Gunda Kaa Munya District Assembly (D/A) Primary School serves 3 settlements (Gundu, Kaa and Munya) in the northeast of the Northern Region. Located in the Tolon District, some 70 km north east of Tamale this is a very remote location, with only poor roads leading to it. The school with 300+ children at the school, about half of them girls, finds it very hard to attract and retain teaching staff as most teachers do not currently live in the communities for lack of accommodation and have to travel long hours to the school, and back home.

Ghana School Aid funded new teachers’ quarters, built by the community, to help teachers stay in the village at least during the working week and attend their workplace regularly.

Work took place during the rainy season in order for there to be enough water for the construction and brick making using local materials.

The new quarters, designed with natural ventilation with the very hot climate in mind, have now been completed. Our contribution of £2,400 made all the difference!

A next steps will be the construction of a new classroom block and ensuring appropriate and good standard sanitary facilities for girls and boys, as the population of young people across Ghana but also in this place is growing fast.

We are fundraising for Gundu Kaa Munya’s future development and are hoping to raise up to £5,000 for this project. To donate please go to our fundraising site at Give As You Live ttps://donate.giveasyoulive.com/charity/ghanaschoolaid, and don’t forget to Gift Aid your donations. The form can be found at the bottom of our fundraising page: https://ghanaschoolaid.org/fundraising/.

Thank You!

Our 2026 – 40th anniversary newsletter is out ! – Read about our impact and current projects, with voices from school children, teachers, parents and community members, and reflections from our representatives in Ghana Alhassan Salifu Baako (Tamale / North of Ghana) and Kofi Ohene (Accra / South of Ghana).

We will be holding our Annual General Meeting this year again at St Mary’s Church Islington, Upper St, London N1 2TX and online (link to follow) from 12 00 midday.

Please let us know if you would like to join us – just send an email to our organiser Penny Sewell at pennymsewell@gmail.com.

The Committee will report on projects, finances, forthcoming events in Ghana and plans for the future. As usual there will also be a delicious Ghanaian lunch and the opportunity to meet and chat about shared interests and how to promote our cause.

We celebrated our anniversary in style at the House of Lords on the 11th of June by kind invitation of of our patron Lord Paul Boateng of Wembley and Akwapim.

Many guests joined us including from the Ghana High Commission and the Open University Education Department.

Very special guests were also our Trustee and Local Representative in Ghana Mr Kofi Ohene and his wife Floria, former Overseas Development Aid Minister and GSA Patron Baroness Chalker, and Ms Bell Ribeiro Addy MP, Chair of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group for Ghana.

At the event we explored in particular the need to future proof schools in Ghana in face of climate change including rising day temperatures, rainfall and flooding, the demands placed on Ghana’s education sector with a growing and increasingly young population, as well as the need for dedicated funding of good quality hygiene and washroom facilities to encourage girls to go to school and stay in education. Every added year in education for girls increases childhood immunization rates, reduces infant mortality, increases a women’s earnings later in life and builds confidence in girls to chart their own course in life.  

In the autumn Ghana School Aid will also celebrate the anniversary in Ghana with events in the Volta Region and the Northern Region to bring communities, schools and pupils together and plan for the future!

At our committee meeting we were able to approve grants for the following four schools:

Jachie Special Needs Technical Institute (for desks) ~~ Sabegu JHS (for teachers’ tables and chairs, and cupboards) ~~ Kasuliyili KG and Primary Schools (for furniture) ~~ Zugudiye Primary School (also for furniture)

At our committee meeting yesterday, we heard that good feedback had been received from the following schools. I will post pictures when I receive them!

Aduklu-Kodzobi Basic School Library, Ho, (this is the project to remember founder member Eric Earle and his wife.) ~~ Inclusion Centre, Nandom (Refit of learning and library space) ~~ Jo Bedu Basic School Assembly Hall roof ~~ Kanvilli Tawfikiya Primary School (for roofing) ~~ Kwasi Dot Presidential KG (for renovation & painting of school building) ~~ Nambiri School (for repair if roof damaged by storm) ~~ Otaakrom Technical Institute (for 100 mono desks) ~~ Zagyuri Miskiya School (for plastering, flooring & painting) ~~ Zamzamiya Primary/KG (for repair of roof and washroom and partitioning) ~~ Zamzamiya Primary/KG (to complete blocks A & B) ~~ Zuaringu Moshie JHS (for KVIP type toilet)) ~~ Zugu Dabogni Technical Institute (for additional boys’ hostel accommodation)

Ghana School Aid is very sad to announce the passing of our former Chairman, Ted Mayne. Ted was for many years at the helm of Ghana School Aid and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. His funeral will take place in St Saviour’s Church, Guildford, on Wednesday 9th April at 2 pm.

We had reports but no pictures from The Hartley Trust Schools who needed to repair school transport vehicles; and from Nambiri JHS which gained funding from various sources to build a new 3 x classroom block after the old block was severely storm-damaged. Nambiri JHS featured in our U-Tube Chronicles which prompted some dentists in Liverpool to chip in. We are all grateful.

Below are some pictures of work in 4 schools which received grants from GSA.

1. Tafi Atome JHS was able to replace their damaged roof. Here are ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures.

Before:

After:

2. Zagyuri Miskiya Primary and KG This school had to work on roof, windows, doors and gravelling.

During the work, classes were held outside.

Work in progress!

The classroom floor is gravelled but needs a top surface of cement

3. Kunkulung Primary School had a grant to repair a roof, but they were able to fund that from a different source. Our representative visited them and agreed that GSA funds could be used to buy much-needed seating for staff and pupils, as the two pictures show.

4. Golozoli Amalia Primary School received money for new desks.

Here, the desks are being assembled in the workshop.

The pupils with no desks.

The desks arrive at the school.

At a recent committee meeting, grants were allocated to the following schools: Zuarungu-Moshie JHS for some KVIP toilets; Kwasi Doi Presidential KG for the renovation and painting of a school building; Zagyuri Miskiya, an additional grant for floorinjg, plastering and painting; Kanvilli Tawfikiya to mend a leaking roof; Zugu Dabogni Technical Institute to complete the boys’ accommodation buildings.

MAY I ADD: WE WOULD LOVE A FEW MORE PEOPLE TO ATTEND OUR AGM IN ISLINGTON, LONDON, ON THURSDAY 13 JUNE. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU CAN MAKE IT !

The following grants were agreed at our committee meeting of 24th January 2024.

Tafi Atomi JSS (VR) to repair storm damage, £2000

Hartley Trust Foundation School, Kasua, for the repair of 3 crucial school vehicles, £2000

Zagyuri Miskiya Islamic Primary and KG, for the provision of a much-needed roof, £3000

Kunkulung D/A Primary School, to repair storm damage to a roof, £1000

Golazoli Amalia E/A Primary School, for 40 metal desks, £1000