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 100 communities in Ghana to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education.
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 in-classroom programming in order to create sustainable change.
To date, we’ve built 109 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
Kindergarten students of the Sapor D.A Basic School in the Volta region of Ghana did not have access to formal classrooms. Instead, they were taught in a mud house with a broken zinc roof on the verge of coming off. This provisional structure exposed students to dust, dirt and other debris and the poorly built roof posed a threat to student safety and engagement. As a result, students had difficulty concentrating and learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
With your support, PoP was able to partner with the community to build an additional 2 classrooms for the Kindergarten students, along with an office for the staff. Students now have access to a permanent space dedicated to their learning needs. The school is equipped with formal doors, desks, blackboard, benches, chairs and fans, and classrooms now provide enough room for mobility and ventilation. Overall student engagement and learning will benefit from these drastic improvements.