You’re Making a Difference Here
GHANA
Ghana was, until very recently, one of the poorest countries in the world. Over the past few years, the nation has experienced unprecedented growth and development (IFAD report; African Development Bank). Although the lives of Ghanaians have improved greatly, the country still faces many challenges, especially in the education sector.
In Ghana, 18% of primary school age children are not enrolled in school and of those who are in school, 28% will drop out before completing primary school (UNESCO, 2012). Additionally, over 28% of the Ghanaian population is illiterate and out of all the current primary school classrooms, the government estimates that almost a quarter need repairs (World Bank, 2014; USAID, 2009).
PoP works with 107 communities in Ghana to ensure that students overcome these and other barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 190,000 lives in Ghana.
VOLTA REGION
The Volta Region is located in southeastern Ghana, to the west of the Republic of Togo and just east of Lake Volta. In many of our partner communities in the region, PoP couples school builds with literacy programming in order to create sustainable change.
To date, we’ve built 98 schools in the Volta Region and have also provided our teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Before a PoP School Build
Previously, preprimary and primary school students of Amesianyakope were taught in one of two very old 4-unit structures built by the community in the 1950s. These buildings had no windows or doors, which resulted in insufficient protection from the elements and outside distractions. There were cracks in the walls, roofing and the floors. The aged buildings showed severe signs of decay evidenced by cracked walls, mold marks on the wooden windows, posts and doors, and rust on the corrugated metal roof. The walls were in such disrepair that they were in danger of collapsing. These conditions posed a hazard to student safety and wellbeing, as well as engagement and learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
Through your support PoP was able to partner with the Amesianyakope community to build a 3-classroom school. The Amesianyakope Preschool and Primary School build spanned several months and, despite delays due to a government shutdown and a shortage of materials, the community completed construction in February of 2017. The entire community celebrated the completion and inauguration of the new Amesianyakope Preschool and Primary School, which now includes formal classrooms with doors and windows, desks and chairs for all students, ceiling fans for ventilation and desks for each teacher. Students, community members and teachers in Amesianyakope are so excited that they now have access to a higher quality learning environment—and this is all thanks to your generous support!
