You’re Making a Difference Here
WHY 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 122 communities in Ghana to ensure that students overcome these and other barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 24,000 students 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 125 schools in the Volta Region and have also provided our teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Before the PoP School Build
The students of South Senchi were previously taught in unfavorable learning conditions. Kindergarten students were learning under trees and in open pavilions without finished walls, formal doors or windows, and with dirt floors. Additionally, the primary grade students attended class in an aging school structure that lacked formal windows and proper ventilation. These conditions were posing a hazard to student safety and wellbeing, as well as to engagement and learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
Thanks to your support, PoP was able to partner with the South Senchi community to complete construction on a new four-classroom school build, which over its lifetime will serve 1,530 students. The four classrooms will provide kindergarten students, previously learning under thatched shade and trees, the opportunity to learn in a formal classroom setting. These formal classrooms will now provide them with a safe and engaging environment for learning. In addition to the new kindergarten classrooms, repairs have been made and windows fitted to the primary students’ classrooms, providing the students with more light during class hours and proper ventilation. The build broke ground early May of 2017, was completed in January of 2018 and inaugurated in February of 2018. The community remained committed throughout the build, and provided up to 20% of the labor and resources necessary to complete construction. The parents and teachers of South Senchi are excited knowing their students now have access to a higher quality learning environment.
