Viva Lewes Issue #145 October 2018

Photo by Katie Moorman
MY LEWES: MAYOR JANET BAAH
What first brought you to Lewes? I come
from Ghana. We arrived at the University of
Sussex in 2001 and lived on campus for two
months when my husband started a PhD.
While there, we decided Lewes was the place
to raise our young family. I’ve since completed
a Master’s – in Public Administration – at
Brighton University, and am currently
underway with a PhD in Education at Sussex.
We live in Malling.
You’re the town’s first ethnic-minority
Mayor. What does it mean to you? It’s an
honour. I found my inauguration emotional. All
my years in Lewes, I was struck by how elegant
and intimidating this Town Hall was. Never
would I have thought I would be sitting here.
I’m also just back from a trip to Germany; a
world away from the experience of my brother,
who died in Berlin as a student, after being
pushed in a pond. I was blown away by the
levels of interest and respect.
What do you think motivates you? I’ve
always felt compelled to help. Maybe it started
with having a smaller twin sister. By eight, I
was teaching children from our neighbouring
slum to read, and the home-helps employed
by my family. Three went on to school – they
named their children after me! I also wanted
to learn. My father wanted me to train to cook.
But whenever something isn’t right, I’ve always
asserted myself. I sold butterbeans to fund my
schooling, appealed to the town chief to argue
my case, and won a scholarship. My father
was an engineer. My mother, who’s just died,
uneducated, though very bright. That never
seemed fair.
Do you have any specific aims as Mayor?
Lewes has always been welcoming, and our
three children have done well. But I hope to
give the youth more of a voice. I’m inviting all
the local school councils to come and meet with
me. I want to ask student representatives from
every school ‘what do you want Lewes to look
like?’ I’m fifty, and I’m one of the young ones
on the Council. We must engage our youth, not
stigmatise them.
I know inclusivity is key for you, in your
work at Breaking Down Barriers, for
instance... I think people need to focus and take
charge. We recently ran workshops, as a pilot
project, with ‘trouble’ pupils in one school. This
small intervention had an enormous impact.
We surfaced their passions – one wants to be
a musician, one a zoologist, one a mechanic,
and so on. They realised they are somebody.
They discovered how and what to do to achieve
results, the little steps they needed to take.
What do you do to relax? I like music. I used
to play drums and am planning to learn the
trombone. I enjoy watching the Lewes brass
band perform. And I like walking: the scenery
helps me reflect on all the opportunities we
have, living here, and on never taking those for
granted. Interview by Charlotte Gann
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