Ganet's Adventure School

How 11 goats helped finish our classrooms

New classrooms at Ganet's Adventure School Malawi

The classrooms have now taken shape, and they are huge! Finishing touches such as plastering, painting, doors and windows are still to be completed, but we hope you’ll agree that they look great already.

Storms held up construction for a while, and buildings in nearby Nkhata Bay were damaged. The classrooms, despite being unfinished, stood up to the punishment, proving that the decision to strengthen the roof beyond the original specifications was a wise one.

Fundraising update – now for the bit about the goats

After an amazing response to our appeal, we have now raised enough money to pay for the classrooms. Thanks to every one of you who contributed. As well as international cash donations, contributions in Malawi have included 11 goats from the family of the school principal, Gertrude Banda, and a donation of rice from a family friend of the Bandas, all sold at a local market.

Classrooms at Ganet's Adventure School, Malawi

Permaculture for the people

In addition to the classrooms, education officers have indicated that they want to see a permaculture garden created and two temporary shelters rebuilt before the school can reopen. Gertrude is already trained in permaculture, and once the garden is up and running, the children will be able to learn sustainable methods of growing and also about nutrition. A lesson here for schools in the UK too, perhaps?

Many children arrive at school in the mornings without food, and not having eaten. The sustenance which the garden will provide will help stop the rumbling tums and lack of concentration that this causes.

Site of Ganet's Adventure School, Malawi

Opening party on hold – for now

The thatched shelters cannot be completed until the grasses have dried out, which won’t be until October. At the same time, the government has brought next term’s start date forward by a month to September, meaning that the school won’t be able to reopen fully until the following term in January 2011.

Gertrude is already busy recruiting teachers for the January term. With all of the interest in the village which construction has created, we’re expecting queues of children when it reopens!

If you would like to make a contribution to the school’s future running costs, please visit our page on Virgin Money Giving.

Raise the Roof part 1: the movie

Check out our video of Raise the Roof part one from June! Thanks to Music For London for a stirling job shooting and editing the video.

Raise the Roof 2 review

Last Sunday’s gig at Proud Galleries in Camden was another stomper, with three bands who all played their hearts out late into Sunday evening. Camden band The Breadstealers opened up with their indie rock, followed by the punkier tunes of Raise the Roof stalwarts, Shanakee.

Andy Sharrocks and the Smoking Jackets rounded off the night with a wonderful bluegrass set, a real treat for those who resisted the temptation to watch the Burlesque act in the next room. Having been given a sample of their sounds by two members of the band at the first Raise the Roof in June, it was great to see all six of them on song this time round.

While the crowd was a little thin on the ground this warm August evening, £200 was raised for the school, a fantastic result.

Thanks again to Tim Merricks for organising and promoting the night, and to everyone involved – the bands, the sound man, the dj and everyone who came down.

Check out the rest of the photos on Flickr

www.andysharrocks.com

www.myspace.com/shanakeemusic

www.myspace.com/gabigarbuttandthebreadstealers

Classroom construction: walls to be completed this week

Construction of the new classrooms for Ganet’s Adventure School has been causing a stir in Mkondezi village. Where six months ago wooden shelters stood as classrooms, now a block of two brick classrooms, an office and separate toilets are taking shape.

After much hard work in clearing the land and laying foundations, the walls were started in late May and are due to be finished this week. Timbers are being prepared for the roof frame, and the roof itself is due to be laid next week. The pictures above were taken in late May, and show the site as construction of the walls was beginning.

From the concrete foundations to the anti-earthquake supporting wire and ant-proof course in the walls, much care has been taken to ensure a long, safe lifetime for the buildings. Meanwhile, the carpenter is hard at work constructing door and window frames, chairs and desks (the desks were paid for by the kind support of Friends of Malawi). The materials used are highly sustainable: the wood comes from plantations on the nearby Viphya plateau, and the bricks were made and fired from the clay soil on which the school stands.

The budget has increased by around 20% since the original estimate of £8,500 was produced in January, which has been a strain on funds. This is due to the British Pound decreasing in value against the Malawian Kwacha, also petrol price increases have had a big impact on the price of materials, as imported goods have to be transported a long way to reach Malawi. And due to the soil makeup being different than expected, extra sand was required in the foundations.

Happily, our fundraising has gone even better than expected, and we have raised over £10,000 since December. We are currently securing the last few hundred pounds needed to complete the building work.

Once complete, the building will be visited by government inspectors and we plan to reopen in October. Volunteer teachers are being sought from October onwards, if you are interested, please email info@ganetsadventureschool.org for more information.

Donations for school materials can be made here.

A roof-raisin' success!

Headliners the Huxleys at Raise the Roof

The first ever benefit gig in aid of Ganet’s Adventure School was a rocking success, raising over £500 for our classroom construction appeal.

The five diverse acts, all playing for free, put heart and soul into their music and built up a lively atmosphere at The Purple Turtle in Camden.

Headliners The Huxleys played a full length set of guitar rock awash with surfy sounds, and brought along many of their fans. Rock n Rollers Shanakee wound up the crowd with a rowdy set. Oka Vanga played a virtuoso set of instrumental Folk music, percussive Flamenco rhythms, acoustic freestyle, Afro-beat and even some powerful metal bass. Matthew Ord delivered an intricate acoustic set of folk and Celtic tinged music.

Steve McInerny and Tim Merricks at Raise the Roof

This event was thought up, promoted and managed by Tim Merricks, who has played alongside many of these bands in the past. Our heartfelt thanks go out to him for all of his hard work, inspiration and commitment to making the event a success. Not content with organising raising money for the school through this concert, he is planning a trip to the school, in Malawi to volunteer there once it reopens.

Find out more about volunteering at the school.

Our thanks go out to Music for London for filming the event, we’ll post a link to the footage on YouTube once it’s been edited and uploaded.

Listen to the bands here:

www.myspace.com/thehuxleysband

www.myspace.com/shanakeemusic

www.andysharrocks.com

www.myspace.com/mattheword

www.myspace.com/okavanga09

Donate to the school securely online here.

£4,000 raised by Ganet's Big Bicycle Adventure

The riders at the start of Ganet's Big Bicycle Adventure

A team of 30 intrepid cyclists rode 44 miles from from Tower Bridge to Rochester on 23 May 2010 to raise money for the construction of classrooms in a primary school in Malawi.

Everyone made it to Rochester, despite breakdowns, a couple of tumbles and it being one of the hottest days of the year. The last rider home was the determined Guillerme Zühlke O´Connor, who rolled into Rochester at 7.30pm. He had three punctures before reaching Woolwich, then had to take a train back to London Bridge to buy spare inner tubes before returning on the train to Woolwich and cycling the remaining 32 miles to Rochester alone.

Ride organiser Steve McInerny writes, “I first found Ganet’s Adventure school while on a cycling expedition in Africa. Organising a sponsored cycle ride back here in the UK seemed a fitting way to raise enough money to complete the classroom construction. This event shows and how the focussed efforts of a small group of people can make a huge difference.”

The cyclists covered costs by paying their own entry fees, so every penny of the money raised (barring bank charges) goes direct to the school.

The school

Ganet’s Adventure School is a primary school and pre-school set up in 2004 in a rural village in northern Malawi. It was set up by a Malawian lady, Gertrude Banda, in response to the lack of pre-schooling and overcrowded government primary schools in the area. In October 2009, it had an enrolment of around 100 pupils, but in November 2009 it was closed down by the education ministry until permanent classrooms can be built. This has had a serious impact on the education of the children, as well as putting five teachers out of work.

Since then Gertrude and her supporters around the world have teamed up to plan the fundraising and construction of a block of two classrooms, an office and toilets. The combination of being such a small, focussed charity with very few overheads, along with Gertude’s know-how and local network of craftsmen and labourers has enabled us to keep project costs down to around £8,500. For example, Gertrude arranged for bricks to be constructed by hand from local clay and fired on the school site before the recent rainy season, which saved hundreds of pounds over having to purchase them after the rains.

Ganet’s Adventure School Fund and the school’s supporters around the world pledged to raise the £8,500 needed for the project, and thanks to the bike ride, this money has almost been raised. Construction started in February 2009, so far the land has been cleared, foundations laid and now the walls are being constructed. CIf sufficient funding can be found in time, construction is due to be completed by July, so that the school can reopen in September.

Steve McInerny comments “Having visited the school in October, it was heartbreaking to hear of its closure soon after. However I have been amazed by Gertrude’s drive and commitment to getting the school reopened. This is a small-scale, community project in Malawi supported by a small scale community of supporters around the world.”

The charity

Ganet’s Adventure School Fund is a charitable trust formed in the UK to raise money and awareness, and coordinate volunteering and school partnership programmes for Ganet’s Adventure School, a village primary school in Malawi. Steve McInerny volunteered at the school in 2004 and has been supporting it since then. The trustees are Steve McInerny, his wife Stefanie Posavec and Kate Hauxwell, who has taught in Malawi.

Donations to the school can be made online at:uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/GanetsAdventureSchoolFun

In November when the school in Malawi was closed down, things looked bleak for the school, and we were very pessimistic about its future. However, just six months later, construction of two new classrooms, an office and toilets is well under way, and is due for completion in July, read a full update here. The riders have now raised a total of over £4,300.

The cyclists covered costs by paying their own entry fees, so every penny of the money raised (barring bank charges) goes direct to the school. We would like to thanks all of the cyclists, supporters and volunteers who helped on the day, and everyone who sponsored the riders.

The combination of being such a small, focussed charity with very few overheads, along with Gertude’s know-how and local network of craftsmen and labourers has enabled us to keep project costs down to around £9,000. For example, Gertrude arranged for bricks to be constructed by hand from local clay and fired on the school site before the recent rainy season, which saved hundreds of pounds over having to purchase them after the rains.

Construction started in February 2009, so far the land has been cleared, foundations laid and now the walls are being constructed. Construction is due to be completed by July, so that the school can reopen in September.

Donations to the school can be made online at: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/GanetsAdventureSchoolFund

Raise the roof

Raise the roof flyer

We are proud to announce the first ever benefit gig in aid of Ganet’s Adventure School! On 3 June, a classy line up of five bands will raise the roof at the Purple Turtle in Camden, London. All profits go to the classroom construction appeal at Ganet’s Adventure School, Malawi.

Date: Thursday 3 June 2010

Times: 7.30pm – 1am

Tickets: £7 on the door, £5 guest list or with flyer

For guest list places, email timmerricks@hotmail.com

Keep up to date on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115164001847993&ref=ts

The bands will be playing rock, blues, roots, surf rock, country and anything in between. The three members of our headliners the Huxleys will be bringing you guitar rock awash with surfy sounds.

Rock n Roll act Shanake’s previous gigs have included playing in front of the Xfm team at Neighbourhood, plus rocking it out at Hendrix’s old stomping ground, The Troubadour.

http://www.myspace.com/shanakeemusic

Also playing in separate acts are Andy Sharrocks and Matt Ord of Hey Negrita, who have played Glastonbury, Bestival and also supported the Beach Boys.

http://www.andysharrocks.com/

http://www.myspace.com/mattheword

In their words, Oka Vanga are a high octane guitar duo that combine the influences of instrumental Folk music, percussive Flamenco rhythms, acoustic freestyle, Afro-beat and powerful metal bass. Need we say more?

http://www.myspace.com/okavanga09

The Purple Turtle is a central part of Camden’s rock scene, acts which have appeared there range from Adam Ant and Sique Sique Sputnik to Crystal Castles and Art Brut.

http://www.purpleturtlecamden.co.uk/events_46508.html

This event is the brainchild of Tim Merricks, who has played alongside many of these bands in the past. Not content with organisingraising money for the school through this concert, he is planning a trip to the school, in Malawi to volunteer there once it reopens.

Ganet’s Adventure School is a primary school and pre-school in a rural village in northern Malawi. In October 2009, it had an enrolment of around 100 pupils, but in November 2009 it was closed down by the education ministry until permanent classrooms can be built. Construction of the new classrooms is in progress, though around £2,500 is needed to complete the work. More information on the classrooms appeal can be found here: http://www.ganetsadventureschool.org/?cat=47

Date: Thursday 3 June 2010
Times: 7.30pm – 1am
Tickets: £7 on the door, £5 guest list or with flyer
For guest list places: email timmerricks@hotmail.com
RSVP on Facebook www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115164001847993&ref=ts

The bands will be playing rock, blues, roots, surf rock, country and anything in between. The three members of our headliners The Huxleys will be bringing you guitar rock awash with surfy sounds.
www.myspace.com/thehuxleysband

Rock n Roll act Shanake’s previous gigs have included playing in front of the Xfm team at Neighbourhood, plus rocking it out at Hendrix’s old stomping ground, The Troubadour.
www.myspace.com/shanakeemusic

Also playing in separate acts are Andy Sharrocks and Matt Ord of Hey Negrita, who have played Glastonbury, Bestival and also supported the Beach Boys.
www.andysharrocks.com
www.myspace.com/mattheword

In their words, Oka Vanga are a high octane guitar duo that combine the influences of instrumental Folk music, percussive Flamenco rhythms, acoustic freestyle, Afro-beat and powerful metal bass. Need we say more?
www.myspace.com/okavanga09

The Purple Turtle is a central part of Camden’s rock scene, acts which have appeared there range from Adam Ant and Sique Sique Sputnik to Crystal Castles and Art Brut.
www.purpleturtlecamden.co.uk/events_46508.html

Donate to the school securely online here.

Bike ride to start from a most interesting spot

Most Café Bar, situated underneath Tower Bridge, will host the start of Ganet’s Bicycle Adventure on 23 May.

After some less than helpful venues nearby were unwilling to allow us to start from their property, Manager Tanya at Most Café Bar has kindly offered to allow us to use the bar’s terrace area, with its views of Tower Bridge, to meet up and park our bikes before we head off for Rochester. If we are unlucky with the weather, than we can shelter under the archway of the bridge at the end of Shad Thames.

Most Café Bar
The Horace Jones Vault, Shad Thames, London SE1 2UP
Map
www.mostcafebar.co.uk

More about Ganet’s Big Bicycle Adventure

The Horace Jones Vault

SE1 2UP

7403 6030

The smarter way to raise money

How do you raise over £600 for the classroom construction appeal in Malawi using Smarties tubes?

Teacher Christine Wojtania with pupils of Chaucer Infant and Junior School

The children Chaucer Infant and Nursery School in Derbyshire have the answer. They have been collecting 20p coins in Smarties tubes, and raised over £600 in the process. In addition, they collected almost £200 at a non-uniform day held at the school. (For our supporters outside the UK: Smarties are chocolate sweets which are packaged in small cardboard tubes).

‘The idea came from a sponsor we did years ago when we collected as many items as we could in a matchbox’, says teacher Christine Wojtania, who organised the collection.

Chaucer Infant and Nursery School have been involved in a school partnership with Ganet’s Adventure School in Malawi for over two years, during which time they have written class letters to each other and the children in Derbyshire have learned about life in Malawi.

The £800 raised goes toward the costs of constructing two classrooms at Ganet’s Adventure primary school in northern Malawi. We are now over halfway to raising the £8,000 needed to pay for these classrooms. Foundations are being laid at the school site, and the plan is for the school to reopen in September.

And in case you were wondering, the children did get to eat the Smarties before collecting 20p’s in the empty tubes!

Donate to the classroom appeal at virginmoneygiving.com

Chaucer Infant and Nursery School website

Global Gateway school partnership hub

Join Ganet's Big Bicycle Adventure!

Be part of our big cycling adventure leading from the heart of London, passing spots along the Thames which are famous for their culture, history and wildlife. We finish in the Medway town of Rochester. The aim of this 41 mile ride on Sunday 23 May 2010 is to raise £4,000 to help pay for the construction of new classrooms at the school in Malawi.

Our route is a mostly traffic and hill-free, and so is suitable for cyclists of most abilities, even if you’re not a regular rider. It follows a section of the well-signposted National Cycle Network’s National Route One.

Click the map to explore on www.opencyclemap.org

Entry

Each rider will receive an entry pack, a ride information pack on the day and a t-shirt to wear on the day and to keep as a souvenir. The ride costs £15 per person, which also covers the costs of our overheads. Any money left over will go direct to Ganet’s Adventure School.

Sponsorship

We ask each rider to pledge to raise a minimum of £100 for Ganet’s Adventure School Fund. Each rider can set up their own donations page on www.virginmoneygiving.com, which allows people to sponsor you online and also takes care of donations eligible for Gift Aid.

What next? See our FAQ and find out more about the route.

Interested? RSVP to the event on Facebook or email info@ganetsadventureschool.org to receive updates.

Ready to sign up now? Fill in our online entry form.

If you’re not a cyclist, please forward this information to any cyclists you know, and help Ganet’s Adventure School to reopen!

Ganet's Adventure School

Latest news

How 11 goats helped finish our classrooms

Raise the Roof part 1: the movie

Check out our video of Raise the Roof part one from June! Thanks to Music For London for a stirling job shooting and editing the video.

Raise the Roof 2 review

Classroom construction: walls to be completed this week

A roof-raisin' success!

£4,000 raised by Ganet's Big Bicycle Adventure

Raise the roof

Bike ride to start from a most interesting spot

The smarter way to raise money

Join Ganet's Big Bicycle Adventure!

Donate via Paypal

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