Furnishing a hostel room in Kumasi for nothing

Every August the same thing happens in Ayeduase and around Legon. New students arrive needing a kettle, a bucket, a standing fan, a study desk and somewhere to put their clothes. They buy all of it new, often on a budget that was already stretched by fees.

Every June, a few streets away, final-year students are throwing those exact items into a skip because carrying a mattress back to Takoradi makes no sense.

The gap is timing, not supply

The things exist. They are simply in the wrong hands at the wrong moment, and there has never been an easy way for a leaver to hand them to an arriver.

"I furnished my whole room for the cost of transport. The fan came from a final-year student in the next block." — Ama, KNUST

What we see working on campus

• Post before you travel. A leaver who lists in May gets it collected; one who lists the night before travelling does not.
• Be honest about wear. A four-year-old fan that rattles is still worth having if the person knows.
• Meet at the hall, not the hostel gate. Fewer wasted trips.

Campuses are the easiest place in Ghana for this to work: dense, seasonal, and full of people with the same needs in the same week.