“A combination of excitement, overwhelming pride and the wonderful spirit of the children and teachers, made my visit to the new school opening at Saltpond a bit of a tear jerking moment! This set the scene for our whirlwind, jammed packed agenda on our recent visit to Ghana.

I was joined on this visit by Dominic Bond (Sabre’s Managing Director) and David Main (Sabre’s Chair of trustees). Myself and David last visited together over 3 years ago, so we knew there would be a lot to pack into one week and only car journeys affording us time to admire beautiful Ghana.

For myself, one of the main reason for going to Ghana was to meet with the two College’s of Education that have been delivering Sabre’s Fast-track Transformational Teacher Training  (FTTT) programme to discuss the transition of responsibility of delivering and funding the continuation of the programme. Along with members of Sabre’s Teacher Training and Learning team, we ran participatory workshops in the Central and Western Regions. The brainstorming and activities greatly increased our understanding of the challenges the Colleges face delivering the FTTT and it unleashed some fantastic funding stream ideas, which the Colleges had not previously considered.

The other core purpose of the visit was to join my Ghanaian colleagues for a two day leadership strategy workshop led by our Chair of Trustees David Main. We worked intensely in smaller discussion groups and as one big group to arrive at a three year strategy plan for Sabre. David challenged us to drill down into what it is we do and how we can continue to do it better and with a wider impact. It was inspiring to be part of such a motivated and focused group and it was a wonderful opportunity to really get to know the team in Ghana.

There wasn’t a minute to spare all week and many a meeting was held over a bowl of ground nut soup or red red! My main take away from the week was the irrevocable endorsement from my colleagues and the global NGO’s that we met about how highly regarded Sabre’s Brighter Futures programme is and how our work is becoming an example to others in Ghana and beyond”

Nadine Adamski, Head of Fundraising, Sabre Trust UK