Posted for Ayensudo Sustainable KG

Ayensudo Kindergarten opens!

The inauguration of the Ayensudo Sustainable Kindergarten Complex on 01 November 2011 marked the day on which responsibility for the school was handed over to the Ghana Education Service. Nine months and literally thousands of hours of hard labour since construction began, the school stands ready to serve the 180 pupils whose only previous experience of a classroom was being crammed into a tiny wooden hut.

Reflecting the success of the entire project, the inauguration day itself was received in great spirits. Some 300 hundred people from the Ayensudo community joined representatives from the project’s main partners, including Tullow Ghana Ltd, Arup, the Ghana Education Service, the KEEA Municipality Assembly and Sabre. The atmosphere on the day was one of great excitement and a shared sense of achievement. In one way or another every single person at the inauguration had contributed to the completion of the project, and now was the perfect chance to celebrate in unison.

Any celebration in Ghana needs music! A local drumming troupe provided a vibrant soundtrack for the day as guests arrived punctually for the ceremony. Masters of Ceremonies from the Municipal Assembly and the community settled the crowd before the Ayensudo Imam conducted the opening prayer. Sabre’s patron, and Ghana’s only Winter Olympian, Mr. Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong, and the Chief of Ayensudo officially welcomed guests to the event.

The first round of speeches were given by Sabre’s partners who were central to the delivery of the project. David Lawrie, Regional Business Manager for Tullow Ghana, spoke of the importance of infrastructure on learning outcomes and praised all those who had been involved in the project for producing this fantastic end result. Joseph Stables of Arup followed with an explanation of how sustaianble local materials such as bamboo, coconut fibre, palm kernels and pozzolana cement have been innovatively used to create the Kindergarten Complex.

Later in the day Mr Gabriel Gademor, Director of Education for the KEEA Municipality, and a representative of the Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, were given the floor. The Director thanked all the project partners for the time and effort they had contributed in building the Complex, and encouraged parents to ensure their children have access to the facilities. The Regional Minister cited the Kindergarten as a shining example of what can be achieved through positive partnerships, urging all stakeholders to continue working together in replicating such fine work. The final speech of the day was given by Rachel Hinton of the UK’s Department for International Development, who reminded us that whilst significant successes are being recorded in Ghana, literacy rates in the country remain at just 11% for the youngest children and the challenges facing the sector will not permit us to rest on our laurels.

The centre piece of the event, greeted by a thunderous drum roll and cheering, saw David Lawrie officially hand ownership of the KG Complex to Gabriel Gademor. When the ribbon was cut and the school officially declared open, the Chief of Ayensudo led guests on a tour of the Complex. As is often the case in Ghana, scores of young children suddenly appeared, running and laughing through what would tomorrow be their new school. It was a touching reminder to everyone present of what these classrooms would now be used for, but also a sobering moment to consider the volume of work which still needs to be done in thousands of Ghanaian communities so that all children might one day begin their education in such wonderful facilities.

The inauguration of the KG Complex was accompanied by another important opening: the new Ayensudo Sports Park. Located on the same plot of land, it has been redeveloped, over the past three months through donations from project partners, to include volleyball and netball courts and a brand new football pitch. As the inauguration drew to a close two teams of teenage school children patiently waited to take to the pitch and officially open the park with a short exhibition match. It was not quite the Black Stars in Accra, but the large crowds, rolling film and flashbulbs created a moment which none of the players will ever forget. We feel sure the same can be said for everyone present at the Ayensudo Sustainable Kindergarten Complex that day.