Newsletter.

Hello from all of us at Porridge and Pens, Before I share some updates from Ghana, I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support.

You may have noticed that our updates have been a little quieter than usual over the past few months. Shortly after I returned from Ghana in November, my son was diagnosed with leukaemia, and much of my time has since been spent supporting him through continued treatment. Thank you for continuing to stand by Porridge and Pens during this time. It has meant a great deal to us. I would also like to thank our trustees, Gina, Lynne and Judith, along with our team in Ghana. While I have had to step back at times, they have worked incredibly hard to keep everything moving forward.

Brightlingsea Academy

It’s been a busy time at Brightlingsea Academy, and there are a few things I have been looking forward to sharing with you.

One of the biggest is the opening of our small boarding facility. Over the years, we have worked with children whose biggest challenge isn’t passing an exam, it’s simply getting to school each day. Some have no stable place to live. Others face long journeys to school or difficult circumstances at home. We opened the boarding facility with huge amounts of support and assistance from the local community to help some of these children. During the school week, they have a safe place to stay, regular meals and extra help with their learning. It is still early days, but every week Ben sends updates from the boarding house, and it has been lovely to see how quickly the children have settled in. What started as an empty building now feels full of life.

We are also delighted to share the completion of a new footbridge serving the communities surrounding Brightlingsea Academy, a venture we were able to take on through our partners at Childrensalon and with lots of graft from the local community and village chief who donated the land for the school to use. For years, many children faced dangerous journeys to school during the rainy season. Rivers could quickly become flooded, cutting off access to school and leaving children with the difficult choice of attempting unsafe crossings or missing lessons altogether. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters and funding partners, the new bridge now provides safe passage throughout the year. It is already making the journey to school safer for many students and helping children attend more regularly. Parents can get to work in the heaviest rains, and life can go on in the community rather than grind to a sudden halt.

We have also reached a moment many of us have been waiting years for. Our very first cohort of students, children who began their journey with us in primary school, have now completed their final Junior High School examinations. As I write this, we are eagerly awaiting their results. I still remember some of these students arriving at Brightlingsea Academy as small children ten years ago now, being carried on their mothers backs. Watching them walk into their final exams through pictures Ben has sent was one of those moments that stays with you. When we first opened the school, the idea that we would one day have students graduating felt like a million miles away! The boarding facility and the new bridge both reflect something that has always been important to us at Porridge and Pens. Education is about much more than a classroom. Sometimes a child needs a safe place to sleep, a way of getting to school, or simply someone who believes in them before they gain the confidence needed to sit an exam.

We are also working alongside Rotary International on an exciting new project at Brightlingsea Academy. The project will help us install solar panels at the school over the coming years, providing a more reliable source of electricity and helping to reduce running costs. It will also allow us to improve internet access for both students and teachers. For many of our children, opportunities to use technology are extremely limited. It can take hours to connect to our unreliable internet dongle at the moment and wastes quite a lot of learning time. Something as simple as using a computer, carrying out research online or learning digital skills is often out of reach. During my last visit to Ghana, I was reminded how difficult reliable internet access can be for our students and our teachers, who are researching lesson ideas. It is exciting to think about what this could mean for the children who come after them.

As our first Junior High School students begin taking their next steps, we want to make sure the students following behind them have access to the same opportunities as young people elsewhere in the world. We are incredibly grateful to Rotary International and the many Rotary clubs that have chosen to support this vision. Their belief in our students means a great deal to us, and we look forward to sharing more updates as the project develops.

Girl Power Changes and Developments

Over the past six months, our Trustees have been developing a new shared model of support for the Girl Power programme, where responsibility for helping young people access education is shared more equally between families, opportunities available within Ghana and Porridge and Pens.

Like many charities, we have felt the impact of rising costs and an increasingly challenging fundraising environment. At the same time, new government grants, student loans and university support funds are creating opportunities for more young people to continue their education, which is a step in the right direction. We are encouraged by these developments and hope they will allow us to make better use of the support available within Ghana, alongside the continued support of families and Porridge and Pens.

Over the coming weeks, Trustees will continue carefully reviewing each student's circumstances and determining what support may be needed for the year ahead. These assessments help us understand how many young people we can continue to support as we navigate what remains a challenging fundraising environment. We look forward to sharing more updates and stories of support in the months to come.

Student story

Many of you will remember Akwasi, who has been part of the Porridge and Pens family for many years. When we first met Akwasi, he was facing significant challenges and opportunities were limited. From the beginning, he was determined to make the most of every opportunity that came his way.

We are delighted to share that Akwasi’s dedication to swimming has recently led to him being selected to train with the Ghana Paralympic team. What began as swimming lessons has grown into something far bigger than any of us imagined. Akwasi first learnt to swim in the local river, so seeing him now train with the Ghana Paralympic team feels quite remarkable.

We’re so excited to see where this journey takes him next.

Looking ahead

Finally, we are excited to share that three members of our UK team will be travelling to Ghana in October to visit our projects. Gina, Gregg and Lynne, all from Brightlingsea, have been involved with Porridge and Pens for many years and are looking forward to spending time with the children, meeting our staff and seeing the projects for themselves.

How you can help

As part of their visit, they are organising an appeal to collect pencil cases for students at both Brightlingsea Academy and within our Girl Power programme. 500 is the target! A simple pencil case filled with stationery can make a real difference to a child and is something many families struggle to afford.

We will be selling the pencil cases with Porridge and Pens logo for £1 and we’d love it if you could fill the pencil cases with stationery items and either drop them back to us via Little Boat Gifts shop in Brightlingsea or get in touch for alternative ways to collect/drop back the pencil cases.

As part of our 10th anniversary, Ben is creating a book and would love to fill it with well wishes from as many supporters as possible. Maybe you’ve taken part in a fundraising event or challenge for us or supported us in some other way. Followed us from the start or are a more recent follower. We want to hear from you! If you’d like to be part of this very special book please send your messages to Gina at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you’re happy to, please send a photograph of yourself, your family, group or club to be included in the book.

Please consider joining our monthly lottery draw and be in with the chance of winning £50.

Your £4 will provide 15 school meals to children in Ghana.

As our monthly prize money has been funded by one of our supporters, it means every penny of your donation goes towards our school feeding in Ghana without a percentage taken for the prize money.

Follow the link to find out more.

Good luck!

Lottery

Thank you for taking the time to read our latest update.
With warm wishes,
Jemma Williams
Founder, Porridge and Pens