Newsletter: Issue 3

      

Last updated: December 2010

  

Select newsletter edition:

  

Welcome to the third SEPIA newsletter. It’s been another busy year for us, which culminated with a successful return visit to see our friends in Ghana during October/November. This means I have new pictures and stories to share so here is a summary to bring you up to date.

Money in…
As always we are extremely grateful to our kind supporters who have provided us with the funds to continue our work with the schools in Ghana. In 2010 we have managed to raise £2075 as a result of a range of events. In particular I would like to extend thanks to Oakley Infant School near Basingstoke for their continued support. The young children at the school are so keen to discover about life in Ghana and their enthusiasm to help and share invigorates us every time we visit them. Also I would like to thank the ladies of the Alton Inner Wheel for their kind donation of educational equipment. On an individual level I would like to thanks Babs Bailey who, despite suffering from a serious illness for most of this year, continued to knit small toys which are sold at Perins School throughout Easter and Christmas. Babs is an inspiration to us and the children in Ghana see her as their UK grandmother. We are all so pleased that Babs is now fully recovered. Thanks must also go to Lesley Jones who is our first supporter to set up direct debit payments ensuring that even when we are all too busy to do things some funds are still available for emergencies. Lastly I would like to thank Anna & Mel Nicolaou for their generous support. It was thanks to their kind donation that during our recent visit we were able to provide funds for a young orphaned student to allow him to continue his education.

This year saw the first ever SEPIA stall which we ran at the Alresford Music Festival. We sold Ghanaian clothes and jewellery and managed to raise £100. It was great fun and thanks go to our son Aaron and his friends for helping out on the day.

Money out…
2010 saw the introduction of the SEPIA educational bursary. This scheme is to enable students and teachers to further their education beyond that funded by the government. So far we have awarded 6 student bursaries and 2 teacher bursaries. Each bursary is assessed individually and then awarded a sum of money up to a maximum of £300. For our students these have helped them pay for the fees or the necessary equipment needed to attend Secondary School. In Ghana only primary level education is funded by the government so guided by our Ghanaian teaching colleagues we are able to identify those students who are in most need and offer support when possible. Our two teacher bursaries were awarded to assist the teachers to pay for college fees which enable them to attend educational courses during their school holidays. Teacher training and professional development is limited due to lack of government funding so many teachers are only qualified up to Senior High School level. To gain additional qualification teachers must fund courses themselves in their own time.

Our project work has focussed largely on school buildings. In Kukuruntumi we were able to re-roof the school following the tropical storm I mentioned last year. In New Tafo we were able to support the construction of a new classroom at the primary school and at Asafo Salvation Army School we continued to help to build and furnish two new classrooms. In all schools the funding we give is often matched by money raised themselves through their own fundraising activities in the local community.

We believe community involvement is an essential element of our work and as such our aim is to work in cooperation with schools rather than to create a culture of reliance. This was highlighted during our visit this year when we were able to see the borehole in action and meet with the local residents. Built originally to serve a growing school, the borehole now also serves the community living in the surrounding area and between them they all make sure the pump and its surroundings remain clean and in working order. Visits also provide us with the opportunity to take out a few cases full of school resources ad thanks to Perins School, Oakley School and the ladies from the Alton Inner Wheel, we were able to distribute sports equipment, stationary and teaching aids to a range of schools.

So all in all, another successful year, thanks for your continued support.

    
   
   
     
   
 

Kukurantumi Primary School

  
     
   
 

New roof at Kukuruntumi

  
     
   
 

New classroom at New Tafo

  
     
   
 

Local residents at the borehole

  
     
   
 

Contents of our cases!