News: February 2013

February, 2013

23 February, 2013

Having never taken any family member to St Anna's since it was a building site, taking Ivan (my younger brother) and Steph Wetherell (a wonderful friend) was a complete treat!

Ivan was able to see and meet all 160 children that now come to St Anna's Academy which seems to be the ever increasing school within our very small plot and home, this including turning the kitchen into a classroom on a daily basis! We saw in action the slightly robin hood like set up, where it is part fee paying and means tested, and due to the exceptional teaching quality (controlled by Emelia, the fantastic Ghanaian lady in charge out there), all children from different back grounds do come, and those that are from the more wealthy back grounds are very happy to help those less fortunate.

We also met the news members of the team Paco, Blessing and Constance, who seem to spend most of their time at St Anna's. Paco's grandfather looks after him at the weekends, but during the week it's all too much, so he has become a member of our ever increasing family. Blessing was placed in St Anna's care by social services as she was sadly abandoned as a baby, and Constance again seems to have moved in for the weeks.
It really re-motivated us to keep striving for the ultimate goal of St Anna's becoming financially independent.

St Anna's minimum costs are still £12,000 a year, this helps the home and the school to function as well as it can, but the dream is slowly becoming a reality with small fundraising events, (and big ones, Atlantic Row 2013!) to buy another plot of land, then build a school that accommodates 250-300 children, which will then cover the costs of itself and the home, whilst providing an education for those less fortunate.
 

Lara and family visit the school

23 February, 2013

Having never taken any family member to St Anna's since it was a building site, taking Ivan (my younger brother) and Steph Wetherell (a wonderful friend) was a complete treat!
Ivan met all 160 children that now come to St Anna's Academy, which seems to be an ever-growing school within our very small plot and home. To accommodate all the students the kitchen is turned into a classroom on a daily basis! We saw in action the slightly Robin Hood set up, where it is part fee paying and means tested. In addition, due to the exceptional teaching quality, controlled by Emelia, the fantastic Ghanaian lady in charge out there, children from all different backgrounds do come, and those that are from wealthier backgrounds are very happy to help those less fortunate.
We also met the new members of the team Paco, Blessing and Constance, who seem to spend most of their time at St Anna's. Paco's grandfather looks after him at the weekends, but during the week it's all too much and so he has become a member of our ever-increasing family. Blessing was placed in St Anna's care by social services as she was sadly abandoned as a baby, and Constance again seems to have moved in for the week days.
It really re-motivated us to keep striving towards the ultimate goal of St Anna's becoming financially independent.
St Anna's minimum costs are still £12,000 a year, this helps the home and the school to function as well as it can, but the dream is slowly becoming a reality with small fundraising events, (and big ones, Atlantic Row 2013!) to buy another plot of land, then build a school that accommodates 250-300 children. Eventually the revenue from the school fees will cover the costs of running the school and the home, whilst providing an education for those less fortunate.