Location of Impact
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 will continue to scale our teacher training and use of educational technologies across PoP schools in the region.
Pre-Build
Students of Sovie Kudzra in the Volta Region of Ghana currently do not have access to formal classrooms. Instead, they are taught either in a provisional classroom or out in the school courtyard under a tree. The provisional classroom shows signs of deterioration evidenced by rust on the collapsing, makeshift thatch and metal roof and by water and mold marks on wooden posts that support the structure. The tree provides shade; however, does little to shelter students from dust and other debris and insects. Students make do, given the circumstance. Nevertheless, these conditions expose them to many distractions and are not optimal for learning.