“Tell a friend, to tell another friend, to tell to their cousins, and their cousin’s friends and cousins. Spread the word on this basically” sputtered Yaarah Schools’ newest patron, actor Daniel Kaluuya (Skins, Johnny English Reborn). He and a host of others attended last week’s ‘Fusionite’ event in Shoreditch’s Avalon club to show their support for a charity which tries to breathe new life into Ghana’s most under resourced educational systems:
Footage of Fusionite 2010
Music performances, talks, food, fashion show, fusion – night. And any of this for London Fashion Week? No. This is all in the name of Ghana’s children states Yaarah Schools founder, Marie Tejani. The inspirational lady left Ghana a few years ago utterly depleted at how 4000 primary schools in her homeland are still being taught under trees, and how 3500 additional schools are under temporary structures; explaining why the national government estimate it could take up to 25 years for the authorities to build adequate classrooms. This just won’t do affirms Marie, which is why she set up Yaarah Schools in the first place; to provide her people with:
- Classrooms in the remote villages
- Teaching equipment and furniture
- Safe drinking water, toilets and basic medical provisions
- Income generating schemes for the school community
- And adult education and skills improvement programmes within the community
Does anyone on this side of the world actually care though…?
Construction and vast preparation for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics 2012 may be erupting across London and the UK – but the response to Fusionite, Marie and her team’s work illustrates that wider picture, that sprinkle of perspective, that through all the hype and jittery excitement in the capital, there remains space, time, need and yes, a genuine want to communicate here for a community over there.
London is a bustling hot pot (which is why I love it). And it is such a dynamic environment that branches of it can and do pause to reflect, come together – and party it up for a good cause.
Come to the next Fusionite, check out www.yaarahschools.org, and you’ll see what I mean.
This article was also published on the Media Trust Community Channel
Bio
I am a journalist and digital media/content editor/manager based in London, the former digital content editor of Ctrl.Alt.Shift (Christian Aid's youth political and social issue magazine), former senior content and community manager for Livity (working specifically on Spinebreakers, somewhereto_ and Live Mag UK) - currently working as digital media manager at Excellent Development (a charity supporting communities in countries such as Kenya, India, Mozambique and Zimbabwe to transform their lives with sand dams). In the past I have freelanced for the likes of RWD, the Guardian, The Independent, MTV Staying Alive (and others). I have also been a part-time mentor for young writers at Interact Magazine, an advisor in the ‘Platforma Arts and Refugees Network’ London hub, a mentor for Channel 4's Battlefront campaigners, and one of the directors of the Youth-led Media Network (now the Youth Media Agency). In 2011, I was a London360 blogger for Media Trust's Community Channel, represented as a social reporter at the 2011 London Youth Policy Symposium, and was on the drafting committee representing as a delegate at the UNAIDS Youth Summit On HIV in Mali. On my travels, I have provided global and social news reports from the DRCongo to Vancouver. Currently I am also a trustee for the Youth Media Agency, and adviser for SetOff Magazine.