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 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 couples school builds with literacy 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 and educational programming across PoP schools in the region.
Before a PoP School Build
Previously, 141 students at Hohoe Presby Preschool and Primary School did not have access to formal classrooms. Instead, classes were taught in a provisional space and in a borrowed chapel. The overcrowded, multi-purpose setting was not ideal for student engagement. The provisional classrooms were made of wood and corrugated tin and lacked formal walls and doors, leaving students exposed to the elements. Exposure to the elements, specifically rain, would become so distracting that teachers were forced to cancel classes when it rained. Structural issues aside, those provisional learning settings were small spaces that were not designed to serve as formal classrooms.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
Thanks to your support, PoP was able to partner with the Hohoe community to build a new 4-classroom school. The Hohoe Presby build broke ground in September 2016, was completed in January 2017, and then inaugurated afterwards—all with enthusiasm and support from the Hohoe community. The teachers, parents and students of the community are excited to have the opportunity to access a higher quality education.