priorities, monitor progress and ensure that beneficiaries value the developments, and make their own contributions to their success. The Coalition of SMCs and PTAs is a model for investment and development, of which VSO can be very proud. Ruby should be recognised as a truly innovative community activist. Her achievements in her time in Ghana are quite outstanding.

Nako School: Initial construction is underway.

The work to build a school in Naku is well underway. A number of stakeholders attended the ground cutting ceremony. Pictured below are representatives from the District Education Office, and the Local Government Assembly. The Chief of the village and school representatives took an active part in the ceremony.

The local government representative praised all the organisations involved in supporting the development of local communities. The chief of Naku said that all the people of the village are very glad to see that generations of local children will benefit from this investment. The community leaders have promised to ensure that "no child is left roaming around the area or farming during school hours". They will take an active interest in the smooth running of the school.

The Anglican Church representative added his voice, emphasising that "we are all partners in development". The Circuit Supervisor (Local Education Inspector) assured the audience that the local officials are ready to help find personnel for the school.

The Chief of the village thanked everyone invovled for their generosity and pleaded with the Assembly to link another village, Kpasegra, with the school. The Naku school will now be the nearest school to Kpasegra.

The work then got underway at a pace, as illustrated in the pictures below.

Toilets are a rare asset in rural schools. The school at Naku will have a toilet block, which is pictured under construction below.
The Headteacher's Office is also under construction.
The classrooms are taking shape:
The workers take a break:

Three of the key players in bringing this project to a successful conclusion are pictured below. On the left is Justus, the leader of the Catholic student group that is focused on developing poor communities. It was he that first took Haydn to the village when we were in Wa. He is the one who has inspired us to raise the funds for this project. On the right is Richard, the local Anglican representative and in the centre is the project developer, Olsen.

The villagers are so pleased with what is building before their eyes that they donated two goats to the leaders of the project. Justus intends to use his goat for breeding, so that he can raise more funds for development projects.

Education Support Continues

A number of the funded projects in Ghana are now well underway. Building a school for the village of Nako: £25,000 has now been forwarded to Ghana for the building of a school at Nako. The plan is that this school will be ready for use by students in September 2011. The building is being erected at a rapid pace. The people of the village volunteered to provide their labour under the supervision of a trained architect.

In the very near future there will be a sod-cutting ceremony attended by the adults and children of the village. A number of dignitaries have been invited, including the Anglican Bishop, the regional Director of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, the District Director of Education and the Chief of the area.

Great credit must go to our Ghanaian friend Justus Atayaaba Triumph who has worked long and hard to support the people of Nako, and who is continuing to oversee the building of the school.

Provision of desks to schools:

The Coalition of PTAs and School Management Committees in Wa (composed of elected Ghanaian representatives) decided that Charingu Primary School should be the beneficiary of desks. This is one of the poorest schools in the area and its remote location makes it inaccessible to outside assistance, even from the Ghana government. A local “bone-shaker” transports the women to market in the dry season, but the route is impassable in the rainy season. The Government has provided a 3-room classroom block for the village, but this is not sufficient for the number of children, and people in the village have built a makeshift classroom to accommodate more of the children. All classrooms lack furniture and it has been decided to provide furniture for the youngest students.

The Coalition has required the people of the village to plaster the walls of the classroom and extend its size with good ventilation as their contribution to the improvements. The following pictures shows the children in their old classroom.

The following pictures show the making and transportation of the desks.

The new, extended classroom can be seen in the pictures below, together with the children sitting at their new desks. The people of the village came out for these pictures, in order to express their gratitude to everyone in the UK who has contributed to the provision of desks for the school.

Provision of Electricity:

The Coalition decided that the beneficiary of wiring and electrification should be Tampieni Primary and Junior High School. The village of Tampieni is only accessible during the dry season and, because of its remoteness, there is no possibility that electricity will be provided by the Government in the foreseeable future. In order to receive a generator and wiring, the village was required to clear rocks from the road to the school and to plaster the classrooms. The pictures below show the school itself, as well as the receipt of the generator by the students and the adults of the village.

Support for Women’s Groups:

Two women’s groups are being supported in the setting up of income-generating projects. These groups are in the villages of Nakori and Biihee.

Members of the groups have worked together to decide on their objectives and activities. The women will be engaged in a number of business undertakings including: stone quarrying, sale of cooked food, sale of firewood, rice processing, dry season gardening (irrigated cultivation of vegetables) and small scale cash crop farming (including cassava, maize, groundnuts, chilli peppers and soya beans).

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to these projects, and a very special thank you to VSO volunteer, Ruby Yap, who continues to give of her energy and expertise to work with Ghanaian colleagues in support of all these developments – She is achieving remarkable things!!