The foundation Savannah Education is an initiative of DickElhorst. Dick works two years for VSO on a Senior Secondary School in Nandom in the Northern part of Ghana. Education facilities on his school and the surrounding schools are poor. Little costs and simple means can make a lot of improvements here with relatively little effort.
|
|
|
|
Some examples of the projects supported by Savannah Education:
Scholarship program
Emergency teacher program
Resource/computer center
JSS-science teacher program
Exchangeprogams
Sport
Stimulating local entrepreneurs
Scholarship program
The secondary school in ghana is divided in two parts. The Junior Secondary School (JSS) takes three years and is free. The Senior Secondary School (SSS) lasts three years as well. these are often boarding schools and mostly ask a small donation from the students. The school where I work asks about 100 euro per student per year. For many students this an enormous amount. This causes them to miss classes just because they need to much time to try and collect their school fees. And how can one find money if there's hardly any work to be found.
Savannah Education therefore offers students a scholarship. In return the payment of their school fees they give something back to the school or the society of Nandom town. They can choose to do this in the following ways:
-HIV/AIDS education to adults and children within the Nandom district (av. 30.000 inhabitants)
-By giving extra classes to JSS students on saturdays. The JSS schools almost always lack teachers and the students are very motivated.
-By treeplanting in and around Nandom SSS to fight desertification.
-By giving counseling on hygiene and first aid in and around the Nandom catchment area.
-By building sport and playing facilities for JSS schools and their own school.
Evaluation of the scholarship program in 2006
This year we offered 30 students a scholarship. The students mainly choose three areas; HIV/AIDs education, giving extra classes to JSS students and treeplanting.
The HIV/AIDS education started in november. The students visited some schools. eight schools are still waiting for a visit. These are planned after their exams (in july of this year)
The extra classes for the JSS students have all been given. 
The Nandom SSS students were all very enthusiastic.
They were even offered help from some off the people in town whom offered their bicycles so they could also reach the JSS schools which were farther away from Nandom SSS. Next year we hope to offer this opportunity to more students, if it is possible to offer them transportation. We are doubting between purchasing several bikes for the students or a car for the school which can be used for these students on saturdays.
The treeplanting project had a slow start. The trees should have been planted in the beginning of the rainy season (around may). Up un till now the students (in groups of two) are taking care of the few trees which have been planted last year. They will have to give them water and protect the against goats, especially in the dry season. So far 21 of the 24 original trees are still a live.
The scholarship program helps students to help themselves and their surroundings. After some small hurdles, most of the bigger hurdles have also been conquered. This project will be one of the main pillars of Savannah Education in the forthcoming year.
Emergency teacher program (See Project )
After their final exams in july the students are free from school for a whole year. This is because the university starts in august and they can only apply when they have received their graduation results. These will come in december/january, half a year after their exam and half a year before the university starts. Often students try to find a small job in this "lost" year, but there is not so much work available. Mostly they can choose between helping their parents on the farm or trying to give extra classes to JSS students. There are many JSS schools without a complete teaching staff, but they cannot always find a teacher to come to their (often far away situated) school nor are they able to pay this student. This is a problem the department of education is trying to tackle, but in the meantime the problem remains.
Savannah Education tries to help the SSS-students and the JSS schools by preparing a selected group of students for teaching on the JSS schools after their exam. These students are selected on behavioral and academic results. The aim is to provide every single JSS school in the Nandom district with one of these emergency teachers. With less then 10.000,- euro each of these 19 schools will have an extra teacher for a whole year. This means 19 students will have found a job and 1200 students will have found a teacher!! A slightly prepared student is of course no professional teacher and therefore not the ideal solution, but it does provide a good solution for the time being. The project is being supported by the students and teachers of Nandom SSS as well as by the ministry of education in the district.
Evaluation Emergency Teacher Program 2006
Eventually eleven students have been selected and placed on JSS schools. This number is lower then the original aim because of the following reasons.
-There were not sufficient finances.
-Due to the late start of the project not sufficient principals were informed and therefore not sufficient students could be guaranteed a job.
-Students wanted to wait and see what the project would exactly become, before registering. They had bad luck.
Both the emergency teachers, the old teachers and the students of the schools involved are enthusiastic. The new teachers are very motivated and teaching good lessons. We are trying to stimulate this by starting of with a lower salary then planned and raising it every month. This means they are being paid for their performance. So far al is going well. A setback occurred by the local government who stated the schools are no longer allowed to pay new teachers a small contribution. To keep the schools committed to their new teachers we asked them to pay the new teachers a small contribution (approximately 100 euros a month, if they were not able to this they could ask us for compensation). This will prevent the new teachers of being treated as furniture within their new school. This will force the school to explain the parents of their pupils why they are being asked to pay a contribution (apr.10 cents per month) and the parents want to see proof. The government states that parents should not pay for there children's education and therefore are not allowed to pay the school a fee. In the mean time they cannot provide sufficient teachers so we are at a standstill. It will not be a major sacrifice for Savannah Education to pay this 10 euros per month, but this will strip the involved stakeholders of their responsibility.
Once this problem has been tackled this project is bound to continue for as long as needed. It only has winners: students get a teacher and old-students get a job as well as experience in teaching. This coming academic year the project will therefore definitely continue, aiming to again give 19 old0students a job.
Resource/computer center
The school has started to build a computer room. The computers and the internet are still missing, as well as the roofing and the windows, but they will come (soon ??). We are looking for computers to be used by or own students, but also to provide course for the adults from the town en for students of other schools. Up until now they only know computers from pictures, very important because on their exam they will have to be able to name all the parts. Apart from the computers we are trying to develop a resource center which will provide the school and surrounding schools with disks, pens, pencils, paper, flip charts, chemicals, etc.
evaluation resource/computer center 2006
In the mean time the roofing has been finished en three computers have been placed. Eight computers have been send by container from Burgh-Haamstede to Ghana via DPA .
The computers are expected to arrive in Nandom in june/july. If and how this project will be continued depends ont the following:
-How was the transport (In what condition did the computers arrive, how much time did it take?)
-How are the computers being received (are they being installed and used directly or are they there to catch dust for several months)
-How are the computers being used (are they being used by students/staff/parents?)
JSS-science teacher program
One of the biggest problems the JSS schools are facing is the level of the science teaching. We are trying to help them by offering science workshops to the JSS science teachers. Their theoretical knowledge of science is high, their practical experience with science is very low. A chemistry lesson is spend solely on the description of an experiment, creating students whom never have conducted a practical experiment. Workshops on practical skills or on any other topic the teachers request will help a lot to start and tackle this problem. This project only needs a small donation to be successfully. With 100 euro and some small cooperation from the secondary schools a workshop can be organized for about 20 teachers, including the costs of transport.
Evaluation JSS-science teacher program 2006
In 2005 we have only been able to support two workshops, both aimed on the development of more practical skills in the science lessons. One was organized in Nandom and one in Lawra. The teachers had some remarks, but were generally positive. Very positive was the fact that they came up with several ideas for a second workshop on science, demonstrating the need is there as well as the ambition to do something about it. The ministry of education unfortunately blocked another workshop. As it was there wish to finance the next workshop in this sequence, it could not be organized due to lack of finances. We offered to loan the money, but this was not expected and therefore there was another workshop has been postponed till until the next academic year, despite the enthusiastic participants. Therefore the project has been cancelled so far.
Exchange programs
The students in Ghana are very interested in the life in Europe and the students in out slightly spoiled Netherlands have not got the faintest idea about the life on a Ghanaian school. We try to establish contact between schools in the Netherlands and schools in Ghana. The Bonhoeffercollege in Enschede helped Nandom SSS with a big christmas action. They raised more then 1870 euros for their counterparts in Nandom. The Wellantcollege in Gorkum is going to have a bridge building competition with Nandom SSS. The final in June will show which school has build the strongest and most beautiful bridge.
Evaluation exchange programs 2006
The bridge building competition has been won by Nandom SSS, as should be expected from the home team. It was a nice project to start, unfortunately now further correspondence has developed. Not because of lack of interest from the students but due to lack of strong organization. After this competition the Wellantcollege organized a large festival for the whole school where they collected 1473,50 euro for Nandom, Fantastic!! Once moire we would like to thank you for all your effort!!
Sport
Most Senior Secondary Schools are boarding schools. Students are on the school premisses the whole day,seven days a week, 10 months a year. Schools do offer sports for the students, but do not have the means to help all the students. We are trying to support the schools by trying to collect sporting attributes as balls and shirts for the students. Handbalvereniging WHC donated to sporting bags filed with nice handball shirts to Nandom SSS
Evaluation sports projects 2006
Part of the money raised by the Bonhoeffer College (see exchange programs) has been used to construct a handball court. Unfortunately this did not succeed, mostly because of a contractor who was busy collecting money and nothing else. Part of the money was then used for the purchase of some basketballs and handballs. The rest of the money will be used to supply the students with sporting shoes for their matches so the court will still feel better then before. Despite the lack of a court the handball team of Nandom SSS became champion of the Region and the students went to the National Secondary School championships. They played some fine (unfortunately lost) matches en will hopefully even perform better next year when they will be using their own shoes in stead of the coaches shoes. Donation as shirts, balls or shoes will go to Nandom SSS and surrounding JSS schools. Financial support will go to the other projects (see bottom).
Stimulating local entrepreneurs
The difference between the north and south of Ghana almost seems bigger then the difference between Amsterdam and Accra. Teachers do not like to be posted in the North, mostly because of the lack of facilities and low wages over there. To stop the migration of people and create a climate which could stimulate teacher to go to the North we try to stimulate the local economy by offering small loans to local entrepreneurs with a good business plan. Often people do have the ideas, but lack the means. A bank in Ghana provides loans against a rate of 26 %, something most people cannot pay !!
An example of a local entrepreneur who used a loan without interest is Patrick Nakpwena. He used to earn 15 euros a month as a carpenter. He loaned 500 euros to buy a passport picture camera and now he earns 80 euros a month by making passport pictures. In one year he will have repaid his debts, have his own company and be more then self supporting. the people of Nandom profit as well, because they do not need to travel 100 kilometers to Wa anymore to get their passport pictures.
Evaluation local entrepreneurs 2006
Apart from the loan to Patrick Nakpwena a small loan has been given to Mark Ghaton to start his vcd-rent business. (Absurd to realize that in a community as Nandom there are sufficient vcd-players to keep his business running.) He does not make high profits, but is able to take care of himself and his sister and will be able to pay back his debt at the end of this year when he will leave to go to the university of Cape Coast, leaving his sister with a business and an income. The business of Patrick seems stable, though more people with the same idea came to the market. He extended his line of business and now combines fotography with a call center. The moment Nandom had sporadically mobile phone reception (even though only from the only story building in town) he made a new (self-financed) investment, which already has paid of. Apart from Patrick and Mark we have not been able (neither have we been searching) to find more people with good ideas to start an own company. another negative point is that the two we have helped so far have done very well so far in our opinion but are not happy themselves because they are still not living in Europe as rich man. Maybe it is wiser to support them in developing a proper business. New ideas will always be evaluated and if possible encouraged, bur for the moment our emphasis is not within this area.
General evaluation of our projects 2006
So far every project did move forward, though each in its own way. The financial situation of the foundation as well as the course some of the projects are taking are forcing us to make some choices. Furthermore we support the theory that it is better to do a few things right then a lot of things only half. Therefore the two projects which have been the most successful so far will be our key projects from now on. These are the scholarship program and the emergency teacher project. To be able to stay on top of their developments a limit was made. Independent of the contributions received a maximum of 30 students will be given a scholarship and a maximum of 19 old-students will be given a job as emergency teacher. This number has proven controllable and correctable in case of eventualities. If more donations are received they will be equally divided between the other projects on one hand and as a buffer for the years to come on the other hand. Once the two main projects proof to be really successful, we will try and expand them to other regions where there is a significant lack of teachers. More information on our two main projects is given here
Thank you very much for your interest in Ghana. With your support we hope to actively help to improve the life of the students in Nandom.