There is a small plot of land behind St Paul’s Catholic church in Ntahteka, Bamenda, which will soon be home to our most ambitious school project yet.

When our trustees visited this school in January 2023, over 300 children from the local area were squeezed into small makeshift classrooms – and another 200 were on the waiting list to enrol.  This part of Bamenda is a safe area and many IDP families from all corners of the NW region had fled here during the recent political crisis.  Their children hadn’t been able to go to school for five years and social problems were on the increase.  St Paul’s church decided to use their church hall as a school with around 100 places, but they hadn’t been prepared for the numbers of children that turned up!

BSFA had been hoping to find a funder for an initial 3-classroom block – and were delighted when a new supporter from Ireland was happy to help us with this project.  However, the school was so desperate for space that they asked if these funds could be used to build six unfinished classrooms, in two storeys, rather than the three completely finished and furnished rooms with an office and a new latrine, as planned.  This was agreed and we thought we could try to find the funds for the plastering, painting, furniture etc at a later date.  Then the news came through that the community had resourcefully used our agreed project as collateral for a loan which would allow the construction of three additional classrooms – making St. Paul’s a 3-storey school of 9 classrooms!  This will mean that there will be 500+ places at the primary school in Ntahteka for all the children in the area.

It will be our largest school construction ever and there will certainly be a momentous celebration when it is completed and opened.

Foundations were started just before Christmas, including the deep pile foundations to support the extra weight.  We are excited to see the progress of this project – and will be posting regular updates.

Any contributions, large or small, towards this wonderful project will be most gratefully received.  Please use our Donate button at the top of our Home Page.  Thank you.