Excerpt from Chapter 10 (pictures below)

As assistant headmaster in Opoku Ware School, I was responsible for the arrangements of accommodation for the Teaching Staff. The school had bungalows, which were allotted to staff members especially, foreign staff members.

The maintenance shop had all equipment necessary for fixing all repairs needed.

Many experienced labourers worked with the maintenance staff to make sure that all the bungalows were properly taken care of. Most of the bungalows had a large living room, at least two bedrooms, a study, a kitchen, a bathroom and a water closet toilet. A boy’s (servant’s) quarters and a garage were provided for each bungalow.

The bungalows were fully furnished. Mattresses and pillows were available in the bedrooms; the kitchens had propane stoves and electric refrigerators.

Whenever foreign teachers arrived at the airport, the school bus would be there to pick them up and bring them to their bungalows. I always inspected the bungalows before the arrival of the teachers to be sure that everything was clean and in perfect order for occupancy.

Foreign teachers to Opoku Ware School never had any housing problems. Requests for repairs were attended to promptly.

Mr. John Bacon the Superintendent of Schools of the County of Smoky Lake, Alberta, Canada, mailed my appointment letter as a high school science teacher (chemistry, biology and physics ) in May 1968.

He stated that after reviewing all my certificates, he thought I would be considered as a teacher with four years of University education and eight years of teaching experience. On that assumption, my position on the salary grid would be about $9000 (nine thousand Canadian dollars) per annum. However, he asked me to contact the A.T.A. (Alberta Teachers’ Association) in Edmonton for official Evaluation and Certification to teach in Alberta. At that time, my salary in Ghana was about 1080 British pound (approximately 2000 Canadian dollars ).

I sent a letter of acceptance to Mr. Bacon to start teaching in H.A. Kostash School in Smoky Lake, Alberta, in September 1968. I immediately applied to A.T.A. for evaluation and certification…

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Opuke Ware Secondary School 1966

H.A. Kostash School- Smoky Lake , Alberta Canada