Dear Supporters
Arriving at the village of Bagri in northern Ghana is thrilling. It is a remote community. Almost all of the villagers are either farmers or fishermen, and their houses reach down to the banks of the Black Volta river on the far side of the village. A distinctive, vast, beautiful baobab tree marks the route into the little settlement.
But the thrill on arrival is not so much the beauty or the peace of this small village. Up on the hill is a blue school, dominating the approach to the settlement. This was our first Savannah school. Next year, it will be 20 years since this beacon of hope was opened. A whole generation in this village have now been educated.
On our last visit to the village we met the head boy and the head girl of Bagri School. The head girl, whose name is Precious, took us back to see her home and meet her parents. As we walked, she told us about how much the education meant to her and her family. Some days, she said, there is not even food in the house for anything to eat – and so the meal at school is vital for her and for the family. Once school days are finished, she wants to be a doctor: following in the footsteps of a pupil from this village, Meshach, who is now undertaking medical training.
When we arrived at her house, we had a shock. Not that the buildings were any different to the others in this area: mud walls, thatch roof, a sprawling complex of buildings – with a fire alight in the compound. But we immediately recognised it: we had been here many years before …
The house belongs to Thomas who, in the early days of Savannah, was the tailor who made the blue uniforms for the first ever pupils to attend Bagri school. But it brought back a painful memory too. All those years ago, we had been visiting a bereaved house. Their young daughter had recently died. Undiagnosed and untreated, she was part of a generation in which nearly one in four of the children died before their fifth birthday.
We were then told how Precious received her name. She was the first child born after that bitter bereavement. What a precious gift to her family! To us, she also seemed to symbolise the precious change that has occurred in this village since the Savannah Christian school has arrived.
There has been a change in the life of her father, Thomas, too. He is a farmer of his land – but also a fieldworker for Savannah Education Trust, overseeing the feeding programme and providing pastoral support to the schools. And, on Sundays, he preaches: taking the precious message of the gospel into other remote villages.
This is the time of year when it is traditional to give each other gifts. The community of Bagri is still very poor and children like Precious don’t receive Christmas presents. But, through your giving, she has received one of the greatest gifts of all: the gift of hope symbolised by that big blue school on the hill.
This has been both an exciting and difficult year for Savannah. A generous specific donation has enabled us to embark on the building of a vocational training school, something the team in Ghana have long identified as an important priority. Although this feels daunting, it is the sharp rise in ongoing costs, due to a combination of high inflation in Ghana and changing exchange rates, which poses a bigger and longer-term challenge. We are desperately keen not to have to cut back on our core work, like the meal which Precious and her classmates receive each day.
It means that we cherish your prayer and your generous support more than ever. We certainly need it. Precious is not able to thank you in person. It is a great privilege to do so on her behalf, and on behalf of each of our pupils and staff in Ghana. If you would like to meet Precious, you can follow this link to hear directly from her.
We do not know what 2026 holds, but we join with all of our friends in Ghana in wishing you a happy Christmas and God’s blessing for the new year.
On behalf of the trustees,
Paul Ramsbottom
paul@savannaheducationtrust.org