David and Inez- November 2016 School Visit Report

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 

What Awutu-Winton means to the local community

Awutu Winton SHS is positioned in such a way that it serves numerous scattered communities. The land on which the school is built is for the inhabitants of Awutu Bereku and Gomoa Akoti. Apart from these two communities, Awutu Winton SHS serves five major communities including Kasoa which is about 10 kilometres away.  

Awutu-Winton SHS has come at the right time to save a lot of junior high school graduates who, due to financial difficulties, have spent two or more years at home after completing their free education. There are others who did go on to senior high school level education but for one or two financial difficulties they had to end their education half way through the programme.   These were some of the problems Awutu Winton SHS, (the only fee free secondary education institution in the entire country), has brought to these communities. So indeed Winton means a lot to the people in these communities and Ghana as a whole.   Awutu Winton SHS has a great future. Established in 2010, it is about 6 years old. The school so far can account for 374 Graduates of which a little over 20 percent are pursuing various courses in the numerous tertiary institutions all over the country.Something we are very proud of.   

The Future of AWSHS  

Awutu Winton SHS is growing each day, and looking into the future, my excitement is that the school will overcome all of it's challenges.The activities at the school, in particular music and cultural events, help create some sort of patriotism and love for Winton, the students Alma Mater. I am optimistic about the fact that, more classrooms will be built, and vocational oriented programmes will be introduced. I hope that facilities in areas such as the science laboratory, and also the Home Economics department will be properly furnished. In the future I believe we will see enhancement of extracurricular activities, particularly in the area of games and software.

Project Manager Tom Cronin 2.0

Last year, I left my teaching job in UK to live and work in Ghana, running a teacher training program for EDP. Having heard about the project through a friend, I got in contact with David and Inez. As soon as they began to talk about the school, I could feel the passion they had for the project and was instantly hooked. I moved out to Ghana a month later. My five months at the school focussed on improving teaching methodologies, generic school policies and communications between the school and EDP. I loved working with the students and teachers in such a positive and constructive environment. I felt that great things were going on all around me, all the time. I finished my time in Ghana in October and returned to the UK. I was offered the Project Manager position and felt it was an opportunity I could not turn down. I returned to EDP Ghana as Project Manager in January excited and apprehensive but absolutely determined to achieve the objectives I had set myself.

It has been a steep learning curve. The teaching aspect is my specialism and comes fairly naturally to me, but in order to effectively oversee all aspects of the project I have had to learn a wide range of information and skills very quickly. I am extremely lucky to have a strong team around me to support the project (and me), each with their own area of expertise. The year will undoubtedly bring challenges. The unpredictability of work in Ghana is both the biggest reward and biggest frustration. We have a great team both in the UK and Ghana. I am proud to be involved in the project and I look forward to see the ground we can make this year.

The First Few Days: New Infrastructure Manager Pete adjusts to life in Ghana

The First Few Days: New Infrastructure Manager Pete adjusts to life in Ghana 

It was too early to change money at the airport. I stood sweating into my jumper under the awning at the entrance, having failed at my only task. A man sidled up and nudged my arm. ‘Do you want me to call anyone?’ 

I stared at him. ‘Who are you going to call?’ 

‘Anyone.’ 

‘No, thank you.’ He sidled away, looking slightly worried. I realised I hadn’t been blinking. I tried to remember if I’d slept: not on the planes, or in Casablanca airport. Casablanca airport wasn’t a good place for sleeping. The constant horns from the road in front of me sounded like they were inside my skull. A child dragging a carry on bag threw up in the gutter. 

‘Pete,’ I said to no one in particular, ‘This was not a good choice.’ 

The man with the phone edged slightly further away. 

I’ve learned not to trust my judgement at 6am after a night of sleepless travel, and by the time I was bouncing off the inside of the pickup truck on the way out to the school things were looking better. By the time I was under the umbrella trees in the school courtyard, drinking Abrofresh pineapple juice, my head had almost stopped spinning. The EDP staff sat opposite me, smiling like particularly patient carers. I did my best to smile back. 

‘Can you explain it again?’ 

They glanced at each other. ‘It’s free,’ they said. ‘None of these students pay for their education. The teachers’ – they gestured around at the buzzing classrooms – ‘are paid for by the government. We do the infrastructure and welfare. This guy’ – they pointed at Rajib – ‘He’s sorted out that building’ – a huge structure at the head of the courtyard, covered in building workers – ‘That’s going to be the job you’re taking over.’ I coughed up a mouthful of juice. ‘You’ll have to build a road too,’ they added, ‘And extend the sports field, and finish the swimming pool, and we need labs. You’re an engineer?’ I nodded unconvincingly and wiped my palms on my shorts. ‘Great, they said, let’s walk around the site. Don’t get bitten by any snakes.’ 

‘Pete,’ I said to myself again, but stopped myself when I realised everyone was looking at me. I cleared my throat. 

‘That sounds great.’ 

 The things that have been achieved so far at Awutu Winton are impressive. In the last six years a school has been constructed entirely from charitable donations, three sets of students who would otherwise have been unable to afford education have graduated, and a host of fantastic side projects and opportunities have arisen. There is still a lot of work to do to improve and expand every aspect of the school, and it’s a daunting prospect for a new arrival, but after three weeks it at least seems possible. Three weeks that have consisted of trying to work out all of the things that need to be done and how to do them, of eating too much some days, too little others, and scrubbing spicy palm oil stains out of my shirts in a bucket, of getting used to sporadic electricity and water. I’ve had my phone snatched and bought another, experienced the controlled chaos and euphoric air of graduation and the Great Ghana Run, listened to the back catalogue of Akon innumerable times in taxis, made a washing line/wardrobe out of strimmer wire and curtains out of a tablecloth I cut in half with a breadknife, and met people who are working hard every day to make the school a better place. I’ve also mostly managed to stop talking to myself in public. 

It’s going to be an interesting year. 

Volunteer Rajib shares the progress of the infrastructure projects

Infrastructure at AWSHS 

It has been a tremendous privilege to be able to work on the projects at AWSHS. When I first arrived, I got stuck right in producing images of what the new swimming pool may look like when it was only at the stage of conception; so too with the phase 3 academic block, now called ‘The Robertson Building’.

The swimming pool is at its final stages of construction. The changing room block has now taken form, the pool is ready for tiling and services are now installed. Interest in the pool is growing amongst the community too. Currently, we are training our sports teachers in how to conduct swimming lessons, I’m sure our students will enjoy their lessons as much as our teachers are enjoying theirs!

Seeing the phase 3 block at this stage, it is difficult to imagine that only eight months ago I was sitting around the masterplan of the school with David discussing the design of phase 3. Working on this project in particular has been very rewarding; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being involved with every step of the process, from design, procurement, construction, and hopefully soon the handover. We made sure to take heed of the feedback we received of the existing blocks from staff and students alike, resulting in a design sensitive to the demands and needs of its users. The build is coming to an end with the last bits of plastering, painting and roofing.

It helps that there is so much going on at the school one can get involved with. The teacher vs student volleyball games in the courtyard, the football games ending with the setting sun, the newly introduced basketball games backed by the practicing choir have all made my time here memorable, unique, and difficult to give up.

We are working hard now to bring these projects to a close; I look forward to receiving a representative from the Princess of Monaco Foundation this month to review the swimming pool and of course the party arriving with David and Inez who will see phase 3 for the first time!

Volunteer Rajib talks about the infrastructure projects he has been overseeing at AWSHS

I arrived in Ghana roughly four months ago and my, how time has flown!

I have been working on a number of infrastructure projects, namely the expansion of the sports field, construction of a swimming pool and the third phase of the academic block.

Sports Field Expansion:

EDP had acquired a good bit of land, big enough for a regulation sized football pitch with ample room to spare. It’s exciting to see the landscape change and the pitch slowly manifest. Everyone here at Awutu-Winton is enthused at the prospect of hosting inter-school competitions in the near future.

Swimming Pool:

A generous donation from The Princess of Monaco Foundation is going to see the students learn a very useful skill. This is one of the projects I’m eager to see through; pools here are few and far between, and none, from what I have seen, are dedicated to teaching students or the local community how to swim. We're all understandably incredibly excited about this project.

Academic Block:

To be involved with the construction of this block is an experiential goldmine, not least due to my background in architectural education. Working on site through the building process has made, what I’d find, the most tedious of reading, interesting. Trenches have been dug ready for concrete to be poured, and I find myself reminding the contractor to remember his vibrator! 

Everybody in the EDP team has been incredibly supportive and helpful. I’m so glad to be working in such a vibrant, dynamic and rich environment!

Project Manager Niranjana talks about life in Awutu

It’s been almost Four months since I arrived in Ghana, and wow, has a lot happened! Time has flown by so fast and I have enjoyed every moment thus far.

Ghana is a wonderful, vibrant place- from the food to the music to the clothes. When I first got here I was (naturally) wary of solid food that you swallow without chewing. Now? I actually have frequent cravings for good FuFu and Groundnut soup, and it is fast becoming my favourite Ghanaian dish! 

The music is literally everywhere, even in the most remote village you can stumble across a sound system pumping reggae, hip-life, high life, or a combination of all three! As for the clothing, Ghana has the most beautiful fabric I’ve ever seen, the markets are full of wonderful prints, and women carry their babies in printed make-shift baby carriers, it's wonderful!

Having been born and raised in London, It’s taken time to adjust to village life in Awutu-Bereku where things move much slower. The school, however, runs at an entirely different pace from the village it resides in; things are constantly moving onward and upward!

When I first arrived at the school, I must admit I was slightly intimidated. The Project Manager prior to me, Marcus, had done such a great job- and I wanted to continue to do the school proud. However, I have quickly come into my own, and I now feel at home; the staff have been so supportive and the smiles of the students are a constant motivation to push the school to be one of the best in Ghana.

One of the most rewarding tasks I have overseen since arriving here has been the completion of the girls' hostel. Our most vulnerable female students now have a safe haven. This took a lot of preparation with many different aspects to consider but it is now all up and running successfully! The girls are so grateful to have a place where they feel safe.

We have also started work on the construction of a third classroom block, and thanks to my co-worker and friend Rajib, it’s all going very well (more on that from him).

AWSHS is such a wonderful project. There are so many of us here in Ghana, in the UK, and worldwide, that wholeheartedly believe in the mission of the school, and it is this collective dedication that keeps our students smiling.