Margreet Carpaij worked in special education in North Brabant. In 2006-2009 she was a volunteer with the Ghana Education Service in Sandema, located in the Upper East Region of Ghana. She noticed that there were hardly any handicapped children to be seen there. The mentally handicapped were often kept hidden, because they were seen as a punishment from God and were also considered creepy. The physically handicapped usually didn't go to school because they simply couldn't get there.

Margreet spoke about this with her colleague, Chief Afulang. He agreed with her that disabled children also have a right to development. He asked her if she wanted to come back and set up a special education school. Such a big step was not so easy for practical reasons, but in the end the time had come. Margreet left for Sandema again in September 2020, after she had arranged her personal affairs, this time to live and work there.

Through Chief Afulang she was given a piece of land in Siniensi, from the Naasa community. Siniensi about 12 km from Sandema. With the help of the entire community, the necessary professionals, an interest-free loan from Margreet herself and many generous donations from the Netherlands, a two-class school was built there, the Lumen Mundi School. From January 2022, one room will be fully furnished, the second room is almost ready. 16 children will be able to receive education.

The goal is twofold:

Helping children with intellectual disabilities to develop as well as possible at their own level, preferably in such a way that they can (partly) provide for themselves in the long run. Allowing children with only a physical problem to continue to regular education after further training and improvement of mobility.

By closely involving the parents and the community in the school, the children will be better accepted and become more part of the community.

In the first instance, the children will be picked up and brought home. But the plan is that the school will become a boarding school in the future. Small housing units are then built for this. The aim is also for the school to become self-sufficient by growing its own vegetables, keeping chickens and pigs and building a breeding pond for fish. What is not needed for personal use is sold to generate more income.

Elsewhere on this site you can find blogs by Margreet about the ins and outs of the entire project; they are regularly replenished.