Nurse Lydia

Lydia's first unassisted first aid. Today Lele crushed part of his finger and came to the first aid post.

Patricia and I were working on the drop aircraft and asked Lydia to check it out.

10 minutes later the wound was cleaned and dressed. The patient was happy and Lydia had carried out cleaning and dressing to the book.

This is what sustainable development is all about.

Well done Lydia.

Waste management

Waste management is a growing issue at Kpong Airfield, especially with the growing number of young ladies based at the site. Whether it is catering related or simply from the normal cycle of healthy young people, appropriate waste management is essential.

Until now we used a simple burning pile. However, winds and stray dogs were beginning to add to the work load by distribution of items best left alone!

Ever conscious that our challenges are no different to the rural communities, we designed a simple furnace that could be easily constructed in most communities.

It is now on trial at the airfield and if successful will be offered as a set of plans. .. possibly with the steel components already formed as a kit. .. to provide an improved waste management solution for other small communities.

Feeding the troops....

Feeding the hungry mouths at the airfield is a task given to Mavis. She embraces it with joy.

Mabel , our hearing and speech impaired apprentice is based in the kitchen with her.

Today tuna was on the menu. Interestingly it is one of the more affordable fish options here. However, preparation is a little different to what those in other nations may be familiar with.

Providing a balanced diet is part of teaching our apprentices and we are pleased to confirm that they are all looking and feeling healthier than when they arrived.

Sisterhood.....

The cornerstone of sustainable development is the people and human relationships that make it work

Yesterday was a dressing up day for an event at the airfield and Patricia wanted a photo taken with 'her girls'.

These young women are the future of Kpong Airfield and medicine on the move.

The camaraderie and oneness that these sisters have is incredible and we look forward to seeing them grow and learn to bring about sustainable change with improved health and education, not only for themselves but for whole communities.

Lydia prepares for her surgery

Student becomes teacher

Patricia takes the baton over on more and more of the teaching at Kpong Airfield. This morning she
took five young people flying, and this afternoon she is going over the theory behind flight.

Using flight and aviation as a motivational medium for Science Technology Mathematics and Engineering is the basis of how we trian our youngsters at Kpong.

The wonderful thing is that the airfield has such a range of activities and skills that help us to create rounded youngsters.

Some people get confused by thinking that our purpose is to train young people as pilots. That is only a bonus. The primary aim is to give them a better outlook on life, personal confidence, intellectual growth, environmental responsibility, better understanding of health matters, a maintenance mentality and above all the steps towards independence.

If a youngster demonstrates the personal responsibility and potential we are prepared to support them to towards the Ghana National Licence.

For many achieving that licence may be just a challenge and for some it may not be suitable. All the same just a few hours of flight experience can change a persons outlook on so many things and aspects of their lives.

We are always going to be limited in what we can achieve, and the youngsters are limited by their own efforts, attitudes and preparedness to make the necessary efforts and sacrifices to reach their goal.

It is a privilege to work with many of these youngsters and a greater pleasure to see that our investment in training Patricia has resulted in such an able and inspirational leader for current and future programmes.

Testing.. always testing...

Each day the young apprentices have a pre lunch test. It can be on anything from maths to the solar system. ... biology to safety.

We also add some feedback questions enabling us to track their progress as we go.

Here are some early feedback and answers to give you a feel for how things look in their first week.