New projects and new ideas
In spite of some Covid challenges, 2022 was another productive year in Buriton’s sister community of Dominase in rural Ghana, thanks to money raised through generous donations, legacy bequests and other sources.
And it was also possible to check that projects undertaken in the past are still proving useful.
Teacher Training: Over a number of years, Buriton has helped over 20 teachers (see photos above) by contributing towards the costs of their training programmes. Correspondence has confirmed that all of them are still teachers, that all but four are still working in local schools and that there have been a range of benefits to schoolchildren.
Repairs to School Toilets: it is almost 12 years since Buriton provided the first of five school toilet blocks to ensure that all the schools in the area have somewhere safe and clean for children to go to the toilet during school time (which, in turn, helps to boost school attendances). Without any prompting, villagers have undertaken some significant repairs in Dominase to make the toilets there almost as good as new: showing that our initial help can lead to sustainable facilities with local residents taking responsibility.
Careers Orientation Event: Buriton paid for another successful ‘Careers Orientation’ event in 2022 to help children consider which subjects to study in their last years at school. About 350 children came together to hear from a range of speakers (a midwife, a doctor, a CID police officer, a bank manager, an accountant, an engineer and an architect - as well as teachers and the area’s Director of Education). Feedback suggests that this will help children consider a wide range of options and make good choices. Funding from Buriton was provided to bring children from outlying areas and to pay for basic refreshments.
Potential new ideas:
Adolescent girls missing school: we are trying to explore whether many adolescent girls often miss lessons because of their menstrual periods, whether the costs and availability of sanitary pads can be a big problem, and whether we can help with the provision of pads which are re-usable or bio-degradable so that they do not bring problems with disposal of plastic waste etc.
Vocational careers: the Careers Orientation events that we have sponsored so far have been focused on students choosing their subjects for Senior High Schools. But, we are trying to explore how to help students who may not be going to go to Senior High Schools: some help about a range of vocational opportunities and/or apprenticeships.
In order to help raise funds for projects in Dominase the popular Quiz Night returns on Saturday 28th January 2023 (see here) and a ‘regular giving’ initiative continues to help us plan our work ahead: even £1 a month can help towards valuable projects. For anyone willing to contribute in this way, please see the leaflet attached at the foot of this web-page and simply return the Standing Order form at the end.
Thanks to the generosity of a local sponsor, every penny of money raised for this charity is spent ‘on the ground’ in Dominase – none of it is spent on any sort of administrative costs.
