Lauren's Update: February 2013

Students play football on the beach

I have now been at the school for a month now, so I am starting to settle in and recognise the people constantly popping in and out of the office; however I am definitely not used to the heat yet.

When I first arrived I was very happy to hear EDP has a few traditions for its volunteers, so I landed at about 5:30 am and spent my first day on the beach. Also the AFCON ( Africa Cup of Nations ) started not long after I arrived so I have been to one of the volunteers’ watering holes to watch all the Ghana games, the atmosphere has been excellent and I am really hoping Ghana goes far. This week our House got running water which was the best moment since arriving, when we realised the taps now worked I made a lot of shrieking sounds and we all celebrated. It is amazing how much I now appreciate the moment when water flows through the shower, it was very eye opening on what I have taken for granted in life.

At work I have attempted to make EDP ‘down with the kids’, and set up a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EDPTrust) and Twitter (@EDP_Trust). I am working closely with one of the teachers, Daniel, on the welfare of our most needy students, ( who currently number over 30) trying to help those out with the Hardship Fund and have started doing home visits. I have also been given the task of creating careers guidance for the students, however this will be a very big task as it needs to be started from scratch and we need to work out a way or a partnership that will help get our students into Tertiary education if that is where they want to go.

It’s great to see how driven the children at the school are as they are often here till late working in the library or classrooms. Also tonight our student football team are playing against another local school and I’ll be going to cheer them on—go Awutu-Winton!!

Lauren

David Lunan's End Of Year Review: December 2012

Season’s Greetings!

As 2012 draws rapidly to an end it’s a good moment to give all our supporters a short update on the charity, and the status of the Awutu-Winton Senior High School, as our 7th term also ends today Dec 21st (hopefully NOT with the ‘End of the World’ as there is still much to do!).

There has been a lot happening at Awutu, and with EDP this year as the blogs and pictures on the website testify.

Our Volunteer team on the ground, Project Manager Rachel Schmieder, and Enterprise Manager Harriet Fisher, ably assisted during the year by James Jacob ( who held the fort on his own over the summer period ), and before that by Kiran Sahib, have done a tremendous job in taking EDP’s involvement with Ghana forward. Rachel and Seth Rockson Adjadotse, our diligent and enthusiastic Deputy Head, have worked very closely together as a great team to enhance the status and develop the infrastructure of AWSHS.

During the summer break we had a month long visit from Newcastle University undergraduates, Sophie Keith and Sinead Molloy, who between them, using sponsorship funds they had raised together in UK, creatively redecorated the whole of block A at the school (there are pictures showing their work on the Gallery section).

We now have a thriving school with over 230 students (who, without the vision of the school’s Founder, Peter Donkor, would not otherwise be benefiting from a secondary education at all!) , and nearly 20 staff in one role or another. The curriculum is being closely followed and the extra-curricular activities are starting to grow apace. (We now have a sports club, bee club and carpentry classes, as well as offering additional IT and Library facilities, and the aim is to expand the range of activities further in the New Year).

Rachel recruited Famous earlier in the year and he is proving to be a very able assistant - in fact he is doing “famously”! Famous is a very good example of how a completed secondary education can lead to decent job offers and he is proving to be very good value to the school and the charity in his wide ranging support role. Well done Famous!

Thanks also to two very generous donations during the year we have completed the purchase and layout of the Sports Field (and plan to finish the surfacing and drainage of the field by the first half of 2013), and, excitingly, have now received the wherewithal to proceed with the construction of a much needed Assembly / Exam Hall and Canteen. Martin Moore, a long term supporter and his Architect pal John Burrell, as well as our professional engineer on the ground and good friend to the school in Ghana, Baffour Osei, continue to give their professional services for free and the design is now agreed and we hope to commence building work shortly. Another good friend of the school, Awutu businessman Eddie Quarshie will be supervising the build, as he did in the last classroom phase. I plan to update you further on the Assembly Hall project later in the New Year.

Thanks to this wonderful donation, and the hard work of Rachel and Seth, we hope we will be able to get official recognition as an established school with its own Examination status granted sometime next year by the GES (Ghana Education Service) and WAEC (West African Examination Council). As an approved Exam centre the school’s status and standing in the community will be assured.

Alongside the daily routine of the school we have been working to develop the juice business – ‘Abrofresh’ . Kiran and Harriet have put in a lot of hard work following on from the original set up. We now have Francis on board, a local National Service student who has been helping Harriet to develop the market opportunity. We are very grateful to Alan Chubb and Di Francis for coming to Ghana at their own expense to advise on the business plan for the next stage of development.

During the year Inez made an appeal on behalf of one of our students, Vida Anthony, who, thanks to the alertness of our friend Dr Robin Collier who came out to Awutu with his wife Sally back in February, was diagnosed with a hole in the heart. Thanks also to the generous response of so many EDP supporters we were able to arrange for Vida to have the operation in September and she returned to school a smiling, happier person last month, apparently determined to follow her dream of becoming a nurse.

Rachel has just returned to the UK, following on from Harriet earlier this week, and James in November. Now Marcus Hagberg (another from that rich stable of graduates at SOAS!) has taken over as Project Manager, soon to be supported in early January by Lauren Wilcock (anxious to point out her graduate connection with the Centre for West African studies at Birmingham University!) and our intern a week later, Helen Owusu, who will be helping at AWSHS whilst finishing off her Masters in Development and Management at Montpellier University.

We wish them all well, and every success in taking the school further forward.

Finally on behalf of Inez and myself, we would like to say a big “thank you” to all our other friends who have been so supportive of EDP. This year (thankfully you’ll say!) we haven’t bombarded you with too many fund raising schemes, although we did have a successful Great South Run, which raised enough to pay for two part-time teachers next year - and our thanks go in particular to Jackie and Paul Stanton for their help in organising it, and to all the runners for their efforts (next year we are hoping to organise another auction following on from the success of last year!) .

We now also have 24 children sponsored, we do need more sponsors to help pay for the overhead of the school , so please spread the word....

Once again, to all our supporters: A big Thank You, and a very Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year.

Best wishes,

David and Inez

EDP Trust Ltd
UK Charity No: 1129398
www.edp-trust.org

For and on behalf of The Awutu-Winton Senior High School, Ghana.

Jackie Stanton Update

When David asked me to write something for the EDP blog I was not sure what might be relevant to the sponsors. We first discussed Awutu Winton School and the EDP project at a dinner party two Christmases ago. We knew of each other, as I had headed a village project several years before, of which he had been a keen supporter but we had never really talked to each other, as we mix in different circles.

Part of the reason for talking in depth with David now was my son. Christopher had left University 9 months ago with a good degree in Computer Graphic Design and Multimedia but was unable to find work. With Christopher’s strengths in computers David offered an opportunity for him to visit the school in Ghana. While there he would teach the students and teachers how to use computers. It would also hopefully look good on his CV when he returned to help secure employment.

Within a matter of weeks Christopher was out in Awutu, he stayed for 4 months. He enjoyed his time at the school, it was very challenging with the climate and basic accommodation but as a first trip away from home we were very proud of his achievements.

David and Inez have a deep passion to make the Awutu Winton School a success. It is not just about the building but a secure future for the students present and future.

Christopher told me how keen all the students are to learn, they are desperate to get to school each day.
I decided to sponsor a student for 3 years. We have a lovely young man who would eventually like to be a journalist. We correspond during the year and have copies of his school report.

But when there are so many young people that need our help, it is difficult to know what to do for the best. I can’t afford to sponsor more than one student but can give in other ways, as many of you do: by giving ‘time’! I have been told by many people that my strengths lay in ‘organising’ and so that is what I have done for the past 2 years. I have assisted with organising fundraising events for EDP.

Last year we had the very successful ‘Auction of Promises’ which raised approximately £7,500. It was great fun and we had good support from donors and bidders.

This year we are hopeful of raising £4000 for 2 part time teachers and our only event was The Portsmouth, BUPA Great South Run, taking place on Sunday 28th October. We met at 8am on what was a cold and damp morning, to set off to Portsmouth in our mini bus. Thank goodness for the extra hour in bed!

Thankfully we managed to park up a short distance from the main hub of activity with the start and finish lines only a 5 minute walk away from our bus. Our 8 EDP runners were buzzing with anticipation, having each set themselves targets for the 10 mile run. The mass of 25000 runners waiting at the starting line had to be seen to have been believed. Quite spectacular!

Our group of spectators managed to encourage our runners on at the 5 mile point, at which they all looked cool and collected. Everyone was delighted with their own performances, the atmosphere helped with the crowd and the cheering, so did the thought of coming back to a warm cosy mini bus. All our runners did so well with the fastest time at 1hr 17minutes. 3 of the runners had never run as much as 10 miles before.

We ended our day at David and Inez’s where we enjoyed some homemade cooking and a celebration drink along with an interesting film show of what has been achieved in Awutu. It was amazing to see what improvements we had managed to afford over the past year and to know that every penny given goes directly into the school. Peter Donkor gave a wonderful speech to thank everyone for their support. He can hardly believe what has been achieved at the Awutu Winton School which began as an idea.

He mentioned that as a child in Ghana and from a family of 14 he was the lucky one and had an education. Not all of his brothers and sisters did because the family could not afford it. We were all very touched by what Peter had to say and think that he is a great ambassador for the school.

In the economic climate it is always hard to fundraise. There are so many charities that are asking for our help. EDP is a small charity with a big heart! It’s not national, it doesn’t get lottery funding, it depends of the generousity of everyday people. In return we get to see all of the results of our fundraising. That’s why I enjoy supporting it.

The sponsorship from the Great South Run currently stands at £2900, making the total short of our target, but all this could change if you haven’t already made a donation. Please visit http://www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Edp if you haven't already.

Thank you for reading this Blog.

Best wishes,

Jackie

P.S. We are hoping to raise a larger team, and amount, at next year's event- new runners are welcome to sign up at https://entry.enteronline.org/.

Newcastle Undergrads (Sophie and Sinead) Volunteer Update

It seems a long time since David first invited us to come out to the Awutu-Winton school, and in that time we have had some unforgettable experiences, many hair raising Tro-Tro rides and a number of marriage proposals along the way. From start to finish, our experience with EDP has been incredible, from fundraising in Newcastle to meeting Harriet , James and Rachel and the staff and students at the school, without whom our trip would not have been so memorable.

Before jetting off to the (supposedly) sunny climes of Ghana, we were first tasked with trying to squeeze money out of notoriously hard-up students. This required some creativity, and a resilient (read: ignorant) attitude to the word ‘no’. We decided to organise our first fundraiser in February, and so was born the idea for anti-valentines speed dating. The concept was simple, involving 20 ladies and gents, some interesting chat-up lines and a copious amount of booze. Despite the reluctance of many, we managed to raise almost £200 from the first event, and everyone had a good time, so much so that we were asked to host another. In the meantime, we attempted to gather funds through sponsorship. Wanting to be original (and being too lazy to attempt any form of sponsored exercise) we opted for a sponsored abstinence from alcohol. This had mixed responses from our friends at Uni, although, disbelieving of the notion we could refrain from Newcastle’s notoriously cheap drinks, everyone decided to bet against our willpower, and we raised almost £500 between us (and undoubtedly improved our liver function). The second speed dating was another success, and at least one beautiful relationship was born from our matchmaking skills.

With fundraising completed, our arms bruised from immunisations and the arrival of our visas, we were ready to begin the trip. First impressions of Ghana? A sign in the arrivals hall reminding us that Ghana welcomes visitors of good intent, but any visitor with the intention of crime of paedophilia would be turned away. We were both relieved. A lengthy wait at the baggage carousel provided no luggage and an even lengthier wait at customer services revealed we would have to return to Accra (multiple times) in order to retrieve our belongings. It was a welcome relief when we eventually found Harriet in the arrivals hall and began the journey to Awutu, albeit sans clean underwear.

The following day was a day of many firsts; Our first trip to the school, our first ride in a tro-tro (hairy), our first taste of (what was to be one of many) meals of Indomie (tasty), and our first proper meeting with James and Famous (lovely). It was also the beginning of our work. Seeing the school and the rooms which we were to paint, for the first time, set our creativity in motion, and after a trip to Kasoa to buy paints, we were equipped to begin the mammoth task of painting the library. 3 days later and it was newly yellow, a controversial move perhaps, as we received mixed feedback on our colour choice. It was definitely much brighter. Over the course of the next four weeks we painted the Headmaster’s office, three classrooms and the staffroom, discovering along the way that blue was always preferable to yellow and turpentine DOES NOT remove paint from clothes/skin/hair. With the coaching of various teachers and other members of staff at Awutu-Winton, we were able to improve our paintings skills along the way. When we weren’t busy with paint rollers, we had some time to explore Ghana with Harriet, James and Rachel acting as guides-cum-drinking buddies. The weekends brought trips along the coast to Cape Coast and Kokrobite which gave us a chance to relax and see more of Ghanaian culture. We also discovered more about Ghana’s colonial history and its place in the transatlantic slave trade.

Less poignant, but a significant feature of our time in Ghana, was our introduction to the HBO series Game of Thrones. We would like to thank James Jacob for educating us in the world below the wall, for that we are eternally grateful. Aside from that highlight, one of the most enjoyable parts of our time at the school was painting murals in the three classrooms. We wanted to incorporate the global aspect of the school, in particular the links between Andover and Awutu. Our personal favourite depicted the school houses, Avon, Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire, the idea being that the students could see what their house names actually referred to. The students got really involved with the murals, and we had lots of help so it was particularly nice to receive such good feedback. We were both really pleased with the end product.

Overall, the 6 weeks we spent in Ghana were fantastic. Our time spent at the school was made special, not only because we were made to feel so welcome by everyone we encountered but because we were both so impressed by the work of the EDP for students who are so enthusiastic and grateful for the opportunity of an education. We both felt lucky to be part of something so worthwhile, and would like to continue supporting the work of the EDP trust. Whether or not we can coerce our friends into another round of speed dating is debatable, but we would love to continue our fundraising efforts and move onto bigger and better things (sponsored streaking, anyone?). Finally, our trip would not have been the same without the lovely people we encountered along the way, including the staff and students at the school, in particular Famous who gave us constant encouragement and help! We are particularly grateful to Harriet, James and Rachel who put up with us occupying their living room floor, and guided us along the way. We’d like to say a big thank you to David and Inez for the opportunity to visit Ghana and the school– it has been amazing!

Sophie and Sinead

David Lunan's EDP Update: September 2012

Dear Supporter,

Thank you for reading this blog and for logging into the EDP website.

There has been a lot of activity in EDP and at Awutu-Winton SHS over the past few months, despite the long break of nearly 3 months between the end of term on June 18th and the start of the New Year, our third academically, on September 11th.

We have been lucky enough to have a visit from two Newcastle University students, Sophie Keith and Sinead Molloy, who not only raised the funds for their trip but also had enough left over to buy paint and then decorate the entire first phase block during most of August. A picture of their work will shortly be posted on the website gallery and big “thank you” girls for such a great effort!

Our current team of volunteers, Rachel Schmieder, Harriet Fisher and James Jacob are working hard in support of the school and its enterprise operation. The juice business continues to alternatively excite and frustrate, but a lot of effort has been put into it and we are still hopeful that it can grow into a long term profitable venture. Two supporters, Alan Chubb, and Di Francis, both agriculturists with extensive experience in the tropics, have offered to fund themselves on a trip out to Awutu in November to assess the project and we will be posting a report with their recommendations onto the website in December after they return to UK.

During the summer a lot of hard work was put in by Harriet and then James assisted ably by EDP’s locally recruited assistant, Famous, to prepare the new sports field which we were able to buy thanks to the generosity of one of our keen supporters earlier this year. There was the inevitable issue with hiring reliable enough equipment to clear the land, level it and stop the rains from washing it all away (the rainy season is from March-October and tropical downpours have a way of eroding newly constructed sports field rather rapidly!). Suffice it to say in the end hundreds of sandbags had to be filled and placed in situ to prevent the erosion, this was done with a lot of sweat and hard graft by Harriet, James & Famous supported from time to time by groups of AWSHS students , keen to see the sports-field up and running for the new academic year. Pictures are going on the website shortly, and games, including of course Football and Volley ball, but also Touch Rugby (the first of such to be played, we suspect anywhere in Central Region) have started in earnest!

We now have the Science lab up and almost running- Rachel is pushing hard for the gas man to come and connect those Bunsen burners! - but it is also contributing as an extra class room as, having nearly 150 candidates vying for their max 70 places available this year, we have been using the science lab as an exam hall as well as we have now instigated an entrance exam to try and fine-tune our selection process – a tricky balance of need vs. academic ability and it’s always a pity to have to turn kids away as we know they won’t get a second chance of gaining a secondary education.

The selection process of teachers has simultaneously been running its course. Rachel and Seth have worked closely together on this and we now have a total of 14 teachers, 8 full time and 6 part time, 6 of the full time are young teachers doing their National Service and this is proving to be a very cost effective way of expanding our permanent staff- the general feedback has been that NS teachers enjoy working at AWSHS, but the work load for them is certainly much higher than at the State equivalent!

Getting more full time teachers remains a top priority if we are even to get official recognition from the Government and the Ghana Education Service. We remain, as far as we are aware, the only secondary school in the south of Ghana to be free of fees outside the capital. Our region remains poor, unemployment levels are hard to gauge, but local sentiment estimates it at well over 50%, so getting a secondary education offers the children who can get it the way out of the grinding poverty trap - if we can get more full time teachers we can get GES accreditation and that in turn will mean we can become an exam centre in our own right and drive our reputation as a bastion, we hope, of academic ability forward. The long term sustainability of the school remains our concern: It can’t just be a constant plea for financial hand-outs, we MUST find ways to ensure the long term viability of the school and that is something we are continuing to work hard on.

Anyway, thanks again for reading this , and thank you, again, for your on-going support and interest in AWSHS and EDP.

Best wishes,

David

David Lunan
Director, EDP Trust
September 2012

James Jacob Update: August 2012

Week 7 and life goes on! It’s been a good week: thanks to Harriet’s return I now know where to eat – I have found some places that serve markedly better food, either that or my taste buds have atrophied to the degree that anything tastes good. Either way it’s a plus – lunch most days is from a chop bar – a mix of noodles and rice with some stew sauce, a hard-boiled egg and some ‘meat’. I don’t often ask what type.

This week I have done two new things:

Firstly I have been tasked by Harriet to improve sales in the market town of Kasoa. Kasoa is located about half an hour East of us on the way to Accra, it exists because there is a crossroads there and like the market towns of Britain which sprung up around bridges because of the increase in traffic at those points the same has happened here. Kasoa is, no bones about it, a completely uninspiring place – the buildings are new and ugly, the rubbish overflows – buildings come first then you set up the infrastructure – it is not a sensible way to do things. Still I have found an orphanage there which will hopefully start taking juice on Monday – we sell at a discount to orphanages because we see them as being in the same business as ourselves. Because of the wars all around Ghana there are lots of orphanages, people see Ghana as safe so they flee here if they can. Considering we have just had a swift, untroubled transfer of power in the country , I can see their point.

Secondly I had to take one of the schoolchildren to the hospital. Vida is 19. She has a hole in her heart and is waiting on an operation – on Thursday we finally got her booked in and it will happen in September. The hospital was better than I expected, cleaner, some of the buildings were colonial era others were newer. The waiting room was crowded like the NHS but what struck me was the lack of doctors, this is Accra’s main hospital – there was one cardiologist on duty for the entire ward, one. The problem is that if you have a medical degree you don’t stay in Ghana – instead you take your family and go to one of a dozen countries (including the UK) which will give you a work visa – the brain drain is a huge problem. Another problem is the blood bank – they are almost always running out – in fact for Vida’s operation we have to donate the same amount of units of blood that she will need – this is the standard policy of Ghana.

Tonight we have two new volunteers joining us for a month, they arrive shortly from the UK. So this is my last night of peace and quiet for a while. I’m using it to write to you guys and work on my dissertation.

I hope you are all well and once again thanks for the letters - they keep me going.

James

James Jacob Volunteer Update: June 2012

One month down.

I have now been here for a little over a month; this was always going to be the hardest time, culture shock, isolation and having to learn a new job. That month is coming to an end; on Tuesday my wonderful boss Harriet returns from England. I am looking forward to this, partly because she can drive (a life in London means I never learnt to my detriment) so I won’t be dependent on Tro-Tros anymore (this is a God send) also I won’t be home alone. I have made a few friends (the delightful Henrietta Gremmel first among them) but for the most part conversation has been limited.

This week I went up to Gyakiti, our NGO is developing a fishing project up there which they hope will fund the school out here. Ghana is home to Lake Volta – the largest man made body of water in the world built in the 60s by the egomaniac Nkrumah (he liked big prestige projects a lot), the lake feeds into the Akosombo dam – which still provides a lot of Ghana’s energy.

Famous (our assistant at the School) and I went to Gyakiti to get the local chiefs, whose land it was, to sign a contract agreeing to sell it to us. The journey took 13 hours in total – a long, long day on many Tro Tros. The chiefs met us but the paramount chief wasn’t there – the other chiefs said we didn’t have to see him. This aroused our suspicions. After journeying 40 miles we found the chief and his ‘palace’ (more like a large one story house), he met us and explained that the other chiefs had cheated him; and had not paid him the expected stipend for selling land – I might add that Ghanaian land law is a mixture of the British system and older, tribal customs – it is complicated.

I guess I was naïve but I expected the chiefs of the Volta to be impressive men, I in my naïve way wanted to meet men who would look like they’d stepped straight out of central casting for a Ryder Haggard story. This is not the case, old men with bad teeth and dressed in modern clothes, one of them to my surprise had a jersey from the 1999 Rugby World Cup – he’d received it in an aid package, the high chief met me in a Hawaian shirt in his house made of concrete. Famous later told me that they only don the formal robes for state occasions much like our own monarch. The more I thought of this the more it made sense naturally.

I spent the weekend with some friends at the beach. I have met some interesting people out here, the ‘Foreign Legion’ of volunteers are fascinating; different motivations, different projects and different durations from 19 year olds out here to build a school (the single most harmful thing you can do as an Aid project after simply dumping free food in a place-as the one thing the developing world is not short of is unskilled labour) to tons of medical students out here to learn how the other half get hospital treatment.
Two friends of mine deserve singling out, Geff and Zane, an unlikely pair Zane is a South African mechanic and Geff a Canadian diver – they work on Lake Volta for the only underwater logging company in the world – their job is to remove the trees which are now buried (Lake Volta used to be forest) and then sell the wood which has special properties. They are great guys and good fun to have a beer with and set the world to rights.

So there you have it – one month done out here and 4 to go at least I am keeping calm and carrying on. To everyone who is taking the time to write to me I really appreciate it! It helps a great deal.

James.