2018 – the year in review
What we would have very much liked to report on here was the start of the construction of the school. Unfortunately our anticipated planning didn’t work out even and therefore we have to wait for another couple of month till the beginning of the construction works.
Though the year 2018 started with a construction site. For the second time we dug for a borehole, after the contractor at that time made a mistake with the first one. That’s why we put a lot emphasis on the siting. And also the new contractor made a good work. And finally the new borehole could be put into operation in January. Since then it is a big help for the community, because it delivers both drinking water and water for the everyday work.
Our big aim at the beginning of the year was however the construction of part of the school. We planned for a three classroom building with an office. The overall cost of 72.000€ was too much for our NGO to finance it on our own. That’s why we looked for donators and foundations. As a matter of fact we concentrated on getting the support of the German federal ministry of development and economic cooperation (BMZ). That gives sponsorships to projects in the development sector. We applied for such a sponsorship because we fulfil the formal criteria and we thought our project would meet their target group well. However it was rejected, since they thought that we have not carried out enough projects yet. This was a big disappointment for us since we put a lot of effort into that application and we had high hopes. Now we had to change our plans and think in smaller steps.
These took precise shape in the form of another construction project. This time we planned a single classroom with an office and a store room, which would be much cheaper. At the same time we wanted to connect this construction project with capacity development. Already during the construction of the borehole we founded a committee which was in charge of handling and maintaining it. The same we wanted to do this time with an educational committee which should promote education among the community members. Altogether we applied for funding by the W.P. Schmitz foundation for this project. However they currently have so many things to work on that the earliest time point they can examine it is in January. So we still hope that they will grant it.
Also in Ghana there were delays due to the administration. Although we are already in the possession of the land where the school should stand, we wanted to transfer it to our partner NGO respectively give them a 90 year lease. Thereby we try to set up professional structures instead of putting our trust into single persons. Unfortunately there stands a big administrative effort behind this process. Probably bureaucracy is a nasty topic in each country but especially in Ghana we were hit hard by it. Even though we already applied for it in September the lease is not completely through. Lately the death of an important traditional leader delayed it for some other months.
At the end of the year we gained a new cooperation partner. The Fitness Lounge Cham started a challenge system for us, in which their members’ training achievements generate donations for us. This ways they handed us over 1600€. Because of the big success of the event the Fitness Lounge Cham wants to continue with their support.
At this point we want to mention the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium Westerburg and especially the AG for development and piece and the six graders. They held a charity run for our project where they collected 4900€.
Even though the construction of the school still keeps us waiting many donators, members and supporters stay loyal with us. We want to express our gratitude for their trust, because this not only means a financial support to us but also gives us motivation to continue with our work. That’s why we start with a lot of wishes, expectations and zest for action into the hopefully successful year 2019!