Dear Supporters,

This time of year gives us a welcome opportunity to thank you for your interest in the work of Savannah Education Trust during 2012. We remain extremely grateful to you.

This is, of course, a time of year much anticipated by children in this country – not least because they enjoy a holiday from school.  The contrast with the children in northern Ghana is never more stark than at this season. When visiting Ghana recently, we asked a girl at one of our schools how she spent her school holidays. The answer was shocking. She travelled about 150 miles south to help with the yam harvest, spending days carrying yams in the merciless sun for the equivalent of under £1 a day. And the reason? To fund school books to help her studies. Continue reading “Christmas 2012 Newsletter” →

Children of the Savannah – short film

Programme Updates

Abu is a young boy living in a village near the Black Volta river in northern Ghana. He has no school to attend and his life is extremely difficult. His days are generally spent helping his parents, with household chores, with farming and with fishing. In periods when there is little food (particularly during the ‘dry season’) he is out in the savannah hunting for small animals to ease his hunger.

The story of Abu, and way in which Savannah Education Trust aims to help children like him, is told in this new film called Children of the Savannah. It can be viewed online, or is available as a DVD free of charge to supporters.

Notes of a visit to Ghana

Programme Updates

In October 2011 trustees of the Savannah Education Trust visited northern Ghana.

It was an important, busy and memorable visit. We landed in Accra, Ghana’s coastal capital, late in the evening and, after a welcome meal and a few hours rest, set off for the north of Ghana soon after dawn.

We were again reminded of the remoteness of the region, spending 16 hours travelling – initially through attractive hill country and past stalls of bright and exotic produce.  Once past the bustling city of Kumasi in the centre of the country, the classic jungle eases into grassland (‘savannah’), the roads empty and the villages become noticeably poorer. The roads are dangerous, and we were thankful to arrive in Lawra late in the evening. Continue reading “Notes of a visit to Ghana” →