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 161 communities in Ghana to ensure that students overcome these and other barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 217,000 lives in Ghana.
VOLTA REGION
The Volta Region is located in southeast 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 161 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, the children of Bueyonye lacked access to a formal, dedicated school building. The structure that served as the community’s school house was made of bamboo and lacked a constructed floor and roof. This, paired with the exposure to the elements through the large gaps in the walls and roof, and lack of formal doors and windows, hindered student growth and engagement.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
Through your impact, PoP was able to partner with the Bueyonye community to build a 6-classroom school. Today, the new Bueyonye M.A. Primary School allows all primary students access to formal, dedicated classrooms. These classrooms are complete with desks and chairs for each student, as well as windows, doors, blackboards and ceiling fans for ventilation. The Bueyonye community members remained dedicated to the project throughout the entire build, ultimately contributing 20% of materials and labor needed to complete construction. The inauguration ceremony was a celebration for students, teachers, parents and community members alike, and all are so excited for their new school.