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 over 107 communities in Ghana to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 178,000 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 has begun to couple school builds with in-classroom programming in order to create sustainable change.
To date, we’ve built 98 schools in the Volta region and will continue to scale our teacher training workshops and use of educational technologies across PoP schools in the region.
Before a PoP School Build
When we first visited the community of Leklebi Duga in the Volta Region of Ghana, we discovered students studying in a dilapidated and deteriorating building composed of wood, mud bricks, dirt floors and rusted metal sheets. Portions of the roof had collapsed. When it rained, water would enter and soak into the ground, resulting in muddy and messy conditions for the students. The building also lacked formal doors and windows allowing dust, debris and distractions such as noise from the surrounding environment to enter and permeate classrooms. Therefore, students were easily distracted and had difficulty concentrating. These conditions were not conducive to learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
You recognized and responded to the needs of the Leklebi Duga community and their children. Your invaluable support and commitment helped us build a 2-classroom school equipped with new ceiling fans, blackboards, benches, desks, doors, walls and windows. Leklebi Duga community members supported the project from the very beginning, providing up to 20 percent of materials, and volunteered to work alongside the PoP team to construct the school. Our group efforts are now providing hundreds of students with access to a strong school foundation and a higher quality learning environment that will continue to benefit them for years to come.