Christmas 2023 newsletter
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