The news that reached us from Ghana at the beginning of March gave us every reason to celebrate — and fills us with great pride. After several months of grading, the West African Examinations Council finally released the results of last year’s final examinations. Our students from the Tiehisuma School achieved truly impressive results.
In all four subjects — English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies — more than 90% of the exams were passed. In addition, more than two thirds of the participants achieved grades of C6 or better (roughly comparable to a grade of 3 in the German system), qualifying them for direct admission to tertiary educational institutions. One student even achieved the top grade, A. 
These results alone are remarkable. However, considering the often difficult backgrounds of many of our students — many had previously dropped out of school or had already failed these examinations once before — it becomes even clearer how much determination they invested in making the most of this second chance.
We are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished. At the same time, these results show that the continuous development of our program is paying off. For the first time, educational videos were integrated into classroom teaching, and the students responded very positively to this approach. It clearly contributed to their success, and we hope to expand this concept further in the future.
These achievements would not have been possible without the support of our donors. Registration for the final examinations involves considerable fees. We therefore extend our special thanks to the “Kinderhilfswerk” of the Joseph-von-Fraunhofer-Gymnasium as well as the Danubius Foundation.
We would also like to sincerely thank all our other supporters. Your contributions create opportunities for young people in Saguli to pursue new educational paths — and with them, real prospects for the future.
A new school year has begun in Saguli — and it brings several important developments with it. For the first time since the founding of our remedial class program, two classes are being taught in parallel this year. This allows us to reach even more students and give them the opportunity to obtain a secondary school graduation.
This important step has been made possible by the expansion of our infrastructure last year, during which the school building was extended with an additional classroom and a library.
At the same time, we remain committed to our proven hybrid teaching model, which combines digital learning through educational videos with traditional classroom teaching and has already proven highly effective in recent years.
Interest in the program is high: a total of 64 students have enrolled this year. They are being taught by two trained teachers in the subjects of English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies, and are being specifically prepared for the WASSCE final examinations.
With the beginning of the new school year, we are also turning our attention to another important project: our library is expected to become operational very soon. It will provide students with access to urgently needed textbooks while also offering a quiet place to study — something that is hardly possible for many of them at home.
To bring the library to life, we continue to rely on support. Donations help us purchase the necessary books and sustainably improve local learning conditions.
We are very happy about the successful start to the new school year — and look forward to continuing to support our students on their educational journey.
There is great joy at Taha-Schul-Projekt e.V. – but even greater joy in Taha, Ghana. After months of intensive construction and planning, it is finally done: Tiehisuma School now has a total of two classrooms and a library.
In just five months, two new rooms were added, blending seamlessly into the existing structure. The school now shines in a fresh yellow, with green metal shutters and a sturdy corrugated roof – a sight that radiates hope and new beginnings. 
Alhassan Salifu, chairman of the Northern Educational Alliance (NEA), our Ghanaian partner organization, is especially proud. For years, NEA has been working to address the major educational challenges in disadvantaged northern regions. The expansion of the Tiehisuma School – meaning “good thoughts” – is an important step in this mission.
The construction was carried out by a local building company and closely supervised by NEA. This close collaboration between German and Ghanaian partners, as well as the involvement of local professionals, is a shining example of how sustainable development can succeed across continents. Despite challenges such as fluctuating material prices, the project was successfully completed.
In the long term, this expansion is a crucial step forward: with the new classrooms and library, the school now increasingly meets the requirements of the Ghana Education Service – an important milestone on the way to government recognition.
“The Tiehisuma School has already changed many lives. Moreover, we have laid the foundation for long-term educational support for young people – and especially for girls – in Tamale,” emphasizes Alhassan Salifu.
The project partners would like to express their heartfelt thanks to all donors and supporters who made this milestone possible – through generosity, commitment, or financial contributions. The new rooms are more than just walls – they are a promise for the future.
Good news from Taha: construction of the new building at Tiehisuma School is progressing rapidly! Since the beginning of the year, the existing school has been expanded by two new rooms, built – like the original classroom – in the traditional local style: with handmade concrete blocks and a sturdy corrugated metal roof.
After all the bricks were pressed – a task traditionally carried out by the entire village community in Ghana – construction advanced quickly. This collective effort is a powerful demonstration of how deeply the local community supports the project. The roof structure has now been completed, and the building is taking shape more and more each day.
One particular challenge was keeping classes running during construction. Lessons continued in the existing classroom right next to the construction site. But our project partners found a simple solution:
“We just moved classes to the afternoon and built in the mornings,” explains Alhassan Salifu, chairman of our partner organization Northern Educational Alliance (NEA)
For the students, this was no problem – quite the opposite. Since much of the teaching this school year takes place via video, the lighting conditions in the late afternoon were even better.
Every single step is an important milestone. The shell of the building is complete, the structure is solid – and the project continues to progress smoothly.
With this milestone, Taha-Schul-Projekt e.V. would also like to highlight the school’s official name once again: Tiehisuma School. “Tiehisuma” means “good thoughts” in the local language – a beautiful guiding principle that inspires the students as well as our partners at NEA and ourselves.
Thus, in Taha, not only a school building is growing, but also a place of hope, knowledge, and collaboration – a symbol of how education can build bridges across continents.
The construction can begin!
Thanks to a successful fundraising campaign at the end of 2024, we have raised enough funds to continue building our secondary school in northern Ghana in spring 2025. With this, we aim to give even more students the opportunity to earn a secondary school diploma.
The foundation for this project had already been—quite literally—laid: foresightedly, and in close coordination with our local project partners, the foundations for the expansion were already put in place when the first classroom was built.
This approach allowed us to counteract Ghana’s high inflation and stay independent of weather conditions, since foundation work would have been impossible during the rainy season.
Our local project partner, Alhassan Salifu, chairman of the Northern Educational Alliance (NEA), was thrilled when the machines of the local construction company Rahman Ltd. arrived and the work could finally begin.
This construction phase includes not only another classroom but also a library. Here, students will find not only textbooks and reference materials, but also quiet spaces to study and do their homework – something not always possible at home. With the addition of the second classroom, up to 80 young people will now have a place to learn and the chance to complete their secondary education.
With this expansion, it is not only the school’s infrastructure that grows, but also its perspective: our association strengthens the educational landscape and creates space for learning, initiative, and community – locally and sustainably.
At the beginning of October, the school bells rang again at our remedial school in Taha and Alhassan Salifu, the director of the Northern Educational Alliance (NEA), welcomed a new class to the school. 
This is already the third cohort to be taught English, maths and science at the school, in order to prepare for repeating the Ghanaian WASSCE final examinations. However, there have been two important changes since this year.
The most significant change is the introduction of a hybrid teaching concept. With the help of instructional videos produced by the Ghanaian education service, conventional lessons are being supplemented. These videos not only impart specialised knowledge, but also promote pupils’ digital skills.
A major advantage of this concept is that the subject of social studies can also be taught this year. 
We would like to thank all of our supporters. Special thanks go to the Georg Kraus Foundation, which has supported the hybrid lessons with a generous donation.
Another advantage of hybrid teaching is that in future it will be possible to teach up to two additional classes at the same time instead of just one. However, in order to provide space for so many pupils, our school building needs to be extended. We hope to be able to start work on the extension at the beginning of next year.
Due to the heavy rainfall during the rainy season, the access road to our school was severely damaged. Deep trenches and potholes had formed, and the road was no longer in an acceptable condition. Although there isn’t much traffic at the school, the driveway is still important, especially when larger machines need to access the school for future construction work.
That’s why we had the road repaired. First, it was filled with locally sourced gravel, then compacted with a grader. Finally, a drainage ditch was created to prevent future erosion. You can see the progress in the attached photos.
The primary school pupils at Miltach Primary School recently experienced a special day when Christoph Wenzl, the chairman of the Taha School Project, visited their school. This visit was the culmination of an impressive fundraising campaign: the children had donated €777 from the proceeds of a flea market to the Taha School Project. As a thank you, Wenzl came to the school in person to tell the them about his commitment in Ghana and to show them how their generous donation can change the lives of children in Africa.
In front of the eager eyes of the fourth-graders, Christoph Wenzl took the opportunity to talk not only about the Taha school project, but also about life in Ghana. The children were taken into a fascinating world where they were given an insight into the culture, geography and cuisine of the West African country. Christoph Wenzl’s report on school life in Ghana was particularly exciting and the children turned it into a lively discussion with lots of interested questions.
In the second part of the presentation, Christoph Wenzl explained the work of the Taha school project and what the donations from Miltach primary school will be used for in the coming year. The plan is to extend the existing school in Ghana by two classrooms, which will enable more young people to take part in the existing teaching programme there. The primary school pupils were thus able to experience first-hand how their joint efforts can have a far-reaching positive impact.
Christoph Wenzl’s visit to Miltach Primary School was undoubtedly an inspiring experience for the pupils. Our Chairman, in turn, was delighted to pass on his knowledge of Ghana to the children and introduce them to life in another part of the world.
Christoph Wenzl shows a Smok, the traditional clothing in the North of Ghana
This year’s Chamer Musiksommer not only celebrated local brass music, but also raised money for a good cause. We had the pleasure of catering for the guests during one weekend of the Chamer Musiksommer. Every Saturday morning during summer, music enthusiasts gather on the market square in Cham to listen to the sounds of various brass bands. For us, however, it was not just a musical festival, but also an opportunity to promote our project in Ghana. 
In bright sunshine, our members took care of the bratwurst sales. The stall was not only a culinary attraction for visitors to the music event, but also a place of exchange. Our volunteers were on hand to answer questions, explain the aims of the Taha school project and provide information about the current status of our school project in Ghana.
It was a matter close to our hearts not only to prepare delicious bratwurst sandwiches and collect donations, but also to raise awareness of educational justice. The proceeds from the bratwurst sales will go directly to our school building project in Ghana, where we want to start expanding the school by two more classrooms next year.
It was a pleasure for us, and we are already looking forward to repeating this experience at next year’s Musiksommer.
As a non-profit organisation, we are financed not only by public funding but mainly by donations. We are therefore always excited about opportunities to draw attention to our school project. In the last months there were two of them:
The Underground Orchestra from Upper Palatinate gave a benefit concert at Brennberg Castle in September. The project orchestra was founded in 2019 to foster friendships and contacts between musicians from different associations and orchestras. Under the musical direction of Andreas Sperlich, the orchestra gave its first concert in September 2022. The visitors enjoyed a colorful selection of brass band music from film music to modern classics. Admission was free, but the audience was asked for donations. In the end, 2775 € went into the funds of the Taha school project.
The Jugenbezirksorchester Oberpfalz gave a final concert in Postbauer-Heng, in August. Members of the Taha School Project took over the sale during the break. The proceeds of 900 € will go entirely to the school.
We thank them for their musical support and look forward to further wonderful concerts!