Dear Friends and Supporters

As we write, a large cohort of sixty of our students returns from a hugely successful and inspirational trip down to the coast, for some a first time out of the Ashanti region, to compete in a sports tournament with EDP Winton School near Accra. EDP is a significantly larger, well-equipped school in an urban environment, and we have been keen to set up a sister relationship with them for some time. We have some very talented sports peoplet the school, and on this first trip our students competed in football, volleyball and athletics, winning many of the matches and races. This was a celebratory and promising beginning to a fruitful collaboration with EDP, and will foster ongoing educational and co-curricular exchange between teachers and students in both directions. The tour by bus also took in Elmina Fort and Cape Coast Castle, a first sight of the sea, and a taste of university life with an inspiring tour and some lectures at the University of Cape Coast.

A future fundraising project

Our next fundraising project for 2024 will be to substantially enhance our sports facilities. We currently have a basic unlevelled 00-metre running track with field sports equipment, and a rather uneven football/volleyball pitch. Our aim is to introduce an up-to-date, multipurpose pitch, and eventually to level off and improvethe larger football pitch. We want to be able to give our talented young sportsmen and women the opportunity to excel in their chosen discipline, and really go for gold!

Partnership with the Ghana Education Service

Following our fantastic exam results posted in January 2023 (a 97.4% pass rate across the year group), Ghana Education Service, the government department delivering state education across the country, has invited us to become a partner school. This would result in three things: recruitment of pupils through the government portal; 100% financial support for staff salaries; additional support towards school running costs such as food, transport etc. This will reduce our monthly running costs by 40%–50%, allowing us to focus on completing our infrastructure projects across the school site. And in addition, our headteacher Gordon Asante Sarpong will become the youngest GES school head in the country at the age of thirty-three. Improving facilities and sanitary care for our Noble Belles

Our current girls’ dorm accommodates 170 students, with washing facilities and lockers. Thanks to yet another generous donation from the Toni Garrn Foundation and “Ein Herz für Kinder”, we’re in the process of adding a second storey to the dormitory, with a pitched roof for water capture and a solar installation. Two additional rooms will also be created to accommodate teachers regularly staying on site, who may then give one-to-one tutorials to our students beyond the established timetable. Work to be completed by March 2024. We are also working towards providing a sustainable solution for sanitary care for our girls. Good menstrual hygiene management is essential to enabling all women and girls to achieve their full potential, and days of education can be lost because of a lack of access to adequate sanitary products. We are consulting with the girls, housemother Sandra and with a local business producing non-disposable menstrual products to provide a lasting, holistic solution. Our patron Bella Huddart instigated a swift and successful fundraising campaign for this purpose, raising a very healthy £3,500 to date. The fundraiser is still open!

On the farm

Our ten scholarship students who went on to Bunso Agricultural College, funded by Ecoland, have successfully completed their first year. Ecoland has now generously committed to extending this to another ten students for next year. We’re delighted that this relationship has provided so much opportunity for the students, and Ecoland remains a useful consulting partner on agricultural matters, especially in the organic field. An understanding of organic farming practice remains central to the ethos of the school and is implemented through our Student Agricultural Sustainability Programme (SASP). All students spend some time each week on the farm, and are taken through practical lessons to give them hands-on experience in the various aspects of organic farming, including soil sampling, composting, germination and bed preparation.

This month we harvest our first crops of organic turmeric and ginger for export, in addition to maize, cassava, okra, aubergine, plantain, cabbage and carrots for our school feeding program. Our first cocoa plants are also thriving, and we expect a full harvest in Spring 2024.

Q&A with Headteacher Gordon Asante Sarpong

Who or what inspired you to become a teacher? – My inspiration comes from my auntie, a teacher all her life. When I was a boy she taught me lots of things both on and off the curriculum. I’ve always loved imparting knowledge, especially to children in deprived communities.

What’s your favourite subject? – I majored in Geography at UIniversity, but I’m most interested in teaching and studying History and English Literature because it involves a lot of reading, researching and analysis of historical information.

What’s your favourite dish on the school menu? – Banku [maize and cassava dumplings]! I’m lucky enough to have it twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

What’s your favourite place in the school? – I love spending time in the library, especially when I’m not working, to catch up on my reading. I also like sitting on the lovers’ bench under the trees when I want to be alone. It’s a good place to watch the goings on in the school.

We are extremely grateful to our wonderful recent donors and fundraisers:

• The Toni Garrn Foundation and “Ein Herz für Kinder” (Axel Springer Foundation) for their financial support in financing the building an extra storey on the girls’ dormitory

• Caroline and Georges Müller for their extremely generous donation towards running costs

• Our patron Bella Huddart, for raising £3,500 towards a sustainable solution for sanitary products for the girls in November 2023

• The Strate Family and Hamburg-Bergedorf Rotary Club for their continuing generous donations

• Our trustee Katharina Bielenberg, for raising £1,700 in a “super-sprint” triathlon in June 2023

Spring 2023 Newsletter

** boys’ dorm completion ** the Noble Belles Club **

** excellent results ** recruitment successes ** alumni news**

Dear Friends and Supporters

Since we were last in touch, we’ve been putting the finishing touches to our beautiful boys’ dormitory. The boys

are thrilled with their living space and courtyard area, and other areas of the school using for accommodation

have now been freed up as additional classroom and study areas for our growing school community.

Girls’ Dorm Expansion and the “Noble Belles”

The Toni Garrn Foundation has been applying on our behalf for funding towards a second storey on our girls’ dorm, to double the

accommodation currently available for our next intake. Our girls’ dorm has been a vibrantly successful space

and, together with the girls, Deputy Head (Pastoral) Josephine and House Matron Sandra have recently

established the “Noble Belles Club” which meets every Friday. Its main focus is on empowerment, most specifically to combat the

challenges faced by our girl students when they return to their own communities for the holidays, for example

pregnancy, which may prevent them from continuing their vital education.

Results and Recruitment

Last year’s results came through in January, our best yet! With a 97.5% pass rate across the year group, many of

our students have now enrolled for tertiary-level education with universities, or into vocational/technical

training (midwifery, agriculture), while others have secured jobs. We are extremely grateful to ECOLAND for

funding ten scholarships to Bunso College to study organic agriculture. We congratulate our headteacher Gordon

and his amazing team of teachers on these tremendous academic successes.

Our team has also been on an active recruitment drive in the area, visiting local schools, radio stations and

community leaders, which has yielded a significant uptick in our student numbers for the current academic year.

The school is fast gaining a reputation for its excellent results, and for its participatory educational approach.

We anticipate our student population to increase from the current 260 to more than 300 for the start of the

next academic year in September.

Alumni News – Frank’s Kitchen

We follow up with our alumni each year, to

check on progress in their chosen studies

or career. This is Frank, who left the school

last year and has already established his

own successful catering business.

Our Home Economics lab was set up in

2020, extending our food and nutrition

education and embedding our “farm to

fork” ethos at the school. AME places

value on a practical education; our

students learn about opportunities along

the supply chain, equipping them for a

successful future career.

We are extremely grateful to our wonderful donors:

● The Toni Garrn Foundation and the Bielenberg Family trust for their ongoing support

● The Quin Charitable Trust for their substantial contribution to the boys’ dormitory project

● The Strate Family and Hamburg-Bergedorf Rotary Club for their generous donations

● Hunza G. for their recent generous donation

● And to Johnnie Huddart and Henry Palling who raised £6,500 in a sponsored cycle to Amsterdam, and

Lorenzo Mele for his half-marathon which raised £1,000.

While we succeed in improving our infrastructure year on year with generous individual donations,

we are currently struggling to cover our current running costs of approx. £9,000 per month. We are

optimistic that our ongoing conversation with the Ghana Education Service will result in financial

support towards our teachers and student costs, starting in the next academic year 2023–2024, but

in the meantime we urgently need to fund the school until September.

If you are able to support our fundraising effort by sponsoring student for a year for £400, please

click HERE to make a donation or, even better, a regular direct debit. If you are able to help us in

another way, please don’t hesitate to contact our charity director Paolo Mele

paolo@almamatereducation.org

AUTUMN 2022 NEWSLETTER • SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

** near completion of new boys’ dorm ** community health centre and sick bay ** clear drinking water and elimination of plastic project **new farm manager and volunteer**

Dear Friends and Supporters

We’ve been busy over the summer improving our infrastructure, and we’re thrilled to share news that our boys’ dormitory is almost complete after a six-month building project. We’ve also made progress with local community and on-site health services, and improvements on the farm.

Boys’ dormitory

Work began in February on a new building to accommodate up to 240 boys, ready for occupation by mid-October. With a traditional but innovative design, it is our most progressive structure yet in terms of sustainability, including solar panels and a biodigester to convert sanitary waste into fertiliser for the farm. The building is U-shaped, incorporating four large dorms, two washing facilities, three private rooms for supervising staff and for our head prefect, and an additional multi-use room. The project has been a challenge due to increased material, labour and transport costs, which have risen 30% in line with national inflation. As a result we are still looking for funding of approx. £11,000 towards the solar array. Fit-out costs for beds and lockers will be £80 per student. The ongoing running costs for each child at the school amounts to £400 per annum.

Our plastic-eliminating water project

We’ve recently tested our two boreholes, and the results are excellent. Our water is perfectly potable, and we’re in the process of setting up three water dispensers around the site. Each student and staff member will be issued with a durable, reusable bottle. Until now, drinking water has been provided in plastic pouches or bottles, which have not been able to be recycled due to lack of facilities. This will substantially reduce our carbon footprint at the school.

We are extremely grateful to our wonderful donors:

• The Quin Foundation for their substantial contribution to the dormitory project

• Hunza G. for their generous recent donation

• The Strate Family and Hamburg Rotary Club for their generous recent donations

• The Bielenberg Family trust for its ongoing support

• Lorenzo Mele who completed a half marathon in aid of the boys’ dorm. Click here to support him

• Johnnie Huddart who will be cycling London to Amsterdam in November. Click here to support him

Farm to fork

Over the last few months we’ve had excellent harvests of maize, cassava and plantain, all of which are essential carbohydrates that make up a substantial part of the school food program. This is due in no small part to our new farm manager, Francis Amentesa, who comes with experience of running an organic farm, and has a passion for sharing his knowledge of agricultural practice with the students. He is supported by an experienced retired farmer from Ireland who has very generously given three months of time to support Alma Mater Education.

A sprinkler irrigation system has been installed on one acre of the site, and drip irrigation on an additional two acres. We forecast to have ten acres in full production by the end of the year, supplying our fantastic school cooks daily with carrots, tomatoes, cabbages and chilli for the 250 students currently at the school.

Community Health Services

The Tony Garrn Foundation has been instrumental in the provision of health services in the Wioso community. Their funding has improved the village health centre with the additional of a maternity and birthing centre with dedicated midwives. The Foundation has also funded the completion of a sick bay at the school, which is now overseen by a school nurse. On-site treatment ensures that fewer students will have to leave campus when ill, ensuring minimum disruption to the educational offering provided by the school.

Back in July, our scholarship students were also the proud recipients of new laptops donated by the Toni Garrn Foundation. Visit their website to find out more about their inspiring initiatives in girls’ education. https://tonigarrnfoundation.org/

If you are interested specifically in contributing to our water project or dormitory, or in supporting our fundraising effort, please don’t hesitate to contact our charity director Paolo Mele paolo@almamatereducation.org

Please click here to support us with a donation or, even better, a regular direct debit.

Exam results, Alumni and Sponsorship

In December 2021 we received our best ever West African Certificate (WASSCE) results. These correspond roughly with British A-levels and form the basis for acceptance to tertiary education. A C6 grading or above is required for entry to a polytechnic, and a C5 for university entrance. We’re proud to say our students were awarded C6 or above in 84% of their results. Overall the failure rate was very low, at only 2.8%.

Our students are aware that working hard and getting high grades is essential for them to progress to university. One former student is now studying Purchasing and Supply Chain Management at Sunyani Technical University, another is training to become a teacher at the University of Education Winneba in Kumasi. And here’s a note from Priscilla, one of our former pupils, who is studying to be a doctor’s assistant at Kumasi University.

Priscilla

“We began our first semester with eight courses, namely biological chemistry, medical genetics, basic medical chemistry, computer science, communication skills, algebra, cell structure and Ghanaian sign language. With good time management and assistance from friends, I have been able to cope with course so far. I feel hugely grateful for all the support from Alma Mater Education in preparing me for this.”

In addition to achieving high academic results, we also provide excellent facilities for sport, music and other pastoral activities, ensuring a rounded education. All this is essential but needs funding. To pay for one student at AME costs around £25/€30 per month, which includes education, food, accommodation, health care, pastoral care and all other needs.

Ecoland

Ecoland is a successful organic German food producer (already operating in India and Zanzibar) which has now won a large grant from the German government to set up similar projects and infrastructure working in Ghana. AME is excited to have become a local project partner.

AME Farm will establish a demonstration plot and invite local farmers to learn how to produce organic cocoa (the major cash crop in the area), and also to begin growing other produce such as herbs and spices. In December, our AME Chair Christopher Bielenberg and local Project Director Dennis Akomeah attended a project launch meeting in Accra.

Ultimately the project is focussed on exporting produce from Ghana to Germany, and Ecoland is already experienced in supporting local organisations to achieve this goal. Additionally Ecoland will work with Ghanaian authorities to make the local organic certification process simpler and cheaper.

The project runs for three years, funding an agricultural specialist at AME to enhance operational performance. Ecoland have already supported us by purchasing new laptops and a new solar-powered water pump and solar panels, thereby improving water supply to the farm and reliable electricity for our classrooom resources. Ultimately AME will act as a local hub, supporting local farmers and aggregating their produce for sale to Ecoland

Funky artwork

Our partners at the Toni Garrn Foundation have introduced us to Alexa Proba, a New York-based textile artist who worked with our students last summer to produce a range of designs. The resulting artwork was adapted for rugs and posters. You can buy see and buy them here

All profits will go to the Foundation and will ultimately be distributed to AME and other projects.

We’re delighted to be back in touch after a very challenging a few months. Fortunately, the Covid situation in Ghana seems under control after some efficient pre-emptive measures. Ghana has reported 300 deaths, with no cases in the area of the school.

We are writing at a difficult time for all as we adapt to huge changes to our working days and routine. With countries in lockdown worldwide, Ghana too is taking measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools are now closed for all students until further notice.

Alma Mater Education would like to thank the Garrn Foundation for its continued and generous support in 2019. The grant was spent entirely in Ghana and on the following activities.