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| Our current Project Manager, Marcus Hagberg |
Dear EDP supporters,
Hope all is well and that your New Year is off to a good start. My name is Marcus Hagberg and I am the newest Project Manager at Educational Development Projects (EDP) Trust. Since arriving in Ghana in December 2012, I have been kept quite busy acclimatising to a new work environment, culture, and weather pattern. Thankfully, this adaptation has been quite easy, due primarily to the fact that Ghanaians are so keen to ensure your personal well-being, a genuine smile all along the way. Although I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to live, work, and study abroad over the past few years, I was immediately entranced by Ghanaians and their casualness and coolness.
The practical goals and overall vision EDP Trust is committed to and working towards are what keep me going when subtle and significant stresses begin to accumulate. I am honoured to have the opportunity to work alongside such wonderful and enthusiastic people, from Seth Adjadotse (headmaster of Awutu-Winton) to David and Inez Lunan (Directors of EDP Trust), Peter Donkor (founder of Awutu-Winton) to the EDP Trust team/ volunteers here in Ghana, and committed teaching and non-teaching staff at Awutu-Winton to motivated students—overall, these people make up a supportive community to ensure that EDP Trust’s goals and visions are accomplished.
2013 is a year of (hopefully) tremendous growth for EDP Trust and, thereby, Awutu-Winton. Because James Riggs and Rachel Schmieder (former Project Managers) have accomplished the important task of establishing a firm foundation, I feel it my duty to begin construction (both metaphoric and literal) on said foundation. Below are the main tasks/ projects EDP Trust is committed to achieving over this next year:
EDP Trust is excited to announce that we’ll begin building the latest planned phase of our school this month: the Valerie Dix building. This new building will encompass an assembly hall and canteen for the student population, along with eventual, additional toilet facilities for students and staff. This will enable us to be certified as a West African Examinations Council (WAEC)-recognised educational institution and thereby allow our students to sit for their final exams at the end of the summer term and in a familiar environment, before they continue to the next phase of their lives.
We are also in the midst of developing our sports field. Famous, Ghanaian Assistant to the Project Manager, has been given the task of overseeing the transformation of this sloping, rocky area into a viable sports field capable of holding (and hosting) football and touch rugby matches. I know I speak for all the students at Awutu-Winton when I say that we are eager for this project to get under way so that before long it can be fully functioning.
Beyond physical developments we hope to broaden EDP Trust’s professional network and build partnerships with government, non-profit/charitable, and private business entities alike. Although our team of committed Directors, staff, and volunteers is small, the impact we can have on the lives of these students, and the surrounding community is profound. We look forward to developing and nurturing these partnerships in the near and distant future.
Thank you for taking the time to read about my personal reflections on EDP Trust and Ghana, as well as my hopes for this exciting year ahead—I look forward to sharing more on these and other matters with caring supporters like you in the future.
Best wishes,
Marcus
