Teneo builds a new school in Ghana

There can’t be many companies that can claim that they are helping to build a brand new school – but here at Teneo, that is exactly what we are doing! We are working with Plan UK, a fantastic charity which works across 48 countries globally to help children in the world’s poorest countries to help them build a better future.  Plan was established some 70 years ago and you may have encountered their work before – perhaps you are one of the 114,000 people in the UK who sponsor a child through Plan UK.

We started working with Plan UK early this year to identify a project we could work on.  They highlighted their work in building schools in poorer countries; since they were formed they have helped build 1,251 schools.  As a company, this is what we wanted to do – help build a school from scratch.  Plan UK, working with its team in Ghana, proposed a project to build a new pre-school in Motigu, in North West Ghana.  Motigu is a large village on the edge of the Mole National Park –where elephants roam, some 350 miles from the capital Accra.  The old, derelict pre-school was in dire need of replacement and housed 166 pre-school pupils aged between 3-6 years old.

Foundation of a new school, Motigu, North West Ghana

With an investment of £30,000 from Teneo, plus a commitment to raise £3,350 from our employees, we embarked on the project.  Land was provided by the
community and the Ghana Education Service will provide ongoing funding for teachers’ salaries and maintain the school.  Building started in April, and the build is co-ordinated by Plan UK’s locally appointed contractors with lots of help from the community.

The new school will have three classrooms, an office and storage area, and we are furnishing the classrooms throughout with desks, teaching and learning materials.  The previous school did not have sanitary toilets, or a clean supply of drinking water.  Our new school will have four latrines (two for girls, two for boys) and a supply of clean drinking water provided through a rainwater harvesting system.  We’ve even got an outdoor play area.

It’s an exciting project for us, we’ve never built a school before – and we get regular updates and pictures on the schools’ progress.  We’ve got past the rainy season that affects the area in August and September, and the building is now up to ‘window-stage’ and is on target for completion for April 2012.

Building in progress, Motigu, North West Ghana

We will keep updating on progress, and we can’t wait to see the completed school.  Our employee team are doing excellent work moving towards the fundraising target of £3,350, and have raised £2,025.  From Seth Cornwall’s ‘Bath to Newbury’ tow-path bike ride, to Jonathan Campbell’s Tatton Park Triathlon, we are making great progress.  If you would like to support our fundraising efforts, visit www.justgiving.com/teams/teneo

Please do visit the Plan UK website, and we hope you are as inspired by their work as we are.

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