William Newman, a Ghanaian teacher founded a nursery in an empty storage building next to his mother's house in Koforidua. His aim is to provide quality daycare and education for children who suffer social disadvantage in the area, mainly the children of the market sellers and street vendors who can't afford to stay at home with them. As the children grew, the academy grew together with them, star
ting primary classes. The school works on a non-profit basis, the students pay a minimal fee which just covers the teacher's salary, transportation by the school bus and one meal per day. Although the founder and headmaster of the school along with the board of teachers are working hard to provide their best for the pupils, in lack of proper financial background the academy is facing various challenges. First of all, it is overcrowded, the infrastructure is not sufficient enough for the amount of students. The children are keen on studying but instead of classrooms they are staying in temporary shelter-like structures exposed to the various weather conditions. Sanitary facilities also need improvement. The development of the school facilities had already begun years ago but due to financial difficulties it didn’t get any further than building a part of the base slab. A group of European architects in close cooperation with the local management have revised the plans in 2016 and started the construction works of the low-cost sustainable school building in summer 2016. Two more building phases should follow in the next years to complete the academy which provides comfortable and suitable room for the 240 pupils. In order to keep building costs and future maintenance low, locally available materials, handmade structures, passive ventilation and a rainwater harvesting system are included. The bricks are handmade, produced on site by volunteers. Interior elements and parts of the facade are made of bamboo, harvested in the nearby forest. The elevated roof functions as a solar chimney, creating natural air movement when warmed up by the sun.