Backing the school that Jack built
15th May 2018

Children in an African village have the Veka Group and Technical Team member Jack Scullion to thank for their part in renovating the village school.

Jack teamed up with Burnley FC in the Community in their efforts to renovate the Dedzisi school in the fishing village of Woe, Ghana, as he explained: “I was thrilled to get the opportunity to visit Ghana and get stuck in with this work. It’s such a good cause, as it will help the children of Woe to get the education that every child should have and provide the best facilities possible for children to learn in. Having children of my own it really makes you appreciate the facilities we have here in the UK, and the aim of the trip was to improve the learning environment for the children of Woe.”

He was part of a team of 12 volunteers who travelled to Ghana in partnership with the organisations African Adventures and The Young Shall Grow International. They were able to take 12 suitcases worth of donations thanks to Burnley FC fans and the ‘Kits for Kids’ campaign. This included football kits, football boots and school equipment, as well as sanitary products and clothing.

Each person had to raise £2,000 for the trip, which Veka contributed towards. The money raised went towards the building work in Woe and another similar project in Kenya as well as other charitable work that Burnley FC in the Community carries out around East Lancashire.

He continued: “While we were there, we spent the week hand-mixing and moulding more than 800 bricks, which will be used later in the year for the construction of the second storey of the school’s new classroom block.

“It was my first visit to this Ghanaian school, but the third time a team of BFCitC volunteers had been here and they were delighted to see the progress being made. It was hard work, but also fun and very rewarding. I’m grateful that Veka helped make it possible for me to go.

Siobhán McNamara, Marketing and Events Manager at BFCitC said: “When we first came to Woe to work on the build of the classroom block we were literally laying its foundations. Then, in 2015, we moulded bricks and started to build the classroom walls. Fast forward another two-and-a-half years and there are now five functioning classrooms filled with pupils!”

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