Ghana Schools Project · Cornwall & Devon Online in Agona Swedru, Ghana
The Ghana Schools Project – Agona Swedru
Between 2001 and 2005, Cornwall & Devon Online helped fund new classrooms and a brand-new kindergarten for St James’ Anglican schools in Agona Swedru, Ghana.
In January 2001 Jane, a teacher at Liskeard School & Community College, travelled to Ghana to set up a link between the school and St James’ Junior Secondary School (JSS) in Agona Swedru. The link quickly blossomed, with regular exchanges of letters and joint curriculum projects between pupils in Cornwall and Ghana.
Later that year, in October 2001, Naomi Richards, Ian’s daughter, visited the school and was inspired to raise the money to replace the old kindergarten – a mud-block building that was showing the ravages of time and a tropical climate. Cornwall & Devon Online became the project’s main sponsor.
Between them, Martin Frost and Ian Richards – both directors of Cornwall Online and former Design Technology teachers at Liskeard School and Community College – sponsored the cost of the building through Cornwall & Devon Online.
The first stage of the project was the building of three new classrooms for the Junior Secondary School. In March 2003 the headmaster, Richard Mensah Attah, and senior teacher Edward Mensah visited the UK for three weeks, working in schools in Cornwall and the West Midlands – a hugely successful visit, with much learnt on both sides.
Work on the replacement kindergarten went ahead with the building costs sponsored by Martin and Ian through Cornwall & Devon Online, alongside funds raised by Naomi and other supporters. Rapid inflation in Ghana pushed costs up, so in July 2004 an extra £1,000 was sent out to make sure the building could be finished, followed by a final £1,500 in April 2005. The remaining balance of the building fund was used to furnish and equip the kindergarten.
The completed building includes:
- three classrooms, including a new nursery
- a staff room and store room
- a kitchen, with a daily menu so every child gets at least one good meal a day
- separate girls’ and boys’ toilets
In July 2005 the team returned to Agona Swedru to see the finishing touches, rolled up their sleeves to paint the inside of the kindergarten, and joined the official commissioning ceremony. The result was overwhelming – and in August 2005 we were delighted to confirm that St James’ Anglican Kindergarten was complete.
With both the Junior Secondary School (JSS) and kindergarten projects finished, the village’s primary school was also rebuilt, funded through Ghana’s participation in the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt-relief initiative, which redirected money into community infrastructure such as schools. As the saying goes, money attracts money – and development attracts development.
To raise further funds, Ian and Jane set out in October 2007 on a 10,000-mile overland journey to Ghana and back in a specially prepared Land Rover, travelling through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso over around three months. The trip doubled as an educational resource, with local schools helping to plan it and following its progress online.
The journey has been completed, with a safe return to Cornwall. Thank you to everyone who sponsored them.
For more information, and to support children’s education in Ghana today, visit OneChild Ghana – a volunteer-run UK registered charity (no. 1115081) working to alleviate poverty and build futures through education.