Mafi-Dove Secondary School Construction Project

Nell Todd, Ghana

Quarterly Project Report November 1999

Dear Sponsors,

Greetings from Mafi-Dove, Ghana! This letter is to update you on the status of our junior secondary school and to send you photos of our work.

The month of August was spent holding several morning of communal labor to clear and site the land for the school. The men and women worked together to cut grass and trees and to remove stumps. The school children also removed roots, combining their efforts to dig around the stumps, and cut them with cutlasses and pick-axes. The "setting-out" for the school was done on September 2nd, and then the men in the village gathered to complete the digging of the trench. This was an impressive sight to see. They dug the two and a half-foot trench, by hand, in two days. Before they were able to start concreting, sand had to be brought to the site as well as stones and cement. Sand was brought from land owned by the village and conveyed by a hired truck.

The village then decided to divide the communal labor to allow more time for the villagers to go to their farms. There are eight "clans" or areas in the town, and each clan is responsible for one day of the week (smaller clans are combined). We work Monday through Saturday, and rest on Sunday. Each clan has a man and a woman leader and are responsible for providing lunch. So far this has been working quite well. It is proving a healthy competition, as well as getting things done without people getting too tired.

The concreting of the foundation was started on September 11th, and since then the village has completed up to the lintel level of the school. This is just above the windows where cement and stone beams will be laid before the gables are constructed. This will give more strength to the building.

There have been no serious obstacles yet. The chief of Mafi-Dove has been supportive, and a local stone quarry is donating additional stones to the one we budgeted for which has been a great help. The village decided to add pillars to the veranda to add in supporting the roof. To do so they mobilized themselves to donate the additional iron rods needed.

There has been great enthusiasm for the project. Men, women, and children are all giving their time and energy into getting this project done before November 16th. I continue to learn how to carry pans full of concrete on my head and to try to keep up with their fast pace by working with the contractor to bring materials to the site! It is quite a process.

I hope this, and the pictures, help you see how your donation is being utilized. We couldn't have made this vision a reality without you, and I thank you for your efforts. I will write again soon, and if you have any additional questions just let me know!

Sincerely,

Nell Todd, PCV