David and Inez- November 2016 School Visit Report
An interesting account of their most recent trip to AWSHS and development at the school.
Taking full advantage of our extra charity baggage waiver (thank you, BA), and having already distributed ten other suitcases of gear destined for the school to other visitors, we arrived at LHR on a clear, crisp November morning about four weeks ago, staggering under the weight of six bags of donated sportswear and books, football boots, solar lights, whiteboard markers, ink cartridges and other paraphernalia.
Apart from a sudden and very heavy landing at Kotoka the journey (only 6 hrs) was uneventful, and there waiting for us was our wonderful driver and friend (also wannabe popstar!) Kwabena, who scooped us up and skilfully conveyed us through the Accra traffic, dodging motorbikes, trucks and overloaded tro-tros, and taking bumpy rat-runs known only to locals to avoid the worst of the congestion, still a problem even at 10 p.m. Proceeding in this fashion we finally reached our destination at Akosombo – a simple hotel with a magnificent outlook over the beautiful Volta River. The following morning we were awakened by the first ferry of the day – a traditional wooden boat with an outboard sounding like a lawnmower, carrying six or so passengers – plying its way to the other side of the river which was shrouded in the early morning mist.
By 9 a.m. we were on our way to Gyakiti, where our fish farm and sister operation is situated, an hour’s drive through the bush over roads even bumpier than the previous day’s. After this bone-shaking experience it is always a relief to reach the lake, and this time we were greeted by a very smartly uniformed security guard who inspected our cab closely and then meticulously wrote down our names in a book, before graciously waving us through. Our young manager, John Domozoro, was there to meet us, and we were very gratified to discover that, of the dozen or so smiling members of staff who greeted us, five or six were graduates of Awutu-Winton – some working to save money to fund their tertiary education and others enjoying the work so much that they are planning a career in aquaculture.
Lake Volta is a huge artificial lake (bigger than Wales – in fact on an early visit our daughter Lily refused to believe it wasn’t the sea!) which was created in the 50’s as part of an enormous hydroelectricity scheme. One of our local taxi drivers, called Aristotle, philosophised that there was nowhere better to live in Ghana – ‘plenty of water and electricity so what more could you want?’, but we digress… The fish are grown out on the lake, about 1500 m offshore, so we donned lifejackets (obligatory for all) and piled into the metal boat to go and inspect the large circular cages (15m in diameter). Each of these holds up to 100,000 tilapia at different stages of their 6-7 month growing cycle; one was due to be harvested the following day. There are huge problems within the aquaculture industry in Ghana but at last it does seem as if some of these might soon be addressed, and we were very heartened to see PBA in much better shape than ever before, with a young, enthusiastic and hard-working team all pulling together.
And so on to the school (accompanied by our friend and structural Engineer , Martin Moore who was returning to Awutu for the fourth time, but the first in 6 years since the school opened its doors , to inspect his design at the school - happily he wasn’t too disappointed as we have tried to faithfully follow all his layout and building instructions, and keeping strictly to a maximum of 40 students per classroom : the school is now full with 440 pupils ) . Here we found a frenzy of activity, with preparations under way for both the Great Ghana Run and Graduation Day. Despite David’s declaration that he was not going to be taking part in the run this year, he had his arm twisted by our dear (and considerably younger!) friend and fellow Trustee Nick Robertson. Even setting out at 6 a.m. it was already uncomfortably hot (30 degrees), but they managed to push and cajole each other around the 10 mile course, although afterwards they said that every step was unmitigated agony. Miraculously they lived to tell the tale, ( and another supporter , Mary Thomas, got it on video as proof !) and when it was all over they fell into the school swimming pool. Later that afternoon a student swimming gala took place. So exciting to watch these youngsters who, four months earlier, had been complete novices and fearful even of getting into the water, now powering up and down the lanes of the pool as though they had been swimming all their lives.
That same day Nick’s father-in-law, a ‘Pommy’ GP newly retired from a job in Australia, was completing the medical check he had begun the day before on all our new students (160 in total). A mammoth task but very worthwhile; apart from some sight and hearing problems a few more potentially serious conditions came to light which are currently being investigated at Korle Bu, the big teaching hospital in Accra. So thank you Dr Graham; also for your wonderful Monty Python renditions which kept us amused during the long evenings at Tills No 1 Hotel – we hope you’re coming back next year and, by the way, the teachers would like to be checked out next time too please!!
The next excitement was Graduation Day itself, always the highlight of the year, and it didn’t disappoint. Alongside the usual speeches and prize-giving we enjoyed performances by the students – a magnificently slick and disciplined parade from the cadets (of whom a significant number are girls), dancing (both traditional and very modern – we could see that ex-volunteer Rajib’s influence happily lingers on!), music and recitations, choir… the list goes on and on – and all orchestrated by our wonderful Deputy Head, Madam Ruth. There was a fair smattering of local dignitaries, chiefs and VIP’s attending, and it was altogether a very colourful and happy occasion.
All the while election fever was mounting – huge and very vocal support on the streets for the main opposition party, the NPP with Nana at the helm, but would it be enough to oust the current NDC government of John Mahama? Obrunis (translated as “white people”) find Ghanaian politics very hard to understand largely because the names of the different parties are so similar– apart from the two already mentioned we have the NRP, NVP, RPD and the PPP, and at least ten other parties known by three letter acronyms, and it gets extremely confusing!! On the actual polling day school was deserted – everyone had gone back to their birthplace to cast their vote, sometimes involving long journeys, and predictably roads were even more congested than normal, if that is possible. First results started to trickle in late on the first evening, and Nana supporters were elated, none more so than Kwabena, whose excitement rendered his speech almost entirely unintelligible! This trend was repeated over and over, and by the end of the second day Mahama conceded defeat. Everywhere NPP supporters were out on the streets, linking arms and singing and dancing, wildly jubilant.
And so Ghana has a new government which promises to be more sympathetic to business and regenerate the struggling economy, also to crack down hard on corruption. Only time will tell, but the most impressive part of it is that change was achieved peacefully, with few signs of aggression or disharmony, a shining example of democracy working in West Africa. One reason for this though might be the total ban on selling alcoholic liquor during the election period, something we only discovered when we took our hard-working volunteers out for a meal to say thank you for all their tremendous efforts. You will not be surprised to learn that it provoked great consternation – but we can happily report though that after much persuasion the restaurant accommodated us in a secluded area where our beers were delivered to us in brown paper bags.
So it was goodbye to Ghana for another year. Farewell to the chaos, traffic, noise, heat and colour. We will miss you, but for the moment it is something of a relief for two old ‘obrunis’ to get back to the mist and drizzle and relatively ordered existence of the UK (even if everyone does seem to be on strike!).
Inez and David December 2016
