AwaaWaa2Sponsored walk in London

AwaaWaa2 is a registered charity based in Accra, Ghana, working on behalf of children who cannot communicate effectively.

There are virtually no facilities or practising qualified speech or language therapists in the whole of Ghana, meaning that significant numbers of the population are denied the right to effective oral communication and the equal opportunity to compete and survive in a demanding environment.

Thus a sponsored walk, along the south bank of the River Thames, covering eight London bridges starting from the Tower Bridge and ending at Westminster was organised to raise money to fund speech therapy group sessions for children.

The walk took place on the 3rd of February 2008 at 11am and ended at 3pm. The intervening bridges were London, Southwark, Wobbly, Blackfriars, Waterloo and Hungerford bridges. About 40 participants showed up on the northern side of Tower Bridge, known as Tower Bridge Approach, where the meeting was planned to be held.

The participants were from a wide range of age groups and backgrounds. We chatted about the beautiful views we saw as we walked and also took pictures as we went on. There was a tea break for about 40 minutes at bridge number three on our map, where the participants rested and also fuelled up for the remaining five bridges. There were interesting buildings and landmarks to see such as the Palace of Westminster, London Eye, South Bank, Unilever building, HMS Belfast moored on the Thames and the Tate Modern Museum.

The weather got colder as we were finishing the walk and the three little children who were rolling along on their scooters also started to get a bit restless, although none gave up. The walk was a successful one and I would like to share with you a few words from the organiser, Mrs. Pru Stevenson, about AwaaWaa2 and the event as a whole.

'I have known Nana Akua Owusu, founder of AwaaWaa2, for over 20 years. I and many others here have tremendous respect for her. She is a wonderful human being with great integrity, decency, compassion and generosity and very skilful in her work - an exceptional woman.

AwaaWaa2 is an important project doing much needed work. It covers an area of disability which is often neglected and does not get the recognition it deserves. Lack of communication skills, for whatever reason, can have devastating consequences for a child, its development and its future. Like many other charitable projects funding is a major issue.

We want to be able to give some financial support to the important work that our friend is doing. One way was to organise a sponsored walk. We decided to do a walk over 8 London bridges spanning the river Thames - about 7 miles altogether. Nana sent me the email addresses of her former colleagues here in the UK and we also contacted our friends and families. 40 people responded and came on the walk, each one being sponsored by their friends and families for so much a bridge. I do not yet know how much we have raised but we are aiming for £1,500 -£2000.

The walk was very enjoyable; although very cold, the weather was fine and bright. The participants ranged from ages 3 to 72 years.

I was in Ghana last year with Olga Heaven from Hibiscus working on a campaign of deterrence for women who would be drug traffickers. There are currently 74 Ghanaian women in prison in the UK for drug trafficking. It is important that vulnerable women are aware of the consequences – that if caught they will go to prison for a long time and their children will be left motherless and helpless.

We experienced great kindness in Ghana and are looking forward to returning this year. We will be meeting with Nana Akua and visiting the project at Abofu.' Pru Stevenson

Three of the participants shared with us, what motivated them or who inspired them to join in the walk for AwaaWaa2. The first interviewee said, 'Hi I'm Jo, my mum is a friend of Pru and she was going to come, but couldn't make it, so I've come instead to support it. It just seems like a really good thing to be doing.'

We spoke to Jennifer and she said, 'Nana motivated me to take part, plus I have to say that Pru also motivated me. Pru has been a great enthusiastic friend, telling me I must do better!'

Finally, we spoke to Esther and she said, 'The children's' charity motivated me to take part in this sponsored walk and the fact that my mum works in Ghana as well as the work that my mum and Pru do together. Actually, it is just the whole thing with helping children with the therapy that they need and also getting the fresh air and meeting up with people whom I haven't seen in a long time.'

AwaaWaa2 – 'Embracing children with difficulties and their families'Deborah Owusu-Bonsu, 25 Azania Mews, London, NW5 3BW, +44 20 7482 0154