During the past term we benefited from some Dutch teachers who came to help us at Neesim Primary School. Our Ghanaian teachers have recently been frustrated by the lack of progress made by some children in learning to read. Since none of them is a qualified teacher (though five out of eight are in training) they sometimes struggle to know which teaching methods to use. The predominantly used method here in Ghana is pointing at English words and repeating them, and understandably this is usually not very fruitful. It is especially difficult to learn to read in a language you don’t know. So, with the help of our volunteers, we split the children into mixed ability groups across the classes, and had focused Dagbani reading lessons each day. It was hard work but the programme has been a success. Almost all of the children have made progress in their reading skills, including some who we suspect may have learning difficulties. Perhaps more importantly the teachers now understand better how to teach reading, and their new-found skills will benefit pupils for years to come.