Dear EDP Supporter,
Since my last blog just before Christmas I am pleased to confirm that there have been a number of developments on the Ghana school building front.
The main announcement is that EDP has appointed James Riggs as Project Manager for Ghana, in February and James has now flown out to Accra with a contract with EDP for the next 9 months and a brief to supervise the Awutu Winton School community project on the ground in Ghana.
James’s background includes an Msc in Development Studies at SOAS in 2008, having read International Business previously at Manchester Business School, and a recent lengthy spell last year in Kenya supervising the building of a rural secondary girls school, as well as spending much of 2007 teaching in Central China.
As part of his brief he will be seeking to work very closely with the local authorities and businesses in Awutu to take the project forward on a number of fronts.
Our immediate priority is to arrange for the installation of electricity to the site and then to set up the IT connection. The cost for power installation is under close review, estimates have been reduced, and indications now are that the Local Authority will be able to provide this facility in the very near future. (In fact James has just sent his first report confirming that power is expected to be intalled by Easter. Watch this space!)
In addition, further to the previous blog, we are also delighted to announce that an anonymous donor has given £10,000 to the cause specifically to ensure that the whole IT project is implemented. With the help of Roberto Lipari and his colleague Krystyna Nowicka at Intel, and with invaluable support from Kieron Doyle and his staff at Hampshire Business Computers (HBC) in Romsey, we are delighted to announce that we now have a comprehensive suite of pcs, servers, and associated hardware, backed by up to date operating licences, thanks to a generous donation by CTX - the charity arm of Microsoft. HBC are putting together the final network, but we expect to be able to ship all together around 16 second hand PCs with new hard discs, plus a couple of renovated laptops, thanks to help from Ross Jameson at TLGBrands, and 4 new pcs, all with screens and peripherals, along with software that would have cost many thousands in the high street: an overall package worth potentially upwards of £25,000 - for less than £5,000 in total. A wonderful effort for which many thanks to all the various people at TLGB, HBC, Intel, Winton School and the several other individuals and organisations who have contributed.
James will now seek to appoint a suitable Internet provider on the ground, and following Baffour’s assistance when Martin Moore was out in November, we have a number of providers to talk to. Our aim therefore is ,once the power situation is in hand, to ship the container, ( which has been carefully packed by the ‘Fiorelli’ warehouse staff), out by the end of March. James will then be in a position on the ground to supervise its arrival into Awutu as careful control is needed over its valuable contents and he will aim to work closely with the Honourable Adams Nuhu, the Awutu Senya District Chief Executive, and Mrs Jane Chinebuah, District Director of Education at Awutu-Senya, to ensure that the contents are carefully installed into the school.
Once the issues of power, IT and the container are sorted James will be able to turn his attention to the infrastructure of the school. In fact well before the container arrives it is his aim to work with Eddie Quarshie, the local builder and surveyor, to install air conditioning and finish off the final touches to the first phase so that the school will be ready to receive all the IT equipment which we anticipate will arrive by early May. Security will be another item high on James’ list.
Martin , assisted by his friend John Burrell, a qualified architect, (both of whom have also given their extensive services to the charity for free), has finalised the drawings for the next phase of building. It is felt that construction on the second phase needs to start as soon as possible, given that the school is expected to open in September and we are anxious to avoid too much disruption from building works during school time. The second phase will include offices for the Headmaster and other staff rooms as well as a Science Laboratory and a further suite of classrooms to accommodate the second year’s planned intake of around 100 pupils.
Plans are also being drawn up for the third phase which we would anticipate starting in 2011, and hopefully, if funds permit, the addition of teachers’ accommodation as this will help to attract long term staff.
We anticipate the first report from James once he has got his feet under the table later this month and will plan to post an update blog after Easter. In the longer term once the immediate issues are addressed James will then turn his attention to various ideas concerning self sustainability at the school including the possibilities for reaching out to wider sections of the local community , with hopefully the inclusion of adult education classes, as well as the anticipated launch of a Cybercafe - whilst at the same time developing the all important links with the sister school at Winton in Andover.
PS For those who have recently made donations to EDP - thank you for your generosity. Our aim as a small focussed charity is to try and ensure that as much as possible of your donation goes directly to the project and the people who need it . We are now set up with Paypal on the website for future donations but still the most effective way to maximize your contributions is to send us a cheque , with a Gift Aid form if you are a UK based tax payer ( we will arrange to get a copy of the form posted shortly onto the 'contact us' section ). Whichever way you contribute – a big thank you.
david@edp-trust.org
EDP Trust , 135 Little Ann road, Andover, Hampshire SP11 7NW, UK
UK Charity no : 1129398
EDP Trust , 135 Little Ann road, Andover, Hampshire SP11 7NW, UK
UK Charity no : 1129398
