Oaa-Tullow Science Block Project Brochure
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
COMMISSIONING OF OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT ON FRIDAY 6TH MARCH 2020 Old Achimotan Association Commissioning and Handing-Over of OAA-Tullow Science Block to Achimota School Venue: New OAA-Tullow Science Block, Achimota School Date: Friday, 6th March 2020 Time: 4.00 PM 4.00 pm Opening Prayer: Rev. Father Ernest Agyeman 4.05 pm Welcome Remarks and Purpose of Gathering: Akora Eunice Quarcoopome, OAA Executive Secretary 4.10 pm Brief Remarks by the Architect/Project Consultant Akora Ian Malcolm Quartey 4.15 pm The Story of the OAA-Tullow Science Block: Akora Professor Ernest Aryeetey, OAA President 4.25 pm Remarks from Tullow Oil: Mr Kweku Awotwi, Chief Executive 4.30 pm Remarks from Ghana Education Service 4.35 pm Remarks from OAA 1970 Year Group about their Legacy Project; Akora Brigadier-General Jo-Sylvester Nkrumah (Year Group President) 4.45 pm Remarks from Akora Amabel Orraca-Ndiaye (Orraca-Tetteh Family) 4.50 pm Commissioning of Building and Handing-Over to Achimota School Akora Professor Ernest Aryeetey and Mr Kweku Awotwi 4.55 pm Response from Achimota School Akora Osei Kwame Agyeman, School Board Chair Ms Marjorie Affenyi, Headmistress 5.00 pm Inspection of facility 5.15 pm Cocktail Reception 6.00 pm End of Ceremony and Closing Prayer Programme THE STORY OF THE OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT Ernest Aryeetey OAA President (2015-2020) Introduction In 2017 Achimota School turned 90. Early in 2016, the OAA Executive Committee began to consider what it could do to support the celebration of this significant milestone. The Committee thought it would be good to give the School a useful legacy project in addition to a great set of programmes to celebrate the milestone. We asked the Headmistress at the time, Mrs Beatrice Adom, what she saw as the most pressing need of the School, for which she would need assistance from the OAA. Her response was that they needed a new Science Block. We were not quite sure if she was serious or not! We suggested to her that we could rehabilitate the old Science Block, but she remained adamant; the School needed a new Science Block in view of the large number of science students. That is how this project began. This short piece is intended to document the effort made by different people to bring the project to life. Developing the Project Idea As the Executive Committee pondered over how OAA could assist the School with a new Science Block, the Committee learned of an initiative by Tullow Oil Ghana Limited to support second-cycle institutions with STEM infrastructure. Some schools had benefited from the first round of that initiative, and they were about to embark on a second round. The OAA wrote immediately to Tullow Oil to express an interest in such support. After a very competitive selection process, the application from OAA was accepted. Other beneficiaries in that round were Prempeh College and Accra Academy. 3 4 OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT After initial work to consider the feasibility of a new Science Block done by Akora Adzekwei Bekoe in March-April 2016, the OAA Executive Committee decided to put its weight behind the construction of a new Science Block for Achimota School. Pursuing the project was endorsed by a meeting of Year Group representatives in May 2016. After several months of discussion, OAA signed a grant agreement with Tullow Oil in October 2016. The original plan was to begin construction at the beginning of 2017 and finish it within a year for handing over to the School before Christmas 2017. We wanted to hand it over in the anniversary year as it was always meant to be a gift from the OAA to Achimota School on the occasion of 90 years of operation. The Project Management Team To undertake the project, the Executive Committee put in place a Project Management Team (PMT) made up of Akoras Osei Kwame Agyeman -- 1975 (Chairman), Ian Kpakpa Quartey – 1975 (Project Consultant), Philip Bennett Aboagye – 1971 (Quantity Surveyor), Leslie Awere-Kyere –1977 (Structural Engineer) and Eunice Quarcoopome – 1975 (Administrator). The PMT took the position from the beginning that OAA should construct a science block that met the needs of the School and not necessarily guided by what resources were immediately available from a sponsor. The brief from the OAA Executive Committee to the PMT was to “develop the most modern science facility available to any Senior High School in Ghana”. They were to plan for 4 laboratories that could each accommodate 50 students comfortably at a time and be multi-purpose by design. There was discussion about how each laboratory would be equipped with a SmartBoard to facilitate modern teaching and learning. 5 6 OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT One of the first outputs of the PMT was to develop further the project concept and produce a design. The most important point to note about the design produced was the fact that the proposed building blended very easily with other Achimotan buildings. The design suggested a combination of tradition and modernity, which has become a major appeal of the project. The PMT led the process of selecting a contractor for the project and recommended Messrs David Walter as the Project Contractors following a very competitive process. Incidentally, the Company was run by another Old Achimotan, Akora David Amankwah (1977). It is important to observe that this group of highly qualified and busy professionals agreed to work pro bono for the realization of the project. This shows how strong their commitment to their alma mater was. They have shown this commitment throughout the project development and construction and deserve the commendation of all Akoras. The Role of Tullow Oil Ghana Limited Tullow Oil Ghana Limited provided altogether a total disbursement of $310,000 when additional resources for STEM education became available. The design that was done by the Project Consultant was going to cost over $450,000 initially. The Executive Committee therefore knew from the beginning that some additional fund-raising effort would be required. What was not clear was how it was going to be done. Through the involvement of Mr David Nyanteh of Tullow Oil, the OAA came to appreciate what other recipients of similar grants were doing. We are grateful for David’s technical support and guidance in the initial stages of the project. 7 OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT It is also important to mention that the former Chief Executive of Tullow, Mr Charles Darku played a pivotal role in getting this project started. He showed interest in the project from the beginning, and this helped considerably to start it on time. Project Start and Construction After School authorities identified where they would like the new Science Block to be sited, the PMT and the contractor moved to prepare the ground for the project. To coincide with the commencement of the year-long 90th Anniversary Celebrations, the sod-cutting event to mark the beginning of construction took place on 28th January 2017 with officials from Tullow Oil, members of the School Board, the Headmistress, staff of the School, selected students and members of the Executive Committee present. It was a memorable occasion as the students spoke about the challenges of studying STEM subjects at Achimota School and their very high expectations from the project. Construction work finally began in June 2017 and continued for the rest of the year. Thus, by the beginning of 2018 the main structure had been put in place. This effort had also taken up all the resources that Tullow Oil Ghana Limited had provided. We marked the end of the first phase of work with a ceremony in April 2018, which also marked the end of official celebration of Achimota@90 by OAA. The Headmistress at the time was Ms Joyce Addo. Fund-Raising in Earnest When it became obvious that OAA needed to embark on serious fund-raising to augment the Tullow resources, Akora Merene Benyah (Botsio) -- 1973 led the charge by approaching a number of her friends and relatives and brought in the first $15,000 of contributions from Akoras. She definitely set the pace for subsequent fund-raising. 9 OAA-TULLOW SCIENCE BLOCK PROJECT The 1973 Year Group was also prevailed upon “not to disgrace the OAA President” and several individuals contributed another $15,000 to support the project. Without adequate funds, the project stalled between April 2018 and June 2019. In that period, the Executive Committee embarked on several fund-raising initiatives. Among the strategies, we committed to naming a laboratory after any group, company or person that could contribute $50,000. The most significant break-through came when the 1978 Year Group committed to providing $50,000. In the end, they gave us $60,000. We are most indebted to the leadership that their Year Group President, Akora Kenneth Quartey, provided in this regard. His wife Akora Geta Quartey (Dadzie) played an equally significant role and we appreciate them very much. The second phase of work began in July 2019 when the contractor moved back to site. The instruction from us was that the building must be ready for use by the end of 2019. We learned that we would need an additional investment of $350,000 to achieve that. Our plan was to raise $200,000 from four (4) year groups that sponsored specific laboratories and another $150,000 from corporate entities and individual Akoras. The OAA was fortunate to have the 1970 Year Group commit to support one laboratory for $50,000. They were planning to celebrate 50 years of leaving school and wanted to have a legacy project for the purpose.