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Humphrey Barclay, who started the charity Friends of Tafo in this country six years ago, came along to visit the First School to film the children singing the song called I'm Special.

This will be incorporated into a film made at the school in Tafo, and will form part of a major charity event in July.

The Empire Strikes Back is the charity's biggest fundraiser of the year. It is a comedy concert to be held on July 5 at the Hackney Empire Theatre in London.

Comedians and musicians from the black community put on a show in support of Tafo.

It promises to be a wonderful evening attended by the new Mayor of London and the High Commissioner of Ghana.

This is the fifth year the show has run.

Tickets are available for the show at £20 from the box office by telephoning 02089852424.

Humphrey is a retired television producer, who used to make sit coms. His retirement has given him the time to be a volunteer in Ghana.

Every town there is traditionally run by a chief and a cabinet of sub-chiefs or elders, Humphrey told me .

Every elder has a different department, and Humphrey has been appointed development chief.

This means that he works with local people to develop the town in education, job creation and environment. Under the heading of Quality of Life, it covers everything from sanitation to music.

The money raised by the charity helps with projects that local people want to do, and helps to forge links between communities.

There are around 19 schools in Tafo, each with about 150 children.

Around six schools are paired with English schools.

The schools are very poorly equipped with no teaching resources. Humphrey said.

A school is lucky to have enough desks and chairs, he added.

Although education is technically free, every child has to have text books and uniform, and often families cannot afford the small amount these cost, so this is one of the things that the charity raises money for.

So many people help. People can see exactly where their money goes with this charity - no money is lost with administration.

The English words to the song that the children sang had a poignant message for every child in every country across the globe:

Black or white, short or tall

Good or bad, God loves us all

Loud or quiet, fat or thin

Each of us is special to him

There is no one else like you

There is no one else like me

Each of us is special to God

That's the way it's meant to be.

If you would like more information about the charity, visit its website for information: www.friendsoftafo.org

10:57am Wednesday 14th May 2008

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