Working as an expedition planner you can find yourself in a variety of different places meeting with some very interesting people. On Friday 30th Oct I found myself swinging through the revolving doors of Westminster on my way to meet with Martin Gaunt. Martin is on the executive committee of Onechild, an international development organization set up in 2002 to support ICCES centres in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
Before I could even reach reception I had to have my photograph taken and my bags and coat passed through x-ray scanners, standard procedure! Then, with my newly printed ID tag I went to meet with Martin to discuss Onechild and how Outlook Expedition groups may be able to offer support to the ongoing projects in Ghana.
Having travelled through Ghana, Martin became a volunteer at one of the ICCES centres in Baworo teaching English and Maths along with playing many games of football! He wanted to continue to support the work in Ghana on his return to the UK. The committee offers support to the charity by means of fundraising but also encouraging groups such as Outlook Expeditions to get involved.
ICCES centres are vocational schools that teach various subjects such as masonry and dressmaking, as well as other subjects such as Maths, English and Health. Working directly with the local population, Onechild's primary objective is to advance the education of pupils at all ICCES centres by providing and assisting in the provision of facilities for education. The vision is to combat youth unemployment, rural-urban drift and contribute to the development of micro and small-scale enterprise amongst the youth, one child at a time.
I discussed a variety of different ideas with Martin as to how Outlook Expeditions teams could offer support and assistance to the current work Onechild carries out in Ghana, this included anything from helping with the maintenance and decoration of the schools through to teaching English in some of the classes.
The next step is to meet with the Onechild representative, Nana, in Kumasi to see the work first hand. I shall be heading off to visit Ghana in December and hope to visit some of the ICCES centres to discuss ideas and possibly play a game or two of football!
