Savannah Partners: The Baptist Church

<< Partners | The Tribal Leadership | The Ghanaian government | The parents

The only public building in the village of Bagri  (where our first school was built) is a small Baptist chapel, built in 2001. On Sundays, the building is overflowing with people.

The Pastor is Charles Karbo and he is also our Programme Manager. As son of the paramount chief of the area, he grew up in the Palace in Lawra, a town near Bagri.

He says, “I was brought up in the pagan religion. My father had 40 wives and at the 25th anniversary of his death in 1993 there were still about 30 of them alive. My father allowed various religious groups into the district and decided to associate different children with different religions some with Christian groups, some with Islam and some with traditional beliefs. I was to follow traditional tribal beliefs, which (at the time) I welcomed. It was intended that I would succeed to be keeper of the idols in the Palace.”

Pastor Karbo has a particular concern for the outlying villages around Lawra, which (before Savannah purchased a vehicle) he journeyed to on a small motorbike. In the past, he has also worked part time for the local education services but now devotes his time to his pastorate and to managing the Trust’s projects.

A small Committee, formed from the church, helps to organise the construction of school buildings and the schools are Christian schools, managed by the church on behalf of the whole community. (Read about the Trust’s Christian policy here).