December 4th 2020 saw the opening of the third purpose-built High School science lab that our charity has been able to fund.

This one is at the Government Bilingual High School Bekoko in Littoral Region.  The school has just over 1000 students at present, including more than 350 anglophone IDPs (internally displaced people) who have recently fled here from the war-torn regions of the North West and South West. The school lacks many facilities, including sufficient classrooms, but its main priority was to provide a science lab for all their students who were so keen to get good science qualifications.  In the past, pupils taking science subjects would have no opportunity to take part in practical science lessons unless they were able to afford to travel 13 kms to the next nearest school with a lab.  This obviously meant that their exam grades suffered and they were unable to pursue careers in science.

The Bekoko community was very supportive of the project and, once all their local materials were gathered and the ground cleared, it took just one month for the lab to be constructed and equipped.  At the opening ceremony, the Principal declared “It is as if I am still dreaming because a month ago we had a plantain farm where you are … and now a science lab, which we have been craving”.  One of the pupils said that, at last, she would be able to see and use the equipment that her teachers had spoken of but that no-one had ever seen.  She said that the science lab was a precious gift and that the students promised to make the donors, as well as their parents, proud of them and their achievements in science subjects.

Hand-washing equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19 virus was also provided as part of this project.