2010 Ghana Immersion Programme

Monday 28th June

My name is Fiachra Maguire. I’m a student in St. Mary’s College. I’m part of the ‘Libermann’ group that is staying in Bantama, Kumasi for the first week. I’ll be writing some blogs for Aidlink as part of their ongoing work in Ghana.

Move Out!

This was to be our first project visit of the trip. We boarded the bus and travelled for an hour to Bantama. This is a rural village just outside the city of Kumasi.

Children from all directions

The school is called St. Anthony’s. It is the Ghanaian equivalent of a primary school and it has a JSS (Junior Secondary School) attached to it. There are around 475 students enrolled. The campus is more than one acre in size and there is a football pitch in the front.

Teaching under a tree

In 2008, when another group from St. Mary’s visited, pupils were being taught under the two trees outside the single classroom block. It was clear from our own experience, this year, that it is not a suitable teaching environment. The heat, dust and incessant sunbeams all contribute to causing distraction.

A growing school

In cooperation with Aidlink, €25, 000 of the funds raised from the 2008 Immersion Project were used in providing new classroom blocks. As often happens, the Ghanaian government then matched our donation and built a similar block on campus. The school now has a classroom for each pupil and a library. There is also a new toilet block being built behind the school. This will improve hygiene standards and hopefully reduce the number of school days missed through illness.

(Class) room for development

Whilst much progress has been made in this school, there is still more work that could be done. More books, some computers, another school block and the re-roofing of the JSS building are all tasks that the principal and chief highlighted to us.

Many of us were blown away by the hospitality shown towards our group by both school staff and the village chief. This is testament to the difference that Aidlink and St. Mary’s have already made in improving the experience of those being taught at St. Anthony’s.