Caleb Goes To Kindergarten:
“Finally, I can tag on”, this was the expression on Caleb’s face when he put on his uniform to go to Kindergarten (KG) for the first time. Caleb turned 1-year in May, his birthday was marked with a surprise party which he found very confusing at the beginning. All the other kids were excited about Caleb’s birthday and treated him a bit differently on this day. For his birthday, the ladies from the bakery project also made some cookies, pie, and a lovely cake for Caleb and all kids.
Caleb received many presents which included a new uniform for kindergarten. Going to kindergarten/school with the kids has been a dream for Caleb for a while. He didn’t like it when all the other kids left in the morning for school and he had to be home and wait until they are back. He often waves them goodbye and sometimes cries when they leave but finally, his time has come. He is now able to walk and actively play with other children so KG should be fine.
However, the first day at KG was a bit confusing and tough for him. He had to join other new kids of his age and not the kids from the children’s village. He was not happy and did not want to stay, but his mother was around so he knew he was secured. After almost 3 weeks now, Caleb has learned the new system and knows KG is making new friends and having fun all day. He loves it now and does not need his mother around at KG any longer.
Tree Planting
Intense rains continue to erode our compound, while we continue to plant more grass to check the erosion, we have also started planting more trees to reduce wind speeds and also cool the air on our compound. But planting trees on our compound involves more than digging a hole for the plant, we are required to fence them to prevent our livestock from eating the leaves as they grow. The team of workers, together with all children are involved in our tree planting initiative.
While adults are responsible for planting and fencing the trees, the children have the responsibility of caring for them by watering them every day. Each child has up to 3 trees to care for. Until now we have planted about 20 new trees which also include mango and orange which would have other benefits for the project when they mature.
School Gets Extra Support
LoszuGhana continues to support over 80 children in the old Adwampong community school by offering free school education in the SOS program. The school was taken over by LoszuGhana in 2013 after being abandoned by the government and now has a population of over 90 children and 8 classes including a pre-school section. The covid-19 around the world had its impact on the school project. To ensure kids and teachers are safe in the classroom, there was the need to re-arrange the seating arrangement of the kids in the classroom. This implied increasing the number of the desk so 1-2 children are allowed to occupy a big desk.
Furthermore, the school regularly gets supplies such as sanitizers and tissue papers to maintain hygiene and hand-washing at the school. Until now there is no case of covid-19 infection among the students and teachers at our school.
In addition to hygiene materials, the school also received food items including bags of rice, cooking oil, bags of beans, and other materials to support the school canteen.
Corona Rules Reinforced
The infamous COVID-19 continues to be a threat around the world, in Ghana the total number of active cases has reduced to 1260 as of June 2021.
The government of Ghana started vaccination already in March with a focus on the priority-1 group (mostly older people and public servants in relevant institutions). The government has eased the national corona regulations, church gatherings, funerals, and weeding are allowed but with adherence to the covid-19 protocol.
In our children’s village, there has not been a case of COVID infection until now, but our mothers and other staff have not yet been vaccinated.
As a result, we continue to enforce the existing rules for all members and people who visit us. Visitors are still required to wear a mask at all times and avoid contact with children and mothers as much as possible.
Mothers are required to wear a mask when going grocery shopping or running other errands for the project.
These regulations will continue to exist until all our people are vaccinated before easing upon it.
Next SMW Training
The next session of SMW Vocational training which was scheduled for last May will finally kick off in July.
Screening and selection of participants took longer due to information verification and preparation of accommodation for resident participants from 4 communities within the Bosomtwe district. 5 young ladies have been selected to participate in about 6-8months of hair braiding training while 3 others will get 4 weeks of training in the production of liquid and bar washing soap.
With all training material organised and professional trainers waiting, the only setback is accommodation for some resident participants and their kids. This should be resolved in the next weeks to meet the planned kickoff this month in July.
