The small pleasures of life. Benny heated some water to add to the cold water bucket. "Shower" was such a luxury today. The big rain came in the afternoon. We put large buckets under the roof, to catch the rain water. The rain is hammering loudly on the corrugated-aluminum roof. This is our second week in Kpando. We are getting used to the heat and humidity, and the town’s people are getting used to the white couple living in their midst. Mr. Forson drove us to Ho, the capital city of the Volta Region. We went to see the site of the future Airfield school. It was a roller-coaster ride, as the car swung from one side of the road to the other, trying to avoid the large pot holes. On the way, the car overheated and they all looked with awe at the white man who worked his magic on the car, taped the leaking pipe, and after 30 minutes in the scorching heat we were on our way again. We were met by the chief, the head teacher, and community people. The community is going to provide all the unskilled labor and Pagus will supply the materials and over-site. We sat at the current facility that 120 children call school: Two long sheds, made of some wooden poles and grass-roof. For almost ten years they had meetings, promises were made by the government or various organizations, but nothing happened. Pagus:Africa has been raising money for four years and has most of what will be needed to build a simple structure, and Benny will try to make it happen. I think that Benny found his calling. He is so dedicated to the project. He selected the contractor who will build the school. There were long meetings. Benny drew the plan and wrote the specs for the project. He plans to start the foundation digging November 3rd… …But this is Africa, and I suspect that there will be unknown surprises along the way. (more…)
Archive for October, 2009
Volunteer Journal -Shifra Raz, Kpando, Ghana October 22, 2009
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009Volunteer Journal from Shifra Raz, Volunteer. Kpando, Ghana October 17, 2009
Sunday, October 25th, 2009Forson Glover, founder of The Bishop Forson School Complex, had a dream: During his high school years in Kpando, he often visited the small fishing-farming village of Torkor, swimming in the water of the Volta Lake. The children in Torkor did not go to school. Many lived on the street, some had no parents. He talked to them and wished that one day he could build them a home and help them grow to become responsible adults.
He was an accountant, working for the IRS in Ghana. He was also known among his peers for his healing power. People often asked him to pray for them.
In the year 2000, he went to the Theology Seminar in Ghana and became a Bishop. Two years later he pursued his dream. He used his personal savings, sold his teak farm, which he himself planted, and sold his Treasury bonds. It was not enough for an orphanage, so he built a small school and offered the kids free breakfast.
Bishop Forson held meetings in town, trying to convince parents to send their kids to school. He also drove his old car through the village, blasting a song on his PA system: “Send your girl child to school / Mama send her to school / I want to be in school papa / I want to be a lawyer / I don’t want to be a street girl.”
Ellen Berenholz from Pennsylvania who came to Ghana to look at the work being done by another non-profit organization, was very impressed and decided to help him fulfill his mission. Together with her husband. Timothy, they established Pagus:Africa, a charitable organization that would put 100% of people’s donations towards helping the children of the community. Today their organization sponsors 86 children in the Bishop Forson School Complex, 20 of them live on campus. They funded the construction of additional buildings, the library, and computer lab and they send groups of volunteer to assist the school each year.
A second project of Pagus:Africa is the construction of another school, Airfield School, near the city of Ho. (more…)