Why Ghana?
While Ghana has experienced unprecedented growth and development over the past few years (IFAD report; African Development Bank), the country still faces many challenges, especially when it comes to access to education.
In Ghana, 17% 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, 2018). Additionally, over 14% of the Ghanaian population is illiterate (UNESCO, 2018).
PoP works with over 150 communities in Ghana to ensure that students overcome these and other barriers to accessing quality education. Currently, PoP is impacting over 42,000 students in Ghana through School Builds, Teacher Support and WASH programming.
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 over 160 schools in the Volta Region and have also provided teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Likpe Nkwanta
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With a population of approximately 1,100, this community is located within the Hohoe district of Ghana. Pencils of Promise has previously partnered with Likpe Nkwanta to build a three-classroom block; however, it is currently in need of repairs. The Ewe language is spoken here. |
Michelle’s Impact in Likpe Nkwanta
At PoP, we strive toward a world in which every child can experience and benefit from quality education. Previously, Likpe Nkwanta MA Basic School did not have permanent classroom structures; in 2017 PoP partnered with the community to build a three-classroom block.
While the classrooms built in 2017 are thriving, the school has grown immensely, and grades 2-5 are learning in an open pavilion with no walls or doors.
A school build is only the start of a transformative education experience, and we are excited to be back in the Likpe Nkwanta community. We broke ground in March 2020, and completed renovations in September 2020.
PoP has partnered with the community to build a new three-unit classroom block! The community is devoted to providing a valuable education to its students, and has once again contributed 20 percent of the resources and labor required for construction.
We establish partnerships with communities who are deeply committed to their children’s education. The support of the Likpe Nkwanta community ensures the sustainability of the school that it will remain a quality learning environment for generations to come.
We are so excited to celebrate the extraordinary learning that will take place there!