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 190,000 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 have also provided our teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Before a PoP School Build
Previously, thanks to the support of a Pencils of Promise donor like you, pre-primary and younger primary grades in Mangoase were learning in a classroom built by Pencils of Promise. However, the community has many students in the upper primary grades that were previously without a safe, dedicated learning space. These fourth through sixth grade students attended classes in a structure built by the community, made of tin and sticks. While it offered some coverage from the sun, it left students exposed to the elements and other outside distractions, including those from neighboring classes. It lacked formal walls, floors, doors and windows. These conditions posed a hazard to student safety and wellbeing, as well as engagement and learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
Through your support PoP was able to partner with the Mangoase community to complete construction on a three-classroom school. The community broke ground in the beginning of August and inaugurated the school in late November, thanks in large part to the involvement and dedication of the community, which has contributed to the labor and materials required for construction. The community is enthusiastic knowing that their students now have access to a higher quality learning environment.