No chair, no school

I've just finished my first afternoon at school. I was little nervous to begin with. As Heather and I walked onto the playing field, children flocked to us shouting Obroni, Obroni! - meaning white person. I was expecting the first day to be spent observing the children. Instead i was quickly asked which subject I could teach and then shown to large class. Deserted by all teachers I was left standing infront of a very lively bunch of 14year olds. Keeping it simple, I started with multiplication then moved onto algebra. I quickly realised they knew a lot so had a quick glance at their textbook to find out the level they were at. The rest of the time was spent on domains and co-domains, which I vaguely remembered from GCSE. When the bell rang for playtime, many of the children wanted to continue being taught - I can't imagine this ever happening at my old school!
After teaching we relaxed outside the class with a few children who weren't in class. They were unable to speak English and after using are very basic Twi we asked someone to translate. We discovered that the children who linger outside the classrooms are those who can't afford to attend so just listen from outside. Outraged by this fact, I questioned one of the teachers who explained that although the government has made education free, the children still need to pay 9cedis for their chair and provide their own school uniform. Nine cedis is the quivalent to 4.5pounds which isn't a lot to you and me, however in Ghana it is the equivalent to 45bus journeys to Kumasi (40mins away).
While eating dinner we spoke to our mother, May about school and education. She told us about her own education and her dreams for her daughters. I don't think she meant to be profound when she said 'I don't care for material things but hunger for knowledge.' When she said it, it made me feel very privalaged to have had 14years of free education and the opportunity to attend university.