Hayley's visit to Alfred Salter School

[kimmie]

These pictures of Hayley with the kids are so cute! They look like they loved her visit. Hayley has such a big heart and it really shows.

Man I hope she makes it to Phoenix, Arizona sometime.

Kimmie

[Stuart H]

Hi everyone. This thread is about to get even longer because I am happy to report that Hayley visited Alfred Salter Primary School again yesterday. She returned to the school (her fifth visit!!) to report back to pupils on her trip to Ghana and to tell them about her new initiative to eradicate Guinea Worm from Ghana. She also wanted to see how the organic allotment she commissioned was getting along.

I had 24 hours notice that she was coming so there was Little time to panic. Roger arrived shortly after lunch and we were able to enjoy a cuppa before she arrived. Accompanied by Kathryn, Hayley arrived just before 2pm and she spoke to some staff while the pupils were assembled in the hall. Hayley had sent 20 photos taken in Ghana which I transferred to a Powerpoint presentation. She talked to the pupils about her trip, how the money we raised in 2006 had made such a difference to the lives of so many people. She showed pictures of her on a bicycle accompanied by several teenage schoolgirls in Ghana. She then went on to tell pupils and staff about how she hopes to raise enough money to irradicate Guinea worm from Ghana. Hayley answered many many questions from pupils and when asked if she would sing, she duly obliged by singing Pokarekareana.

Jodie, a pupil in Year 6 presented Hayley with an orchid and the hall was cleared. A group of pupils then accompanied Hayley to the organic garden. She looked at the vegetables and was very pleased with the progress we had made.

Back in school Hayley signed some posters for the school and nibbled some fruit before she had to go to her next appointment. We all had a great afternoon, enjoyed Hayley's company and are very grateful that she found time to come and see us again. Kathryn said the Hayley herself had said "I must find time to visit my school!"

Photos to follow explain themselves I think.
Stuart

[Stuart H]

[Stuart H]

[Stuart H]

[grant]

Hello Stuart

Thank you for your report and pictures of Hayley's latest visit to "her" school - she looks very well after her visit to Ghana and I'm sure she was very happy to see everyone. I hope lessons didn't suffer too much! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

It's good to hear that, despite her busy schedule, she makes time to visit but I don't doubt that she will treat even the most minor of her projects with the same care, dedication and attention that she gives to everything she does.

If there are more pictures, please don't hesitate to post them!

Best wishes
Grant

[Stuart H]

Hayley sings Pokarekareana to the pupils.

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[Stuart H]

And now off to the garden.....

....More to come soon but have to go out now

[Richard]

Well done Hayley and Stuart!

I thought the tee shirt looked familiar. Hayley was wearing it when we met her after the show in Dunstable.

Would it be possible to post her photographs from Ghana in the appropriate thread?

Best Wishes,

Richard

[timj]

Thanks for sharing Stuart!......TimJ

[roger]

Thank you Stuart for reviving this thread and especially for inviting me to your school yesterday. Yes, Richard, the photographs from Ghana will be posted to the appropriate thread in due course. We have that in hand but, for various reasons, it may take a day or two.

During her talk to the children, Hayley explained that she met many of the girls in Ghana who now have bikes as a result of her UNICEF campaign. Without them, they would have to walk anything from three to five miles in each direction every day. This previously meant that many of them never attended school. The acquisition of bikes has now made that possible.

According to Hayley, there were 180,000 known cases of Guinea worm in Ghana in 1989. Today there are just 415. Through her campaign to raise money to install pumps and the ongoing education project they hope to eradicate Guinea worm throughout the whole of Ghana completely. The only other country in which it occurs is Uganda. As no neighbouring country is affected, it is hoped that, once eradicated, it will not return although it can be carried by anyone travelling from Uganda.

I discovered yesterday that the play pumps which we heard about originally are not being used. Apparently, they could not obtain permission to use them. These are straightforward pumps whereby people walk around in a circle pushing a metal bar in front of them which turns the shaft which raises the water. Deep water is relatively pure and not contaminated by Guinea worm larvae. But the "play" element is not part of the equation.

Kathryn told me that each pump can serve a "community" which, typically, could be 500-600 people.

As Stuart said, towards the end of her talk, Hayley was encouraged to sing. I have a feeling she would have done anyway! When she asked what they would like her to sing, the request for 'Pokarekare Ana' seemed virtually unanimous. At the end of the first line, quite a lot of the children indicated that something wasn't quite as they would wish. Hayley stopped and, having picked up the signal better than I did, asked "is it too loud?"

"Yes", came the reply from many of the children. Pity. I thought it was perfect.

Take 2 was a little quieter but absolutely delightful. She sang the whole song unaccompanied and the children seemed spellbound. Come to think of it, so was I!

To donate to Hayley's Ghana Project, please go to:

www.unicef.org.nz/cgi-bin/donation_form.pl?id=26

Thank you!
Roger

[roger]

Here are a few that I took yesterday. They don't compare too well with Stuart's!

Roger

[grant]

Hi Roger

Many thanks for your report and pictures.

Oct 9, 2008 17:58:56 GMT @roger said:

I discovered yesterday that the play pumps which we heard about originally are not being used. Apparently, they could not obtain permission to use them. These are straightforward pumps whereby people walk around in a circle pushing a metal bar in front of them which turns the shaft which raises the water. Deep water is relatively pure and not contaminated by Guinea worm larvae. But the "play" element is not part of the equation.

Kathryn told me that each pump can serve a "community" which, typically, could be 500-600 people.

It's a pity the 'play pumps' aren't being used, although I'm sure the children will still consider pushing the metal bars as 'play' considering the general lack of entertainment for children in Ghana.

Did Hayley make any comment about which of her projects she would prefer us to support? Before Christmas last year the playpumps scheme seemed to be "Number 1". I rather get the impression that "Bikes For Ghana" is back in the number one slot at the moment.

With Christmas just around the corner, it would be good to know. Maybe we should ask the question at Stoke?

Best wishes
Grant

[roger]

Hi Grant,

We were told several months ago that Hayley's main focus is now for the eradication of Guinea worm which is the pumps campaign. That is definitely still the case. In fact, looking at UNICEF NZ, it seems they have renamed it to "Hayley's Ghana Project" implying that is her only current project and the link to the Bikes for Ghana campaign has been removed. I think we can therefore assume that there is now only one campaign. That makes sense because we know that the original target of 6,000 bikes was reached nearly two years ago.

So let's all man the pumps!

Roger

[grant]

Thanks Roger

I hoped that would be the case and realised that eradication of Guinea Worm was a prime objective. Guess I just needed reassurance that the pumps were still part of that!

Consider me reassured!! i.postimg.cc/9fYxy370/smilie-big-grin.gif

Best wishes
Grant