Florence is a dedicated and wonderful teacher. She teaches home economics in the Junior Secondary School in Alavanyo.
But she has a problem.

So Florence has to teach sewing theoretically. Her pupils can tell you the names of all of the parts of the machine but can’t use it to make anything. Why? Well look at the sewing machine she is trying to use. It is broken beyond repair of even the most skilled mechanic and they have tried.

She needs your help.

I recently had my sewing machine serviced by Geoff Ives and he has offered to service any machines we can get for Florence’s school for free.

We not only need some sewing machines but also the funds to send them to Ghana. I have found a shipping company that could deliver them to Alavanyo which costs £140 per 220l drum (including the cost of the drum). That would hold at least two machines.
If you would like to help with providing a sewing machine please contact us.
If you would like to help funding the transportation please click on the donate button below or this sentence.

Please help Florence and the hundreds of pupils she will teach to learn this skill to help them make clothes for themselves and their siblings.

Alyrene and myself went to Ghana from the 28th November to the 5th December.
Lots of PCR tests before during and after but it was worth it.

An amazing welcome at all of the current and past projects with constructive discussion with the builders and users of the toilets and libraries.
I think the best way for you to see what we did is visit Polarsteps, an incredibly useful piece of software allowing you to see and read what we did during the visit. It shows not only visiting all of the past, current and future projects but visiting friends and places I first went to in 1967.
In case you can’t visit it below are some photographs showing some of the highlights.
I am still surprised it was only a week we seemed to cram in so much.
Many thanks to our hosts particularly Clemence Kitsi, our project manager and friend who makes all of the arrangements so effortlessly fitting us in with his schedule as an Assemblyman for the local council (equivalent to a UK District Councillor but with many more pulls on his time from his constituents).

To listen to this blog please click on the start arrow below

A huge donation from the Green Hall Foundation means clean water for a village.

We have just been informed that we have been given a very generous donation from the Trustees of the Green Hall Foundation. This means that we can get started on the project so that people no longer have to walk over a kilometer to scoop water out of a muddy stream for their use. The timing is fantastic too as Alyrene and Adrian are going to visit the projects next week and can help start the works whilst they are there. Watch this space for updates next week.

To listen to this blog post click on the start arrow

September 1967

In September 1967 I was on a plane to Ghana and so was Heather but we didn’t know each other. We were going to volunteer with VSO.
I was posted to St Mary’s Junior Seminary in Lolobi Kumasi, Heather went to Bishop Herman College in Kpandu about 50km away. We met and travelled to Timbuktu together in the Easter holiday. We returned to the UK, as an item, in the July and were married in 1970.

September 1972

In 1972 we went to Nigeria for four years. We worked in Mubi Teacher Training College in the North East State. Heather gathered material for her book Growing up in the Mandara Mountains when we were there.

December 1979

In 1979 we went to Botswana for about seven years. I worked for the Ministry of Education and Heather did various jobs including journalism. Heather has written Coming of Age in Botswana which describes our life there.
The African continent kept calling and we worked briefly in Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Heather worked on educational books for many different countries throughout Africa.

June 2009

In 2009 Alyrene pointed out a project with VOLU in Tafi Atome in the Volta region very close to where we had met. I went and worked on the project. But time and money ran out before the community toilet block was finished. The next year I fundraised enough to finish the project and returned to Tafi. I was again working with VOLU and particularly with Clemence Kitsi a volunteer builder, we completed the building.

2018 – 2019

In 2018 Clemence was asked by the Village Development Committee of Alavanyo Dzobedze if a communal toilet could be built there. So he contacted us. We fundraised again and the block was started, again working with VOLU. In 2019 Myself, Heather and Alyrene went out to help with it.

2020 – Current day

We realised that it would be better if we worked as a registered charity and in 2020 Community Action Ghana was incorporated as a UK charity. Charity number 1188867. Myself – Adrian, Heather and Alyrene are the three trustees.

We are now working on another toilet block in Alavanyo Agome. After sucessfully renovating libraries in Kpeve and Tafi are now in the process of working with renovating libraries in Alavanyou Wudidi and Hohoe Wegbe.
We have had donations from a Fair trade shop in Hamlyn Germany, schools in New Zealand and Germany, and my local garage to help with the projects. The New Zealand school’s most recent donation paid for a survey for a borehole to provide clean water for the community of Gbedema Kofi. We still need to raise the money to make this project a reality.

All this takes money and donations are always greatfully received. Please dig deep to help us help these communities help themselves.

Heather’s Books

Heather is going to donate one pound (£1.00) from the sale of each book to Community Action Ghana. If you would like to order a copy signed by Heather direct from us please fill in the contact form and we will post one to you.

Click on this paragraph
to link to the
contact page.

We have just finished the accounts for the year and everything adds up. The accounts show what a good year the charity has had despite the constraints of the global pandemic. They also show what reliable, trustworthy partners we have in Ghana.
Through your donations, adding up to £9,851 we have been able to:
* fund huge progress on building the Alavanyo Agome toilet block, and have sufficient in hand to finish it

* totally renovate the Alavanyo Kpeve community library

* facilitate the donation of 3,000 books from Book Aid International
and
* fund a successful Geological survey finding a good source of potable water for Gbedema Kofi

All in all a superb effort made possible by donations from all over the world
Thank you all so much

Of the £9,851 donations we have spent £183.50 on running the charity.
Which means we have only spent 1.8p from every pound donated on admin and running costs. Leaving 98.2p for the charitable works.

The charity is run entirely by volunteers which is why nearly every penny raised can go straight to Ghana. Thank you so much to everyone who has volunteered for us over the past year and especially to the lovely students from the London School of Economics who have devoted their time to Community Action Ghana – we couldn’t have done it without you.

In the coming year we hope to be able to finish the toilet block in Alavanyo Agome, renovate a library in Alavanyo Wudidi and one in a suburb of Hohoe as well as provide the borehole, pump, water tank and tower in Gbedema Kofi.

We can only do this with donations.
If you know of any individuals or organisations we could give talks to about our work please give them our details and let us know.
Thank you all again for your kind and generous support.