Page 78 - Phonebox Magazine November 2014

Olney resident, David Kelsall, recently joined his son Phil who was volunteering at the Saltpond Education Project in Central Ghana. This is his report.
Avid readers of the Phonebox may be familiar with the Saltpond Education Project (SEP, www.
saltpondeducationproject.org.uk/). A small grassroots charity, it was set up five years ago by Olney girl, Rachel Mann, and a great group of young friends after they spent their gap year volunteering in Ghana. They support Mike Ofori, the Project Manager and Headteacher, whose vision the school was.
The charity educates underprivileged primary-aged beach children who live in nearby palm huts. The children wouldn’t otherwise receive any education. To make the project sustainable, SEP also trains local teachers to teach - and is introducing simplified modern teaching systems.
In African terms, Ghana is well off. It has been really successful in recent years: most importantly it has had a stable democracy for more than a decade; life expectancy has increased by 12 years in a little over two decades and its economy is one of the fastest growing in the world. It is still poor though: per capita incomes are only 10% of those in the UK.
On the whole, people are happy and seem healthy. However life expectancy is still only 62 (compared to 80 in the UK). Diarrhoeal and other tropical diseases are the main killers. Poor education is also a huge problem. While male literacy approaches 80%, female literacy is only 65%, and staggeringly less than half of secondary age children (43%) attend school.
To combat the pervasive ‘seven-year drop’ (children hardly ever continue their education once they reach 12 years-old), the charity sponsors and supports students back into high-performing state secondary schools, once they have graduated from the SEP Happy School.
When my son, Phil, volunteered to help out at the SEP over the summer, I thought it was such a good idea that I asked him if I might join him for a few days. We mostly helped out painting and decorating - getting the school ready for the new academic year. As an IT-literate engineer, I was also asked to maintain the head teacher’s 12 year old laptop and mentor him in its use in aspects of Microsoft Word and Excel. But the computer said, “No!” It was broken beyond economic repair.
A working computer would be really good for the school: for communication with the trustees (without having to go to the only Internet cafe in Saltpond) and putting in place improved teaching and management systems for the school.
Phil and I struck on the idea of improving the (non-existent) IT infrastructure. The starting point is the head teacher’s laptop. Then the school could do with a printer and a small number of computers for the children. (One of the photos shows an IT lesson – but with no computer.)
For really not too much money (£2000-3000), Phil and I feel we can deliver an appropriate and simple computer system for the school. We want to buy and configure a computer in the UK and ship it to Ghana for immediate use. Currently Tara Sabi, from the UK, is visiting the school to teach the kids and train the teachers. If we get the IT systems in place, Tara will help commission them. We would really appreciate it if our friends and neighbours helped us raise funds for the project. If 200 people gave £10 we’d be nearly there. Any surplus would provide for future maintenance and repair. Online donations can be made at: mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/ithappyhomeschool
Otherwise it has to be said that we had a great time! Phil and I were really welcomed by the people of Saltpond. People were so friendly, and the children we met were lovely. Everywhere we were greeted with the friendly phrase, “Obruni!” Roughly translated, it means, “Hey, white man!:)”. We were the only white folk in the village.
As you can see from the pictures, the children were a delight. Even though they might be poor, they come to school so smartly dressed. (SEP provides free uniforms, and the parents keep them so clean – without any washing machines!)
Finally, SEP is grateful to Olney Pre-School. They donated 15kg of good quality modern children’s books, which I carried in my baggage to Saltpond. It increased the school library by about 30%-50%. Good quality books come at a real premium. The children really enjoyed them (see photos). Thank you Olney Pre- School :).
For more information, email saltpondeducationproject@gmail.com
78 Phonebox Magazine
Saltpond
Education Project