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Plan - SMART's chosen charity:

When SMART started to look for a charity to support we wanted our fund raising efforts to really make a difference. We needed to know that that every single penny raised from our fund-raising activities would go directly to helping to change people's lives; a charity where precious funds were not used up in administration costs; a charity where we could specifically choose where our donations went.

Following a long search we discovered the Plan charity - the international humanitarian child-centred development organisation. To date SMART's staff have raised a fantastic sum for the charity through various fund-raising activities; this has made a significant contribution towards building a school for children in Ghana.

Founded 70 years ago, Plan is one of the largest child-centred community development organisations in the world. They work in 62 countries on projects and initiatives that address the causes of poverty and its consequences for children's lives. They work with children, their families and communities to build a world where children are safe, healthy and capable of realising their full potential.

SMART's fundraising goals & achievements

SMART's staff are highly pro-active in continuing to raise funds for Plan with regular social activities and events including song and dance shows, pop concerts, race nights, staff 'dress down' days and various sponsored events throughout the year. Our next major fundraising event is our support of Edward Carter's sponsored run in the Royal Park's Foundation Half Marathon (Sunday 12th October), when we hope to raise hundreds of pounds for the Plan charity (more info about Edward's challenge)

The Plan projects we support

Essandohkurom School Project
Following a field trip to Ghana, all of us at SMART were keen to support Plan's 'Essandohkurom School Project' - an ambitious project to build a much-needed school and ultimately improve schoolchildren's lives. The project was officially completed and handed over to the community during Spring 2008. More information

Child Sponsorship
Following the successful hand over of the school project, SMART is keen to continue its support of the Plan charity through Child sponsorship - as 80p in every pound donated to Plan in sponsorship goes directly to helping children. This enables us to help make a lasting difference to the lives of the world's poorest children and their communities. But unlike many other forms of giving, a sponsor can actually see the difference its sponsorship is making. This is made possible by the personal connection shared with the sponsored children. This long term relationship encourages children's confidence and can often be a rewarding and enlightening experience.
COMING SOON . . . we'll regularly update this page to feature the children we sponsor through the Plan charity.

Call SMART today on 01270 503291
to find out how you could help to support this vital charity work through our many charity events held throughout the year.

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Essandohkurom School Project

Here at SMART we believe that all children throughout the world deserve the best start in life possible, and that includes access to education.

We work in close association with Plan to improve the lives of some of the world's poorest children - those children who often have no chance of learning to read or write. We were very pleased to help the 'Essandohkurom School Project' build a school for children in Ghana and ultimately improve their lives.

Asomdwee Essandohkurom Anglican Primary School, Ghana

Quick links:

Why Ghana?
What were the problems?
Impact of the project
Construction agenda
Project costings
Community involvement
Construction diary & progress

Project Goals:

The aim of this project was to increase access to education for the children of the Essandohkurom community in Ghana, by constructing a school block for pre-school and primary school children, comprising of two classrooms and a library. We also provide furniture and install a safe drinking water system.

Why Ghana?

Ghana remains one of the world's poorest countries. Many children, especially in rural areas, do not have access to a good quality education in a safe and healthy school environment:

Asomdwee Essandohkurom Anglican Primary School is located in the rural Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese district of the central region. The Essandohkurom community had some basic facilities constructed with assistance from Plan Ghana, however the community's primary school was made of mud with thatched roofing. This construction was dangerous as, when heavy rainfall came, it was likely to collapse.

A good infrastructure is fundamental to ensuring a good quality education for children, as it provides an environment that is condusive to effective teaching and learning. It not only increases the enrolment and retention of pupils but also attracts good teachers to the school. None of these factors were present in this community.

What were the problems?

Impact of the project

The project would ensure that Asomdwee Essandohkurom School provided a safe, healthy and conducive learning environment for over 150 children today and for future generations.

Increased enrolment and better attendance would result from the improvement of the school environment and the community awareness raising activities.

Improved school attainment by pupils would result from the rehabilitated infrastructure of the school, permanent teachers, the provision of books and learning materials.

Construction agenda

Project costings

To complete this project in full £17,650 was required. This investment would give over 150 children each year access to a decent primary education.

ACTIVITY:	BUDGET (£)
2 Classroom block	6,100
Library	3,200
Library books	900
School latrine	3,100
Water storage facility	1,600
Furniture	1,750
Programme support	950
TOTAL:	17,650

Community involvement

The Plan charity believes that community involvement is integral to the sustainability of its projects, as it creates a feeling of ownership. The Essandohkurom community has played an important role in the construction of the school by:

The community continued to help in this way throughout the construction phase of the project. Both the children and adults of Essandohkurom attended community meetings to discuss the progress of work. This meant that everyone was kept up to date and involved in every stage of the construction.

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Construction Diary & Progress

September 2006:
At the end of September 2006, construction of the Essandohkurom Primary School block is underway with the excavation of the foundation trench. Building materials, including sand and stones have been delivered to the site and blocks for the base foundation moulded. All the books for the new library have also been bought.

Please click on the small photos below for a larger view.

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December 2006:
At the end of December 2006 work has progressed steadily on site, reaching the second phase; meaning that the construction of the gables is almost complete and that windows and doorframes have also been fitted. The pit for the school latrine has also been dug and work on the latrine building will start soon. Sand and stones have been delivered to the site. Work on the project is moving swiftly.

Please click on the small photos below for a larger view.

All the stakeholders involved with the project are playing their part effectively and community members have been particularly instrumental in getting the project to this stage.

Local men were involved in clearing the site and digging the pit for the school latrine. They have also played an important role in the monitoring of the project, to ensure high quality work by the artisans.

Women and children from the community assisted in fetching water. Alongside the male community members they have also been involved in monitoring and assessing the progress of the project and have regularly helped with the communal labour

A Plan staff member, the District Assembly Representative, the consultant, artisans and community members (men, women and children) attend regular site meetings to discuss the progress of work and other related issues.

No serious problems have been encountered to date and the project is running smoothly and on time.

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July 2007:
Since the start of this project in October 2005, Plan Ghana has, with the help of the local community, completed the construction of 6 new classroom blocks and a library facility by July 2007. The materials for the construction of the rainwater tank to provide clean drinking water for the children have also been purchased, along with books for the library and school furniture. The latrine block is almost complete with the lintel in place and the building materials purchased and waiting on site for the continuation of construction. All this is despite a 100% increase in the price of building materials as a result of an energy crisis that hit Ghana in August last year.

The last few months have been busy and the team has achieved a great deal - this is despite the project having to face a series of restrictions resulting from an energy crisis and subsequent production costs.

• The team has finished the construction of 6 bright and airy classrooms in two blocks, complete with plastered and painted walls, windows and doors.
• Each classroom is now equipped with a full set of desks, chairs, book cases and black boards specially crafted for the primary school by local artisans.
• The library has been finished and is now loaded with the new books that arrived on site back in September 2006.
• Bricks have been moulded and stones and sand have been gathered in preparation for the final stages of latrine construction.
• Poly tanks and other materials have been purchased for the construction of the rainwater catchment system that will provide clean drinking water for the children and teaching staff once the school opens.

As with all of Plan's work, the involvement of the community, the children, and the local authorities has been of primary importance throughout the project. The men have been involved in the moulding of building blocks, the mixing of mortar and the collection of sand and stones for the construction of the library and the school latrine. Women and children have assisted the project in fetching water for the site as well as monitoring the project, along with the men, to ensure that it is completed to the highest standards and meets their expectations. Children have shown an interest in the building of their new school and frequently visit the site to see how work is progressing.

It has also been important to ensure that the community and local authorities are involved in the planning of the work. This has been achieved through the staging of frequent meetings to discuss the progress of work and other issues related to the effect the project will have on the local community.

Involving the community in this way ensures the sustainability of the project by its manifestation as something created by the community rather than imposed upon it - this guarantees that the needs and expectations of those that will use the primary school are met. As a result, attendance will rise and the future of the children will be better provided for.

Problems Encountered:

The energy crisis that hit Ghana in August 2006 has had an adverse effect on the project due to the subsequent crippling of the country's industries. Power is now rationed across the area which has meant that construction has not been able to run on schedule and production costs have rocketed as a result with a 100% increase in the cost of building materials. Despite this, the project is now almost complete due to the perseverance of Plan Ghana, the local community and the local authorities. The deadline has been extended to June 2008 to allow for fundraising to take place to cover these unexpected obstacles and enable to project to be completed to the highest standard.

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October 2007:
No major problems were encountered during the construction of the project although the energy crisis occurring in August 2006 created some problems as power rationing across the region meant that construction took longer than expected also resulting in a 100% rise in the cost of building materials. Some difficulties also arose as a result of some community members finding it difficult to make time to participate in community labour alongside their agricultural work, although the process of dividing the community into four separate groups helped to combat this.

The involvement of the community in all stages of planning and construction of the project is key to its sustainability, as the stakeholders develop a real sense of ownership and responsibility, thus committing themselves to the maintenance of the facilities they played a key role in providing. The community has already put in place a fund mobilisation committee in conjunction with the school management committee, to ensure proper, periodic maintenance and good usage of the new school. Working in partnership with local and national governmental organisations, such as Ghana Education service and the District Assembly, also ensures that the new school is fully integrated into official plans and guidelines, which will help the ongoing maintenance of the building.

Please click on the small photos below for a larger view.

The classroom block & library building	Inside a classroom	Inside a classroom
The library building	The water tank

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May 2008:
Construction is now fully completed and the school is open.

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Click here to find out more about the Plan Charity and its latest news.