Open for Day Care!

October 11, 2008

Great news! The Amudurasi Day Care Centre is open and being utilized. Comfort and Nana paid a quick visit last week to the village and learned that Day Care Provider Dinah has moved her children into the Centre and the children have been enjoying their new location.

At the time of the visit, Dinah was making sure that the children were getting something to eat. Parents are contributing money to enable a nutritious meal to be offered each day to these children.

Word has been circulated in the village that the Centre has opened and more parents are showing up with their children. It is apparent that Dinah will need at least one assistant to care for the numbers that have already shown up.

Thank you to all of those who have contributed to making it possible to get this far. There is more to do – stay tuned…..

School has been painted.

Here is the latest, from Amudurasi. We hope to see shutters installed very soon. The first parents meeting was held on Wednesday with very good attendance ... stay tuned for more!

School ready for class.

I would also like to share with you that to date, we have received just over $9000.00 in donations. We have managed to send $8000.00 of that over to Ghana with trustees that have been going thus avoiding transfer fees. This is all very exciting. Soon (from my understanding) the preschoolers at Amudurasi will be able to be using the building that these funds have helped finance.
Comfort phoned last weekend to say that the children should be able to move in, just before the rainy season was fully underway. I don't think that means the building is by any means finished, but at least it is a shelter.

News Letter January 2008

AFRICA SANKOFA FUND

NEWSLETTER

Volume III Issue I January 2008

THE FIRST ROOF FOR AMUDURASI DAYCARE PROJECT
Construction of the daycare centre in Amudurasi continued in 2007. Delays were encountered when the first carpenter who had been selected to build the roof failed to be reliable. A second carpenter proved to be no better. The third man did not disappoint and as a result there is a roof over the first classroom and the adjoining room, complete with an extension over the veranda area.

These photos were taken in December, showing the carpenter at work, and then the completed job. Since that time, more sand has been brought in and the mason has done much of the wall plastering.

The school children from the Primary School willingly carried clay for fill for the floors, and once the walls have been plastered, the floor will be cast.

Construction has been affected by increasing costs which have resulted primarily from the increase in world wide oil prices. Domestic electricity costs have also seen large increases in recent months, and these are being passed on.

Cement has been especially affected by these increases. Scheduled electrical outages earlier in the year caused shortages of supply which in turn put upward pressure on prices. The government has implemented a number of measures which are intended to restore reliability to the electrical grid and in the process to the prices and availability of cement.

Directors in Canada

In 2007, Comfort and Rod travelled back to Canada. Over the course of their visit, they were able to meet with most of the directors of the Africa Sankofa Fund. They discussed the current project and explored ideas for future ones.

How You Can Help

There are different ways in which individuals can help. Perhaps the easiest and most effective at this time is with a financial contribution. At this time, contributions are required to enable construction to continue on the remaining two classrooms of the Daycare Centre. Remember - a tax receipt will be issued and your donation will act as a credit against your Canadian Income Tax. Mail your donations to the treasurer as follows:

THE LEGENDARY SANKOFA BIRD

The legendary Sankofa bird is a powerful symbol for the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa, with its head turned facing backwards, often with an egg in its mouth. The Sankofa bird looks back to where it came from, as it decides the path that it will take in the future. In the same way, past history and traditions must be remembered and respected as plans are made for the future. The Africa Sankofa Fund chose this symbol because it represents the philosophy which will be adopted to turn the charity’s objectives into reality.

Kathleen Baillie
334 J.J. Thiesen Way
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
S7K 5P4
Phone (country code 001) (306)934-0054
E-mail Address: baillie.clan@sasktel.net

For more information, contact Kathleen in
Saskatoon (as above), or Rod and Comfort
in Ghana:

Rod and Comfort McLaren
c/o African Rainbow Resort
P.O. Box TD1106
Takoradi
GHANA
Phone 233-31-32149
Mobile 233-244-891687
233-20-9295977
E-mail: nkosuohene@gmail.com
arr@africaonline.com.gh