The right photo may change the world...

Since the next phase of our health outreach is to make some very innovative posters using photographs of people who are inspiration to the people in the rural Ghana. Photographs that puts across punchy messages to these communities about staying away from schistosomiasis.

The young ladies in the academy were very enthusiastic on how we should go about the whole concept. Some role models from the Afram plains were invited to the airfield to participate in the photo shooting session for the new posters for their communities.

Afram plains drop mission.

All the volunteers helped in preparing the drops for the Afram plains communities who came for the fly me day.

The young ladies in the AvTechacademy are now at the stage of being the drop masters for dropping to these communities.

We got airborne as early as 07:00am to communities 90km due north of Kpong airfield. The trip was done by two aeroplanes with the intention that, one plane will provide safety watch for the drop plane.
After about 45 minutes to an hour, we arrived at the target zone, a couple of passes was done to ensure it was a safe area for doing the drops.

Patricia being the Pilot and Lydia as drop master, several drops were metted out to the communities which had about seven different school present in order to receive the packages for their communities. After about four passes, the risk factors rose due to strong winds, thermal activities, cloud build ups and tiredness on the crew's part.

The location for the drops is very hostile so, requires lot of lookout and planing to ensure safe operations but all the same better than most drop zones in the past.

It was a very successful mission and is just the beginning of drops which will help change their lives, helping them to spread the health message across the rural areas.

Changing attitudes and behavior... One trip at a time.

A couple of years ago, the AvTech Academy was involved in the safety training for crew operating the ferry crossing between Adorso and Donkorkrom. This is the crossing point into the Afram Plains.

Thanks to the Volta Lake Transport Company, we were able to use that same crossing on our recent mission to the Plains.

The students were very pleased to witness that, their safety training to the crew is being taken seriously to ensure safe traveling on this Volta lake crossing point.

The students made a valid point in their observation regarding the flotation devices onboard; being able to accommodate all personnel present at any given time and appropriate loading of the vessels is now standard for the safety and comfort of its occupants.

It has taken a long time of teaching and mind changing to be able to get the ladies points of view accepted by those older and in high position. Whenever they are doing anything which compromises safety especially in this culture, the young normally can't be seen to be correcting someone older than them.

Perhaps it is high time we all helped change the mindset of people who are still ignorant about safety in our everyday life, regardless of age or position.

The Afram Plains....some day the Afram "Planes"

Here we are sitting in a VLTC (Volta lake transport company) bus traveling from Kpong to the Afram Plains, a place that will normally take you about half hour to an hour in a plane. On the road, is about ten to eleven hours. After three hours on very rough road, with everybody hurting and exhausted from the drive, we took the decision to spend the night since everbody was hungry and Lydia is still recovering from malaria.

After the long difficult drive on the corrugated road, we made it to the Afram Plains safely and did our presentation for the selection of children to the fly me day on the 8th-10th March. The schoolgirls were very enthusiastic about all the topics. Some of the topics includes four forces of flight, cycles of a four stroke engine, SODIS and schistosomiasis and above all, the gIrls were reminded to work hard and not to become school dropouts or get pregnant.