This project is to construct a community-based educational center which will provide integrated education to disadvantaged children and which will help relieve the strain on the already overcrowded local government schools. Some of our target beneficiaries are the children whose parents are prisoners in detention locally. The families of these prisoners have had to relocate to be near them. This increase in the number of school-age children has placed an additional burden on the local education system. Although there is a clear need, the true impact of the project can only be fully assessed after the center has been opened and has been running for a while.
On this trip to Ghana, I was joined by two other Spanish volunteers: Reme, and Cecilio M., a Spanish architect. Reme and I traveled to Accra together, and Cecilio joined us later. Upon our arrival in Accra, Reme and I took time to establish reliable communication systems and to contact local supporters.
We then paid our first visit to the school site at Nsawam and held a meeting with Lydia B., our Ghanaian colleague, and the secretary and a founding member of Family Education Ghana, our local NGO. She reported on the progress and the necessary changes made to our plans since our last visit.
We saw that the area inside the school buildings had been cleared, and the iron rods for supporting pillars were put in place. We had a meeting with the carpenter and approved the budget for his work after making some modifications and consulting two other carpenters. Lydia and I also formulated a plan of action for the next steps. The next phase was to construct the deck (steel and concrete) for the school’s upper floor, to finish the support pillars for the second-floor veranda, and to start work on the stairs leading to the second floor.
On our return to Accra, we sought the advice of Nana Yaw, the head of a local construction company, and of Emmanuel, our host, and head of Family Outreach Ghana, another local NGO. Emmanuel has had experience with overseeing a project constructing a school block. We consulted with them regarding the budget and how to complete the next phase. I then made a new detailed budget with updated prices and transferred funds to Lydia so that she could start the next phase of construction.
Cecilio arrived in Accra in time for our second visit to the school site. By then the beams and boards for the deck had been put in place, and Cecilio was able to inspect this wooden structure. He took accurate measurements of the school foundations and site, made an updated plan of the site, and gave us some professional advice. He also assessed the work which had been completed so far and approved it, confirming the high standard of the work carried out by the carpenter. We then talked to the other local tradesmen (the steel worker and the mason) about the next stage of their work, which is to finish constructing the five supporting pillars for the porch for the second-floor veranda, which will be used to access the classrooms on that floor.
On my third and final visit to Nsawam I was accompanied by Jenny, a British volunteer and a faithful sister who had collaborated with us on a previous project and who is working with Family Outreach Ghana, the local NGO referred to previously. I checked on the progress made in constructing the stairs to the second story and on the insulation of the deck which had been carried out in preparation for pouring the concrete for the second floor.
Jenny made some suggestions regarding the administrative aspects of the project and offered Lydia some guidance on setting up a more robust system to keep financial records. I took photos of the receipts for the materials which had been purchased during our current trip for our records, and Lydia and I made out petty cash vouchers to account for payments for labor.
At present the structure for the bottom floor is almost complete, with the exterior and interior walls finished. The ramp, which is the base for the stairs leading to the upper floor, and the insulation for the concrete floors for the upper level are both in place.
For the bottom floor, the next phase will be to pour the concrete for the floor and to complete the columns supporting the upper-floor veranda. For the upper floor, the stairs need to be finished and the concrete for the floor poured. Lydia will oversee this work, with me monitoring it from Spain. It is foreseen that the funds which we have left with Lydia along with funds raised from sponsors in Europe and the States using GoFundMe will be sufficient to complete this phase.
We have experienced some difficulties when budgeting for the building work. Ghana is an emerging market and the Ghanaian economy is subject to many challenges, and the exchange rate for foreign currencies is constantly rising. This means that prices for building materials can fluctuate considerably, especially if any of the materials are imported. In addition, tradesmen frequently underestimate the time and materials needed for their work. We have tried to mitigate against this by comparing prices from different suppliers, getting sound advice regarding the quotes given by tradesmen, and by factoring in funds for contingencies. We had not accounted for money transfer fees, which resulted in additional costs.
In light of this, we have had to look for additional sources of income. We approached some potential donors in Accra who were introduced to us by a Lebanese friend and supporter. When we visited them to explain our work and the vision for the school in Nsawam, several agreed to help, donating funds, furniture, and paint. Other local companies also helped with advice and funds.
As another avenue of support, we opened a GoFundMe page. During our visit to Ghana, Reme and I advertised this page by sending relatives and friends the link to the crowdfunding page via WhatsApp and encouraging them to donate. This page has been reopen for the final push of our project. We received about half of the funds we were requesting in our first fundraising event, showing this to be a very successful fundraising method.
The funds from the GoFundMe page will be sufficient to pay for the mason to finish work on the deck and the floor, completing this phase of construction. The final phase will be to fit windows and doors, to have electrical wiring and plumbing installed, and to have the rooms plastered.
We are limited in the amount of time that we can take to organize and oversee this project, as we are only able to pay short visits to Ghana once a year. Nevertheless, the construction of the basic structure is almost completed, so we feel that we are making steady progress towards our goal. We are also very thankful for the financial help and the support and advice which we have received from friends and supporters in Ghana and overseas. (If you would like to help contribute to this project, our PayPal account is: [email protected]. Thank you so much!)