Marcus Hagberg's Update, May 2014

Hi all,

Returning to Ghana after nearly four weeks in the UK I was full of mixed emotions. On the one hand, I would certainly miss the ordinary reliability of particular services such as (drinkable) water from the tap, consistent electricity, and seemingly hyper-drive Wi-Fi internet, not to mention manageable mild weather, diverse and nutritious foods, and cask ales/ IPAs. 

On the other hand, I needn’t have thought any of this. As soon as I landed a big smile was stamped across my face, my eyes beaming with excitable anticipation, and perspiration beginning to gather across my forehead. I was back in Ghana and I couldn’t be happier. 

Returning to Ghana refreshed and re-energised, I was able to carry on the good work our volunteer, Sam, pursued whilst I was away. Since returning to Ghana 10 days ago good progress has been made on various fronts:

• With the generous help of the 49th Engineer Regiment, the sports field now has some 30 loads of black topsoil atop it (see first pic above).
  

• Belgorod Company, Ltd. has been working non-stop and the foundation for the female toilet block has been completed (see second pic above).

• The local community chiefs and proprietor of private land adjacent to Awutu-Winton have agreed to sell the school additional plots of land; and 

• Eric Nyame, the star graduate from Awutu-Winton’s class of 2013, had a final interview for admission to Ashesi University College (http://www.ashesi.edu.gh/).

With nearly 10 weeks until the inaugural graduation ceremony for Awutu-Winton Senior High School there is still much to be accomplished. This will certainly require much time and energy from many people, and perhaps a bit of (strategic) luck too. But I am thankful to be back in this wonderful country continuing to work for this exciting project with such a committed team.

Best wishes and I’ll be in touch soon,

Marcus