Dear pupils,

A few days ago, I received the wonderful news that, last year, once again, you worked and raised money for the Cosmos Centre in Ghana. And this fundraising was done under conditions that were certainly not easy for you due to the Corona measures.

My joy at your commitment and about the donation is enormous! I thank you from the bottom of my heart! “Medase” (thank you), as we say, here in Ghana.

I would like to tell you what has happened at our centre: 

In Ghana, it is unfortunately still the case that children who are born with a disability are regarded as bewitched and cursed and supposedly bring disaster to their family. Many of them are taken to a river immediately after birth and handed over to the river god. They are called "Nsuoba" - the river children. Other parents desperately search for a better place for their child. One such place is in Dormaa, in the far west of Ghana: the Cosmos Centre - a small home for people with disabilities. 

18 children live in our centre, some of whom we took in as children and are already teenagers. The children receive three warm, nutritious meals a day, which are prepared by the Mmas who live in the centre. The Mmas also take care of the mountains of laundry, which they wash by hand. The special thing about the Cosmos Centre is certainly the fact that we also have a small school run by our house father and teacher, Ayala. In the past two years, we have thought and talked a lot about how we can pave a good way for our "big ones" into the future.

Last summer, we were able to buy two plots of land with the help of WOW-Day donations. Now we are planning to help local craftsmen to set up their workshops there. In return, they will integrate one or more of our young people into their work. For the young people and their carers, we would need to build a residential house on site. This would create space for more children at the centre. The shopping list is long.

As you can see, your donation has once again come at exactly the right moment. It gives us the courage to look to the future with joy and relief!

Now, Johanna from WOW-Day has asked all the donated organisations to describe what their children's way to school looks like. There will certainly be many adventurous stories from Africa. I know children who have a two-hour walk, which they often do barefoot on small dusty paths, and in the rainy season they wade through indescribably muddy terrain. But they are happy to do it because they are happy that they can go to school!

Our children have it comparatively good here: all they have to do is crawl, or crawl from the terrace across the corridor into the classroom. (Only one of our children can walk independently). Some are carried there by the Mmas or Ayala, our house father and teacher. I asked Ayala to take some photos and send them to me. 

Now you probably want to know what we will use your money for. While I am here, in Germany, I will buy a lot of material for our little school (cotton yarn for weaving, crayons, medicine ...) and take it with me in July when I will travel back to Ghana again. 

Thank you very much again and best regards,

Patrice Reinhardt