The History of the New Horizon Special School

New Horizon Special School > The History of the New Horizon Special School

Helen

The story of the New Horizon Special School begins with the birth of Helen Naa Daquah Francois, born to Edward and Salome Francois on December 16th, 1956. Helen was the first granddaughter of both sides of the family and she was utterly adored by all. She was a precocious child – musical, good at languages, an early walker.

However, the unexpected happened in 1958 when the 22-month old was taken for a routine smallpox vaccine. A medical error occurred, and unbeknownst to all Helen developed encephalitis (inflammation of the outer covering of her brain).

Diagnosis

From this point on, the family realized that something had changed with Helen, but nobody knew quite what until 1960 when Helen’s condition was diagnosed in Evanston, Chicago. By this point, the inflammation had already reached a chronic stage and Helen would always be developmentally disabled. She would have difficulty in learning and would need special care and schooling.

The impact on their family was profound. There were no appropriate facilities in Ghana at the time for a situation such as they found themselves in. Reluctantly, a decision was made to send Helen to school in England where she would be placed under the guardianship of Edward’s older sister, Cornelia, who lived in Wales.

England & Back

In 1961, Helen left Ghana and started attending the boarding facility at St Elizabeth’s Centre in Hertfordshire, England. Two years later, Salome resigned her post as Senior Rediographer at Korle-Bu in 1963. In 1964 she joined a group of parents of children with intellectual disabilities who formed an association called the ‘Society of Friends of the Mentally Retarded’.

This group was able to source government funds to establish a fully-funded day school for the children with learning disabilities in 1966, located at the Accra Conference center on High Street (next to the Art Center).

All this while, Salome missed Helen terribly, and always believed that she could provide better care for her daughter. She began to hope that the new opportunities in Ghana would meet Helen’s needs. Eventually in 1968 at the age of 12, Helen was brought back to Ghana to attend the day school. She was there for about two years, but unfortunately did not thrive at all, picking up several bad habits and deteriorating rapidly.

Then in 1970 the school transitioned into a boarding program, and relocated to Dzorwulu. Helen clearly needed a different environment. So Salome withdrew her daughter, and tried to homeschool her. But Helen was unhappy. She wanted to go to school like her siblings.

Frances McNulty

While Helen was in England, Salome met and befriended an American lady who was very sympathetic to the situation. Frances McNulty herself had a brother who sounded remarkably similar to Helen. When Helen returned to Ghana, Frances came to meet her, and they immediately bonded.

Frances would take Helen for car rides, swimming lessons, shopping trips, and bring her snacks and treats. When Helen complained about not going to school, Frances and Salome began to home school Helen. Eventually they brainstormed ideas about starting a private school in Ghana for children with special needs.

America

1970 was a pivotal year for Edward and Salome. Edward, a civil engineer, won an Eisenhower Fellowship Award which took him to the United States for a year. Salome joined Edward in the United States for the last 3 months of his stay, meeting up with him in Miami on 11th May 1970.

They hired a car and drove to a number of different States, including Illinois, Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Arizona, and New York State. Perhaps the most profound and far-reaching part of the trip was the time Salome spent visiting schools, hospitals, and institutions for children with Intellectual Disabilities. This exposure gave her a new vision for Helen and a new vision for the special needs population of Ghana.

A New Vision

Salome returned to Ghana with a new purpose. Starting in 1971, with the help and encouragement of Frances, Salome ventured into the Accra community, knocking on strangers’ doors, asking if they knew of any special children who might come to her school. A lot of these children were hidden and not acknowledged because of the social stigma associated with the condition.

She spoke to parents and caregivers, uncovering many stories of hardships and frustrations. A few families listened to her, but initially most rejected her advances.

Undeterred, she spoke to all who would listen about her vision of a school in Ghana that would celebrate the specialness of these children, offering them education, friendships, and support for the families, as an option to enduring the social stigma, or hiding them away.

Eventually two children answered the call, and on January 10, 1972, New Horizon School for the Mentally Handicapped was born on Salome’s verandah with 3 students – Helen Francois, Zarmel Coffie, and Clement Bannerman. Salome and Frances were the first teachers.

Fulfillment

Today the NHSS is legally registered as a voluntary, non-profit making, non-racial, non-sectarian and charitable institution with the Ministry of Education in Ghana. The school acquired land, constructed a school building, a sheltered workshop, and an autism & cerebral palsy center.

It is governed by a Board of Directors, and has acquired an international reputation, having collaborated with institutions in countries such as Denmark, Holland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Norway and Japan.

Faith

Salome led the New Horizon Special School in a full time capacity for 50 years, from its inception on 10th January 1972 to her passing on 28th September 2022. For many years she held and or combined various roles: Secretary of the Board; Chair of the Board; Executive Director; Principal; Fund-Raiser; Development Director; President of PTA; Founder of the Parents Educational Programme (PEP); and Founder & President of the Parent’s Association of Children with Intellectual Disability (PACID). She never accepted a salary for her work.

During her life Salome often wondered why God had given her these challenges, and why her beautiful daughter Helen had to suffer such a peculiar and debilitating condition. She never lost hope that Helen might be somehow healed. But as the years went by, she began to believe that there was a divine reason for Helen’s situation. After all, without Helen, there would never have been a New Horizon Special School. Her epiphany, that she repeated to everyone so often, was…

“So that through Helen, other children like her too may benefit.”