Every year, geography students go to Ghana, and every year, there’s one thing that attracts attention: the small ‘school’ in Nyame Ben, one of the poorest villages. A small thatched roof, supported by approximately ten fragile branches: that’s all it really is. “Over 100 primary school students are taking lessons here,” says lecturer Hanneke Maasland. “Teachers often don’t show up, and when it’s raining, lessons are cancelled. The village people have been trying to realise a decent school for at least thirty years.”

Money jar
Two years ago, after an information session on the trip to Ghana, student Fran Verschoor came up with an idea. Her mother is member of the board of a maternity centre, and this centre has a money jar. Fran: “Maternity nurses used to save up for their retirement by putting something in the jar every month. At some point, the centre joined a pension fund, but that jar has never ceased to exist.” The maternity nurses, who have retired now, do something nice with it every year, but also donate money to charity.

Fran had seen pictures of the school in Nyame Ben and talked about it with her mother. “Together, we came up with the idea to donate money for a new school. When I told the elderly ladies about our plan during a Christmas outing, everyone was enthusiastic right away.”
30,000 euros became available for the construction of a new primary school. In February of last year, Hanneke presented the idea to Cyprus, the tour operator that provides guidance on the university’s visit every year. “It was really important to us that the money would not be taken advantage of. Because I have known and trusted Cyprus for such a long time, I felt comfortable donating the money to his company,” she says.

The old school
In collaboration with Ghana-based architects, construction drawings were created and presented to the county in Ghana. Upon approval, the village people set to work, which was something that Hanneke really wanted. “It is, of course, very easy to send a Dutch company and have it build the school. I believed it was important for us to stay in the background and involve the inhabitants in the construction. We set up a committee consisting of two men and two women from the village who would lead the project.”

Little by little
Each Saturday, the inhabitants worked on their new school. Every so often, the committee received an amount from Cyprus that was used to buy construction materials. “Each receipt was kept, and Cyprus saved everything in an Excel file,” says Fran. “When he was in the Netherlands, he showed my mother the file. Literally every purchase was recorded here; even if they had just bought a box of nails. Very moving. At least we know that every euro was well spent.”

Hanneke officially opened the school in February. She says it was a very special moment. “They have been looking forward to a new school for so long and they are so happy that it is finally there. When I told them that money would become available to build a new school last year, many inhabitants didn’t believe me. Such promises had been made before, and most of them led to nothing. Now it has, and they are very grateful to us.”

Nursery school
In addition to a primary school, Hanneke also wanted to realise a nursery school. “Children often bring their little brother or sister along to school, but the new school did not have any room to accommodate them. Last year, the social committee of the IvL (Teacher Training College) organised a party to collect money for a nursery school. They collected almost 2,000 euros.”

It soon turned out that this amount did not suffice to realise the entire nursery school; there was not enough money to build a roof. However, they received some unexpected help. Hanneke: “The Deans of the Teacher Training College (IvL) really wanted to help us out and donated 1,500 euros. Amazing, because now, we can actually finish both schools.”

Former students also contributed their bit. “Recently, a former student took a collection during the church service of her wedding. Thanks to her, every classroom has a whiteboard now.”

Lydia
Ghanaian student Lydia is also sponsored from the maternity nurses’ jar. Fran: “Lydia is the first in the village who finished both primary school and secondary school. She would love to be a midwife; therefore, it has been decided to pay for her entire studies.” And according to Fran, it is important for Lydia to graduate and get to work as a midwife in Nyame Ben. “Last year, when I was there, we met the village’s midwife. She pretty much single-handedly brought the entire village into the world. She has passed away in the meantime, so it would be good if someone could replace her.”

Summer school
Hanneke considers this project as a prelude to closer contact between the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool Rotterdam) and Ghana. “Now, I would like to see whether I can set up a summer school,” she says. “The national government in Ghana has carefully considered the curriculum. However, it offers little room for fun.” And that is exactly what Hanneke hopes to be able to provide at such a summer school. “It’s very good for prospective lecturers to experience such a different form of education. Furthermore, I think it would be nice if they come up with a theatrical or musical piece to have the children experience that kind of fun. In other words: a win-win situation.”

Femke Radder