Day 6

Today was a long drive from Tamale to Sampa, on the border of the Ivory Coast.  Soon after arriving we had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gilbert Brew, Headmaster of a remarkable school, Nipaba Brew Primary, that we'll be visiting on Monday, and his hospitality was outstanding.

Passing by dozens and dozens of schools as we have driven across much of Ghana has prompted Brando and I to think and talk a lot about what sort of Ghana schools Yo Ghana! gets involved with.  Here's a list:

1) A liaison or intermediary.  All of the schools we work with have at least one person who is comfortable in both the western and African worlds.  Mr. Dominic Fordwour, for example, was taught at one of Ghana's teaching colleges, was a head teacher at several schools and a supervisor of an educational district before moving to Oregon, and he has a very detailed knowledge of many Ghanaian schools.

2) Serve many children from (economically) poor families.  There is a very close relationship between income and educational access in Ghana as elsewhere, so we love working with schools that are trying to do something about that, even when it hurts their bottom line.

3) The schools are not waiting for someone like us to come along and solve their problems.  They are doing a lot with a little, so that Yo Ghana! can become a sort of junior partner in their efforts.
St. Kizito Basic School in Kpandai, shown above, hits all three points hard.  Dominic referred us to the school as one with outstanding leadership.  Shown above are the kindergarten buildings which house over 300 students.  Classroom size approaches 100, and some of the teachers are volunteers.  Yet the people who oversee the school  are relentless problem solvers, even knowing that the problems are most likely going to outnumber the solutions by a healthy margin.  A cynic would look at the situation and turn away.  A romantic would try to solve everything at once and soon burn out, or perhaps focus on one narrow problem among many.  The compassionate realists who are so common in Ghanaian schools do what they can on multiple and shifting fronts, an approach that takes a special sort of courage, and we are more than pleased to do our small part in encouraging and supplementing their efforts while offering them the opportunity to teach and learn from their counterparts in the U.S. through letter writing.