Hello you!

Today is the 19th of December 2013 and I am leaving Guabuliga after two weeks. My name is Baerbel, but I have many names in Guabuliga: Saranaba, Babel, Bible, Piri Bin... I am Braveaurora´s architect. I have been here often in the past five years, for meetings, concepts, drawings, constructions, with students. This time I am especially amazed how all the children and all the trees have been growing since beginning of 2013! The reason for my stay now are two projects: First, we want to activate the abundant village watertank and install a solar powered pumping system; together with the village water board we work hard on that. Secondly, we transform the children compound into a training centre. I will be back in two months and will tell you more then...

Me within the Greenbelt

Update from Guabuliga

Dear friends of BRAVEAURORA!

I want to apologize - it has been a long time since you could read here about our activities. The reason is that we do not have any volunters on sight since the beginning of November, and things have been really busy.

I picked out a few of so many events that happned since the last post to give you some update on our activities here.

In Ghana children have to wear school uniform in school. BRAVEAURORA still supports the children who formally lived in the orphanage with several items - including school uniforms! As things take more time in Ghana than in Austria, it also took the tailor a long time before he finished all school uniforms. But in the end we recieved them and all children do attend school now in their new, neat uniforms!

BA spocial worker Suzie with some of the new uniforms

Some of the boys present happily their new uniforms!

BRAVEAURORA has a maize farm, where we do ecological farming - without any chemicals. Together with our parents and children we harvested the maize. Later it was processed, and in the end we got a little bit more than 7 bags - which will help us with the "reintegration food" for more than 2 months!

Harvesting

Taking a break from the work in the hot sun

The maize was pealed

BA farmer Peter dries the maize

We got more than 7 bags!!

In the whole of Ghana the environment is not all that clean, especially plastic bags are found everywhere. The same problem is also in Guabuliga, and in the school compound. BRAVEAURORA bought some dustbins for the school, and to start to educate the children about keeping their environment clean, we did some general cleaning exercise in the school.

We pick, pick...

...in the school compound

We were able to sollect several of these "mountains"

Through BRAVEAURORA there is a computer laboratory in the school of Guabuliga. In the beginning 5 computers were given to us. After some negotiations GES (Ghana Education Service) agreed to add us 5 additional computers! Now there are 10 computers in the lab - which is great! Keeping in mind that e.g. the number of students in Junior High School 1 is 105, the number is still small - but it is far better than to be taught ICT just on a black board!

We are really grateful for these computers!!

Assembly Man Mr. Philip (right) brought the computers with his personal car

From left: BA Project Manager Mr. Severin, Assembly Man Mr. Philip, BA Social Woker Md. Eklimatu, ICT Teacher Master Mumi, BA Social Woker Md. Suzie, BA Education Coordinator Mr. Saibu

Now there are 10 computers!!

Thank you very much for reading, we will update more regulkarly again from now onwards!

Kind reagrds, Severin

Training on water and sanitation

On Wednesday and Thursday a training on "Water and Sanitation" took place in Guabuliga. The reason is that three is a big problem with water in Guabuliga. BRAVEAURORA took some water samples from the wells where the community members fetch their water every day, to Tamale to the "Water Research Institute" - with an larming outcome. the wells are highly contaminated with different bacteria, e.g. faecal bacteria. This is the same water the people use for washing, bathing cooking and even drinking - on a daily basis.
Some years ago the government provided Guabuliga with a high level water tank and a pumping system - working with power. The community members had problems to pay the light bills though...and some years ago the transformer blew. Since then the people only could go to these contaminated wells.
BRAVEAURORA did a lot of research and decidet to change the entire system into solar power, so that the community will have clean and safe water in the future. Since BRVEAURORA always works in the most sustainable way, the community has to be involved in this project from the beginning on. After all, the project is for the community, who should run the system and also implement a good money collecting system; so that they are, in case of repairs, able to do it - without the involvement of BRAVEAURORA.

To be ble to reach these goals, an NGO from Bolgatanga  - Rural Aid - was invited. They are experts in water and sanitation, and came to the community for a two day workshop - which took place on Wednesday, 23rd, and Thursday, 24th of October.

Please see some pictures!

BRAVEAURORA worker Zenabu helped to prepare the venue for the training

BA project manager Severin opens the training - with Baba, BA librarian, as his translator

The group of men - with Chief in teh middle (white clothes)

The group of women - with volunteer Vanessa

 The training was very interactive. At some points the participants recieved some pictures, and had to interpret them.

Dirty environment

 The people who recieved the trainig had different backgrounds: Chief and his elders (one from each section), a woman from each section, the headmasters of the two schools with two teachers each, religious leaders from mosques and churches in Guabuliga, the water board, assembly man, other opinion leaders and some staff of BRAVEAURORA. The reason for this heterogenic group is that they have to forward the message to the whole community - and if they come from different fields, it is more likely that the whole community will get the information - and only then the project will be successful!

Mr. Hamidu, Chiefs brother, explaning some of the pictures

Madam Dahamata, former BA host mother, and water board member

A teacher

One of the elders of Chief

Mr. Gani from Rural Aid, with some long arm ladles - this should help to keep the pot of dringking water clean. With this ladle the people are supposed to fetch water into their drinking cups

A map of Guabuliga was drawn into the sand...

...and each house was represented by a stone...

...and the houses that have a toilet were marked with ash - the number was little compared to all houses. Here we are into the sanitation issues

This is Guabuliga!!

Some of the participants

Since many peopole in the community are illiterates, they have to use their thumb print to sign in the attandance list

The participants helped to write some dos and donts...the list was longer than on the picture though!

Some of the participants - including the BRAVEAURORA project manager

The training was a great success - now we hope that the people continue to take it seriuous, that they start to change their lifestyle concerning sóme sanitation issues, and that the whole knowledge, gained in the workshop, will be tansferred to the whole community. BRAVEAUROA will support them to deliver the message.

Pomade Production and Parents meeting

Dear all,

we want to tell you about our workshop and the parents meeting today. In the morning the women had a workshop and they learned how to make the “pomade”. It is a cream with shea butter. We made this cream with orange pealing, shea butter and the wax of some candles. We had to cook this for a long time untill the colour and the consistency had changed. After that we filled it in some small tubes and now it has to dry for some days. Now all of the women know how to make the “pomade” and they can try it again at home and in future some of them maybe can even sell it on the market.

After this cooking time, we had our parents meeting. The main topic was the Micro Credit Program and how the people can have a sustainable benefit from it -  and not only a one-time benefit. They had some good ideas how to profit from the credits and we gave them a small “homework”: they have to divide themselves into groups and sit together and think about their business idea.

Pomade production in the old orphanage

Orange pealing: one of the incredients

Finish!

BRAVEAURORA micro credit group with social workers and project manager

Reintegration food

Today the families recieved their reintegration food. In the morning Peter, the BRAVEAURORA farmer, harvested with the parents the maize from the farm. After that, I (Vanessa) helped Suzie and Eklimatu, the BRAVEAURORA social workers, with the distribution of the food. Every family recieved for each child five bowls of rice, four bowls of maize and one bowl of beans per child. We handed out the food to the families in the old orphanage.

After lunch I went back to the old orphanage and Peter, me and some kids put the maize in one room for drying. This was hard work for such a sunny day!

Suzie hands out the food

Teamwork

A parent with two full bowls of maize and beans

Women waiting for their food

I tried my best :)

Vanessa

Hello friends of Braveaurora,

My name is Vanessa, I’m 20 years old and I come from Germany. I’m in Guabuliga since the 30^th of September. I will stay here as a volunteer and after that I want to study social work in Germany. My hobbies are dancing, reading, meeting my friends. At home I went to a dance lesson once a week and I really like to dance also on the weekend. I've never been outside of Europe before, but I think Ghana is a very exciting country, and I’m curious to what I will sample in this time.

In my first week I visited with Suzie, the social worker, two of the reintegration families and it was very exciting to see how they live and how they work in their compound.

At school I visited the quiz competition. It was nice to see how motivated the children are.

All the people here in Guabuliga are very friendly and helpful and I thank Braveaurora that I can gain experience here!

Guabuliga school reopened

Dear all!

Like also in Austria, pupils and teachers were on vacation untill the beginning of September. Finally on Tuesday, the 10th of September, the school reopened. In Ghana the academic year is divided into 3 terms. Now the first term has started, and it will end on the 12th of December.
The start of the term means also a lot of work for BRAVEAURORA, since the NGO is woking together with the school in many areas.

KG (kindergarten) children at the morning assembly

The primary students in their blue dresses (girls) and the grey shirts and shorts (boys)

Chief of Guabuliga (white hat) and BA project manager Severin welcoming and advicing the students

Introducing Jennifer

My name is Jennifer. I come from Guabuliga.

Here I live with my aunt and my brother and my sister.

I am in Form 3 of Junior High School.

In the holidays I read books and was at the workshop of Julia, where we could learn to 

crochet and make bracelets. I want to crochet a skirt.

During school time I also learn to be a tailor. I can sew clothes for the people in the village.

But wehn I finish school I want to be a doctor.

Me at the right side, singing and dancing at a welcome ceremony in the FCC with other BRAVEAURORA children

My friends Rita, Ama, Mariam and I.

Making Pancakes

Today we had a great workshop. I (Julia, the volunteer) showed some women from the village how to make pancakes. We had a great afternoon and the taste of the pancakes showed us, that we were successful.

 

We made the paste together and then, after making a fire, every woman could make her own pancake with the pan. They could choose jam or peanut butter to put it on it. All the women were very fascinated how easy it was and they learned really fast. Finally we tasted the pancakes and they were delicious.

Most of the ingredients you get in Guabuliga (milk, eggs, salt), flour, jam, peanut butter or honey you have to buy in the next city. 

The idea of the workshop was that the woman can make the pancakes themselves and sell it in Guabuliga or in Walewale at the market day. Some things are expensive for the village people (eggs and jam). I suggested that the women can buy it in a group, make together the pancakes and then they sell it at the market and make their own money. Hopefully they`ll really do it and are successful.