A class act

Marlborough may seem to have little in common with a West African nation, but three local women have forged a very strong bond with the small town of Tetrem, in Ghana. Teacher Jaimee Perrett's initial desire to become involved in African volunteer work has led to a project spanning almost two decades. With help from friends, graphic designer Grace Aitken and charity finance administrator Kelsie Small, Tetrem’s Good Foundation School has been almost completely rebuilt. Alistair Hughes finds out how an idea grew into something much bigger.

“I graduated in 2013 in Dunedin," remembers Jaimee, but at the time there weren't a lot of teaching jobs in New Zealand – they were looking for people with experience.”

In response, she gained the kind of experience which not many other applicants might have thought of. “I decided that I'd do some volunteer work before I started my career, and I chose a project in Kenya, to go there and teach.” Jaimee says her interest in the wildlife of Africa influenced her choice, but unexpected civil unrest saw Kenya removed from the organisation’s list of safe countries to travel to.

“And so I said, if they could find me another project in the same part of the world, I'd be really keen to go.” The Good Foundation school was selected for Jaimee, and she soon found herself joining the first group of volunteers to ever visit Tetrem. “I really loved the lifestyle and how passionate they were about education. As a beginner teacher that obviously was a good feeling.”

But on a more personal level, the family she stayed with opened Jaimee's eyes to the village way of living. “They took in any children that needed food or somewhere to live. It just resonated with me. And I really connected with Maa Felicia, who I refer to as my ‘Ghana mum,’ and Raymond, my ‘Ghana brother’.” Raymond is also a teacher and became Jaimee’s ‘guy on the ground’ in her eventual charity work.

Jaimee doesn’t talk about culture shock, but rather “reverse culture shock” when she returned to New Zealand after the profound effect of her initial three-month stay. “I just spent the next three years thinking about going back there,” she remembers. “In the end, I moved to London to teach there, so I could get to Ghana more easily.”

Jaimee was able to travel back to Tetrem twice, reconnecting with her Ghana family and beginning some initiatives with the Good Foundation School which were soon to grow into something much larger.

“I ran a couple of little projects, like starting up a library in 2014, and all my friends from New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world helped by sending books. And then we got them new whiteboards instead of chalkboards and had school desks rebuilt because the old ones were just falling to bits.”

Selling paintings and bracelets created by the schoolchildren helped sponsor school fees and meals, while Jaimee and other volunteers also connected the young students with pen pals in London.

The real turning point came when a London-based friend specialising in helping small businesses get started became inspired by Jaimee to look at charity work himself. “Because I’d always been talking about how sad it was to see the poor condition the school building was in, he suggested we just rebuild the whole school.”

Despite her initial hesitation, Jaimee agreed to handle the coordination and learned about media outreach. Combined with his fundraising skills, over $32,000 was raised through Kickstarter and Givealittle.

“I decided it was time to register ourselves as an official charity, (Choose Love Ghana) which we did in 2019.” This was the point where Jaimee asked long-term friend and Picton-based graphic designer Grace Aitken to come on board. “She could make everything pretty and do the things that I couldn’t – I’m the ideas girl and the one with the passion.”

For the first six years, Jaimee’s sister Megan handled the financial side, but recently left this role due to other commitments. This year, Jaimee asked maritime officer Kelsie Small to take on this role. The two became friends when Jaimee returned to New Zealand in 2020, after the enormous progress made on the school rebuild was temporarily halted – just as the new Good Foundation School finally began to take shape. “People were super-supportive, and it was just really motivating,” reflects Jaimee on the surge of enthusiasm the successful fundraising brought back in 2019. “That was enough money to completely rebuild the school.”

Foundations and walls for 12 brand new classrooms were raised early in the following year, and a team of roofers from Gisborne were poised, ready to offer their services. But then Covid-19 closed international borders, a setback which even Jaimee’s talent for planning couldn’t have foreseen. “We were stuck in Ghana for a total of eight months,” she recalls. “That was their way of keeping their people safe, because they don't have the same level of healthcare as we do.”

Jaimee and her team used the time constructively, but obviously the roofing team couldn’t get into the country to finish the new building. “That was okay while we had work to do, but it all just came to a halt when we got to the roof.” Having already invested so much of her life in this project, giving up was never on the cards, instead Jaimee bided her time. She made the most of the opportunity to immerse herself further in the Tetrem way of life and was very well looked after until the border finally reopened.

Back in New Zealand, bringing up her new daughter Marli became a priority. And finally, in 2024, the young traveller accompanied her mother on the long-awaited return to Ghana. “She was a very shy, almost two-year-old,” laughs Jaimee. “I was kind of anxious about taking her there, because they are very affectionate people. They love to dance and sing. And I was thinking, 'Oh, that's going to be quite overwhelming for her.'” But by the second day, Marli was well on her way to integrating with the local children. “She had her second birthday there and felt so at home. She came back to New Zealand very confident, a different kid.”

While Marli adapted to her new environment, Jaimee was busy assessing the best way to move forward and finally complete the school.

“Fundraising money this time around is a lot harder, and I think that's purely just because everyone is struggling financially and don’t have money to spare – the world's a different place now.” Although it has been slower, a consistent amount of money has still been coming in and successful fundraising events including a quiz night, market stalls, (which Jaimee’s mother worked hard sewing items using the woven cloth from Ghana for) and a raffle have been held this year.

Another huge boost was the Gisborne roofing team reconnecting with her last year to confirm that they were still eager to help. “So Plan A is, if we get enough money, the roofing team reckon they can do the whole roof, and then the whole school will be finished by July.”

Plan B is a scaled-back version, involving using the materials from the old classrooms to make them safe and usable until funds become available to finish the roofing. This scenario focuses on obtaining materials and includes training local workers to finish the roofing themselves and could take a further year.

“If people want to connect and start following us, they can see what we're doing and support us in any way that they want to,” says Jaimee. “We’d also like to recognise all the local businesses that have sponsored us. People tell me that what we are doing is amazing, but I just keep replying that I haven't done it yet. When it's done, I'll feel some peace and be able to celebrate. And certainly I'll be going back there to see it be finished – maybe there'll have to be some kind of roof shout: Kiwi tradition/Ghana style.”

As what will hopefully be the literal capping of Choose Love Ghana’s achievement approaches, Jaimee also aspires to relocate to Tetrem one day in the future, volunteer teaching for a year in the school she has helped rebuild. “Aotearoa's more holistic way of teaching and the creative aspects of our curriculum could be of value there, I think,” she says. “And, of course, Marli and I can reconnect with our Ghana family.”

Follow Jaimee and the team’s progress: @chooseloveghana

Donate to Givealittle: givealittle.co.nz/org/choose-love-ghana-trust

Or: chooseloveghana.org/donate