The 10 Qualified Air Cadet Junior Leaders (QJL’s) pictured above with Air Commodore Dawn McCafferty (centre left) and the Officer Commanding the Junior Leaders Course (centre right) were selected for this year’s JTYAF funded Expedition to Ghana. Pete & Linda Thornton were honoured to present the awards to these outstanding young individuals, who are certain to have a life changing experience in Ghana while making an important difference to the community that they visit.

Working alongside Village by Village, a local charity, the 2019 expedition aims to complete the building of the John Thornton Presby Junior High School which is replacing the previously condemned clay structure. This school, once completed, will be adopted by the Ghanaian government with funding and provision of teachers for at least 10 years.

In 2017 the Junior Leaders expedition successfully completed the construction of proper 6 classroom, primary school, ensuring safe accessible education for the younger children in the village for the first time in decades.

In 2018 the Junior Leaders expedition team returned to Obom with the aim of starting construction on a proper high school, replacing the unsafe building and creating the opportunity for the children in the village and surrounding area to have access to full time education from Preschool at 3 years to graduation in Junior High School at 18. The 2019 team will focus on converting the block shell into a finished building. Works will include fully plastering, rendering and painting the building to protect it from the extreme heat and rain, as well as creating walk ways and steps for safe access to the classrooms. The range of work that needs to be completed will provide students with the ability to experience the maximum number of construction jobs and have the accomplishment of seeing the site become a usable building as a result of their work.

This challenging expedition offers a unique development opportunity for QJLs and the difference this project has made to the rural community is extraordinary and will have a lasting impact for years to come.

We wish the 2019 Expedition all the very best for their time in Ghana and look forward to hearing about their achievements.