Welcome to our September 2024 Newsletter
Savannah Education Trust is a charity providing an education for some of the poorest children in West Africa. We now have ten Christian schools in remote villages in northern Ghana: Bagri, Gberi, Korh, Pavuu, Mettoh, Tungan-Zagkpee, Boo, Baapari, Danko-Buree and Lyssah. The charity also ensures every schoolchild receives a meal each day and has a programme of supporting teachers in this remote and poor area.
Opening of Lyssah School
During a recent visit to Ghana, trustees attended the commissioning of the new Savannah school at Lyssah. This is the tenth village in which we are working and, because of its remote position, has been logistically the most difficult school for the Savannah team to build.
Although Lyssah is one of the district’s largest villages, the new school is the furthest from our base in the market town of Lawra (over ten miles away). For the commissioning ceremony, local dignitaries and trustees took the bumpy track out to this remote village. The route runs north-east along copper red tracks. Scattered homesteads with straw thatched roofs peep through the landscape.
Bumpy though it may have been, it was a journey worth taking – and not just for the scenery. The overwhelming emotions at the opening ceremonies for Savannah schools are joy and gratitude: joy that – for the first time – children can experience all the benefits of a Christian education. Without that education, the future for the children gathered in the shadows of our bright blue school building at Lyssah would be extremely difficult. In this remote community, there are few opportunities without education other than the grinding challenges of subsistence farming.
The school commissioning ceremony at Lyssah – a long three hours in the hot sun – was therefore largely an expression of gratitude from this rural community. It was a thanksgiving seen in the welcome received on arrival (villagers dancing and singing as guests entered through the school gates) and heard in the many speeches. The Paramount Chief described the work of Savannah as the ‘single most important development of his paramountcy’, and the local village chiefs and representatives from the Ghanaian Education Service also spoke warmly of the effect of Savannah.
Supporters would, however, surely have been most touched to hear a poem recited by the children with the refrain:
When we see what Savannah have done,
They have done so much for us.
We have nothing more to say,
Than we say: God bless them all.
To arrive now in Lyssah early in the day is very exciting. Across the savannah in all directions, you can see these young children – in their blue uniforms – snaking through the savannah landscape to their new school. We join with the community at Lyssah in expressing our thanks for the support that allowed this school to exist.
All change
As noted in our previous newsletter, there was a change of leadership in Ghana at the start of the year. Our longstanding Country Director, Charles Karbo (‘Pastor Charles’ as he is universally known), has retired and moved into an honorary role. We are very thankful that the transition to the new Country Director, Alfred Sogsuo – ably supported by his senior team – has been smooth (although his first six months in post have been relentlessly busy). “God is leading” was Alfred’s comment on those first six months.
In the UK, we are pleased to have added two trustees to support the expanding work: Helen Skelton (a teacher and Head of Science at a successful secondary school) and Matthew Roe (currently undertaking postgraduate research at Oxford). They write of their experiences visiting Ghana in the next article.
There are more introductions to some of the key people involved in Savannah (both in Ghana and the UK) on our website: https://www.savannaheducationtrust.org/about/
Fresh eyes
This remote and beautiful part of the world, and the profound impact of Savannah on the people who live there, is never forgotten by those who visit. Our two new trustees were part of a small group travelling to northern Ghana in July. They describe their first impressions.
We arrived in Ghana at the start of the rainy season, with the savannah covered by the vibrant green of young grass, interspersed with fields of newly-planted crops. 90% of those in the Lawra District, and almost all the families in the villages where Savannah schools are based, are subsistence farmers – living off what they are able to produce from the land. With the coming of the rain, they work in the fields from sunrise to sunset to dig, plant and weed their fields by hand – an exhausting task in hot, humid conditions which requires the effort of all those in the household, from the youngest to the oldest. In the midst of these fields emerge the vivid blue walls of the Savannah schools, where thousands of children are given the hope which comes with an education.
Our initial impressions were of the colourful sights and sounds of the town and villages, the open friendliness of the Ghanaian people, and those glimpses of blue in the beautiful savannah landscape. As the week went on, we were struck by two things: contrasts and gratitude. Contrasts within and between the lives of those living in this remote region of Northern Ghana – and contrasts with our comfortable lives back home. Gratitude from so many for all that Savannah has done.
Early in the week, we visited Bagri Primary School – the first school built by Savannah. Despite the national teacher strike happening that day, the children had come to school, revising for their end-of-year exams coming up later in the week.
Having seen happy, lively, flourishing children at Bagri, it was hard to see the contrast between them and the many children labouring in the fields as we drove around. This really highlighted the importance of the school feeding programmes in enabling children to be in school. The Savannah team emphasised the contrast between Savannah schools – where children are fed – and other schools where they are not: differences seen in children’s attendance and ability to learn. Over the past few years the Ghanaian government has been helping to support the feeding programme. A combination of increasing pupil numbers, alongside the strains on the government funding, means that we will need to spend significantly more on our feeding programme from the start of the next academic year.
Perhaps above all, we were struck by the overwhelming sense of gratitude from the Ghanaian people, people who have so little compared with us. Wherever we went, it was striking how sincerely people expressed their gratitude for the work of Savannah, work that has only been possible through your generous support. To mention just two examples:
- As we visited each of the schools and spoke with teachers, consistently they spoke of their gratitude for the schools, the opportunity they have of teaching in them, and the benefits the schools have brought to the children and communities.
- The Savannah team in Ghana spent the week taking us around the schools and answering our many questions about the work and the culture. So often during the week they spoke of the difference Savannah was making and expressed their gratitude for your generosity in supporting the work, and to God to whom they wish to give all the glory.
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A spiritual work
When visiting the region, the transformative impact of Savannah schools is evident. But there is also a spiritual dimension to this. Within Lawra District, it is estimated that 80-90% of people practice traditional ancestor worship.
One evening during the recent visit we went to a traditional house next to Tungan-Zagkpee school, where we saw the family’s idols – carved figurines representing their ancestors placed in the corner of a room, to which the head of household will sacrifice animals in times of need. Many households remain trapped by a fear of local witch doctors, their curses and voodoo practices.
In this home we also met two children, one wearing a Savannah uniform.
Having come away from our evening visit, deeply shocked by what we had seen, it was a real joy the next morning to visit the neighbouring school to find the students (including these two) sat outside under a huge baobab tree, where a local pastor was opening up the Word of God to them in assembly. As part of the Christian ethos of the Savannah schools, the students hear an assembly from a local pastor every week, as well as receiving their own Bible upon leaving primary school.
The contrast between spiritual darkness and light in the lives of these children could not have been starker.
The Savannah schools give significant indirect support to the local churches (many of whose members have been converted out of idol worship), by making the gospel known to the children of the area in addition to employing many local church members and allowing the local church fellowships to use the schools for their Sunday services.
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A teacher’s perspective
As a teacher, I was particularly interested to visit the schools, speak with the children and see what they were learning. As I looked through their exercise books and spoke with them it was fascinating to see the same knowledge being taught in these remote schools, in simple classrooms furnished only with wooden desks and a whiteboard, as I would teach in a modern, well equipped school laboratory! But the contrast with home that really struck me was the motivation of the students, who clearly value the privilege they have of being able to go to school and learn. Many of them spoke of how they want to learn so that they can become teachers, nurses or police officers – aspirations most of their parents, living through the hard-graft of subsistence farming, would never have imagined.
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The building work continues …
Teachers’ accommodation
We are very grateful to all who have contributed to our 20th anniversary project: building of teachers’ accommodation. We are glad to report that the accommodation at our school in Boo is nearing completion, and will soon be available for teachers. This is a very important project for Boo: acting as a significant incentive to attract teachers to this remote area. As funds allow, we hope to construct accommodation at other Savannah schools – prioritising those in the most remote locations.
Technical High School
In our last newsletter we mentioned our plans to build what is known as a ‘Technical High School.’ This is with the prayerful ambition of fulfilling the great need for vocational training in this area, i.e. to help children who leave school at 14 to develop a skill or craft and perhaps eventually set up a small business.
We value your prayers for this complicated project. Obtaining land in the villages for our schools is usually relatively straightforward – it is gifted to us by the community. However, land ownership in the town is more challenging and generally requires negotiation with multiple stakeholders. We continue to look at possible plots on the edge of the market town of Lawra for to site the Technical High School.
A new Junior High School (JHS) at Danko-Buree
The building work to create a JHS or ‘secondary school’ (in UK terms) is nearly complete. It is hoped that it will be finished in time for the new term starting in September.
Renovation work
Renovation work is, of course, never truly finished. Nonetheless, over the past 18 months all Savannah schools have been repainted (bright blue, of course). We have always wanted the schools to both look and act like beacons, and with their fresh and tidy feel this is exactly how they now appear.
Among other improvements, schools have also been fitted with a raised water storage tank allowing for flowing water in their toilet facilities.
Online presentation
In January, we held a Zoom meeting to provide an illustrated update on the work in Ghana. This was also an opportunity for supporters to ask questions about the work. The recording of the presentation is available on our website. We hope that it is suitable to share with anyone who would like an introduction to Savannah.
https://www.savannaheducationtrust.org/2024/01/online-talk/
Thank you
As is always the case, a newsletter can only give the smallest flavour of the work in Ghana.
Nothing would be possible without your generous donations. Month by month our costs increase. The sheer range and scale of the work can be daunting. That is especially true now as the deficit between our anticipated income and our outgoings each month is higher than it has ever been.
One of the things that struck our new trustees when they visited Ghana was just how much the support of Savannah is valued by the communities we serve. We echo our friends in Ghana in thanking you for your support and for your prayers.