School Project

There are so many aid organizations in this world and so many people who rely heavily on the work they accomplish. And then there are those who see this as Big Business and fill their pockets with donations.

Can 1 person – with support back home – really make a true difference? With a risk of sounding overly democratic: Yes, she can!!

In order for a community to receive the support of a volunteer, it is first thoroughly screened and tested for their intentions and their capacity to put things to action. This is done by the central organization BRIDGE. Before the volunteer arrives, a committee is put together, representing the community and being the contact people for the volunteer. Last Saturday, I had my first committee meeting. It was of course a reason to celebrate and we brought out the frozen Fanta’s which I had bought and asked headmaster Tony to put in his fridge, not realizing that he only has a freezer (for all the ice-cream we consume in this village?!). Did you know that they still fizz after freezing? The committee has meetings twice a week, discussing topics in the community that need improvement, brainstorming and doing SWOTs as well as preparing the grounds for future projects and volunteers. For now, the choice of project was easy: the local school is in high need of renovation. Actually, the building was never finished. The money ran out and the buildings look like ruins, 1 of them does not even have a floor and none of them have doors or shutters. You might think: ‘nice breeze’, which I suppose is a valid point, but having no doors means that the sheep and goats roam around freely and poo all over the place. Also, since the kids have no toys (except for the coconuts they use as balls and the tattered bicycle wheels which they run after in the streets), they hang out at the school at all times, wearing out the furniture and messing up the blackboards. Kids will be kids!!

So, with the help of the committee and even the chief (whom I met the day before when I was formally introduced to him at his ‘palace’ where he offered me –bizarrely- a glass of sangria), I spent the whole day talking to carpenters, masons and painters in order to put together a budget. I am positively surprised at the engagement of the committee members, showing up on a Sunday, trying to find the best solution for the lowest price and providing me with detailed lists of prices and necessary material. Compared to other communities (so I hear from the other volunteers), I have struck gold! Everyone comes up with ideas and seems to follow my ‘western’ reasoning.

The conclusion is that this is a very realistic project and we actually have the possibility to make it happen while I am here to supervise the work! I am excited at the prospect of improving the lives of these kids, not to mention the teachers for whom the teaching circumstances are far from easy (try teaching ICT without computers! They draw a keyboard on the blackboard...)Just one more thing, this is a proactive community. Every year they get together with nearby villages and organize a huge festival up on the mountain not far from here (which was discovered by a big python followed by a horde of white birds..). They bring out all the drums, traditional clothes and as much glamour as possible to raise funds for the village. This is a big deal and attracts visitors all the way from Accra! Last year, they used the profits to extend electricity cables to the school. Hopefully this year they will manage to do the rest of the work and supply light switches and lights. So, who said that these people do nothing but sit around and wait for money?