February 14, 2016
This year, the Ashesi community chose a special way to mark the Valentine’s Day Season – repainting the Berekuso classroom block including the headmistress’ and teachers’ cottages. Themed LoveSplash, the exercise brought the Ashesi community and Berekuso school pupils together on the eve of Valentine’ s Day, to repaint their school. It was jointly organized by the Student Council and the Office of Community Engagement.
“We’ve been in the dirt for a long time, “ said Margaret Teiko, Headmistress of the Berekuso Complex Schools. “It is great that Ashesi has taken this school as a demonstration school, and I’m highly impressed with what you are doing. I hope it will inspire our students and teachers.”
Over the years, the school block, comprising six classrooms, has received little attention with regards to maintenance. While the buildings remain largely intact, the wall paint has significantly worn away, creating an eyesore. Disbursement of funds from national educational services is usually a long drawn out process, so schools like the Berekuso Complex Schools are left waiting in line for a while.
For Ashesi, this project not only presented an opportunity to show social responsibility, but also gave our community an opportunity to engage with Berekuso in an exciting way, while addressing a pressing need.
“I was excited about the turnout as we marked Valentine’s Day in a unique way,” said Melissa Akita ’17, Outreach Committee Chairperson. “Providing a more conducive learning environment for the Berekuso school children motivated us to paint their school. I hope we achieved our aim of making the kids yearn for school each day, and that they find inspiration in our artwork.”
The event took on a competitive edge as various residence halls on campus contested for the best artwork and design in the classrooms. Hall teams recruited faculty and staff, going beyond just painting the classrooms to making murals, and in some cases laying wallpaper.
“Artwork makes me more lively, and so for children who may be more appreciative of art, hopefully it does the same for them,” said Joy Dzidzor Asamoah ’16. “It’s fun to look at, and it can help make their experience more engaging.”
The exercise eventually was not just a community engagement opportunity; it was an opening to impart values into the lives of the children and other members of the community.“The turnout was impressive,” said Penelope Brooke Thompson of the Business Administration Department. “It’s great to have some of the children here to see the kind of effort we put into this, working as teams. Hopefully it instills the value of teamwork in them. It’s also exciting that even after two or three years, we can come back to see the painted walls and designs.”
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