The Tribal Leadership

"The world is ablaze. A giant has fallen. The great oak tree is down. The royalists and courtiers of the Lawra Royal Palace are weeping and all Ghanaians,nay, the whole world is lamenting. The lions, tigers and wise elephants of the gate of the Lawra Royal Palace are roaring restlessly and ceaselessly."

So started one of the addresses at the funeral of Chief (or Naa) Abeifaa Karbo II, paramount chief of Lawra District. When the Trustees of the charity visited Ghana in February 2005 he had recently died, but we were greeted at the Royal Palace by some of the tribal elders (or ninbere). We were introduced by our project manager Pastor Charles Karbo, brother of the lately deceased chief, and the tribal elders pledged their support for the work of the Trust.

The area around Lawra (the district town) is inhabited by the Dagaaba people. Each village (teni) has its own chief, in addition to the paramount - or overall - chief living in Lawra Palace. The chiefs command significant respect from their people. Although since independence the central government have been responsible for such provisions as healthcare, education and transport, the more traditional concerns (mainly land and family issues) remain the responsibility of the tribal elders.

It was therefore crucial that the school project in Bagri village not only had the backing of the paramount chief but also the local village chief. Indeed the request to help with a school in Bagri came not only from the local church (through Pastor Charles Karbo) but also from the local chief.

When we visited the village during 2005 to assess the feasibility of building a Christian primary school, we were greeted by all of the village  elders in a large community meeting. Rather touchingly the village chief then told us, "For too long we have been in darkness, we hope that you will bring us light."

The village elders have also shown their support in a practical way. They are the custodians of all of the land locally, a responsibility vested in one of the elders known as the landowner (or tendaana). A site of 22 acres, opposite the Baptist chapel, has been given for the school building.

Without the tribal links of Pastor Charles Karbo, and the support of the village elders, it would be almost impossible for outsiders to undertake this project.