Current Projects
Training and Education
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
When GEP came to Nkwanta in 1997, the village schools were operating in covered areas outside with no walls or proper chairs. World Vision International has done a great deal of good work in building new schools for the district with the help of local communities. We work in close accord with World Vision and complement their work, providing materials and training to help teachers and their students.
The first step in providing education is to have trained, knowledgeable and inspired teachers, equipped with the resources to support them. We have built and equipped a Teachers' Resource Centre in Nkwanta which was formally opened by the British High Commissioner in 2005. This Centre was resourced from donations from the UK and gives access to up to date worksheets which are simple and easy to adapt for the local schools. We were given a photocopier that is very useful in allowing teachers to work and make their own materials for their students.
Many teachers are not trained and few have been to university. We run frequent workshops for teachers in as many fields as possible. To date these have included Science weeks with supplied materials to encourage teachers to use a variety of teaching methods. We also arranged for a group to attend an intensive course in teaching maths at Winneba University. This gave 25 teachers not only the chance to improve their skills, but also a taste of university teaching.
Many of the local schools have benefited from our donations of text books, teaching aids, materials and equipment to support every aspect of education from Mathematics to Sports. In 2006, thanks to the generosity of Oxford Education Supplies we were able to distribute 2200 calculators and maths sets to all Junior Secondary Schools in Nkwanta District. In 2007 sets of basic chemicals for practical science lessons were supplied.
The Kyabobo Centre
The Kyabobo Centre is now completed and stands as a fantastic example of how dreams and plans can be put into place by dedicated fundraising and voluntary support.
The centre offers a venue for training children and adults in basic crafts such as weaving, pottery, carpentry and painting. The local District Assembly is working to promote the Kyabobo National park as a strongly viable tourist attraction, which will in turn create an outlet for these crafts.
It is also a centre for sports activities for the whole community. Currently, none of the schools in the region have any sports facilities.
The Centre also has space to work as a conference centre, for use as a hired venue for local concerns and as a location for training courses such as health & hygiene, nutrition, etc.
The Kyabobo Centre is the only facility of its kind in Ghana, outside the capital city.
Construction is complete and funding has recently been promised by Barclays Bank (Ghana) to erect fencing around the site. This will not only improve security, but will allow ball games, such as tennis to take place!
School for Girls
Our Next Big Ambition: A new Girls' School in Nkwanta
Literacy of women is the essential key to improving health, nutrition and education in the family. Investment in formal and non-formal education and training for girls and women has proved to be one of the best means of achieving sustainable social development and subsequent economic growth.
At the moment there are few and limited possibilities for girls to achieve any good level of education in the Nkwanta region. We aim to address this problem by building a Girls' school for Primary, Junior Secondary (basic level) and ultimately for Senior Secondary.
We have the Land!
This was donated by the local community, who recognize the value of our ambitions and are working with us in the hope that we will be able to provide a better future for the girls, women and whole community of Nkwanta.
We have the Plan!
This is an Artist's impression of how the new school will be constructed. You will notice that the main school building is formed in the shape of an E. The E Stands for Education, the key to progress, development and the way out of poverty.
Work has begu
n, the building plot has been cleared and levelled.A start has been made on building the foundations.
Our Urgent Need now is for funds to build, equip and launch this school.
For the equivalent price of a small house in Southern England, we estimate that we can build, equip and run this school for the first two years offering vital education to a whole generation of girls in this region.
(photo courtesy Heidi Hallet)YOU can help us by buying building blocks for the fabric of the school buildings. £30 will buy 100 building blocks.These blocks are made by pouring cement into moulds which are left to harden. They are then used to build the walls etc. A donation towards building blocks will not only advance the construction of the school, but will also benefit the community in that local workers will be paid to make the blocks.
The Literacy Project
Ghanaian Children are taught in English at secondary level. In any class in Nkwanta there may be up to 7 different languages spoken, few parents speak English and many are completely illiterate. The schools offer the only opportunity to learn English and make progress.
GEP has run many workshops for teachers on literacy and produced a bank
of stories written by school children for use in class. As there are
few suitable books for reading this resource has been invaluable. For
the first time in Nkwanta, young children have reading material in
simple English, that they can relate to and enjoy- and of course those
students who have contributed to the packs can take pride in seeing
their work reproduced
We have also produced a very basic skills pack for helping children in Junior High School (JHS) who are finding learning difficult. (In primary schools, the children move "up" through the system, regardless of achievement, but in JHS the children are kept down if they fail, and most fail because of poor English skills)
In another initiative, our team in Nkwanta encouraged local pupils to write, in English, some poems. They used some simple English poems as a stimulus then helped the children to write, recite and act out their work. This was received with great enthusiasm"
Our work to achieve basic English literacy is already enabling the children of Nkwanta to participate in education at secondary school level with a greater degree of confidence.
The Nkwanta Award
The Nkwanta award scheme was instigated in 2005. It is based on the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a UK based scheme for young people which aims to develop the potential of every individual.
Participants are required
- to take part in some form of sport such as volleyball, soccer, netball or table tennis
- give volunteer service to the community, i.e helping others regularly over an agreed time span - this could involve anything from helping to kee. Many children help to keep areas in the hospital and clinic cleannd. they also help to maintain the Kyabobo Centre for GEP.
- to develop a new skill such as carpentry, batik work and basket work. This involves working with local crafts people and develops community involvement in the scheme.
- to take part in an expedition - this usually means a camping trip to the Kyabobo Wildlife Park, Although the park is nearby, without the support of GEP, few children would have the opportunity to stay in the park and learn about their own natural surroundings. The children undergo some training with wildlife to learn about national parks. There is little understanding of conservation here. Wood is scarce and meat is expensive. People keep animals as an insurance to sell if they need money rather than to eat.
The award has proved very popular and achieved considerable success. In July 2006, at the end of the first year of activity, 157 children completed their initial "bronze" level and were presented with certificates. There are now pupils from fourteen local school taking part with 350 young people working towards their bronze medal, 162 for silver and 10 for heading for gold!
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FAO: Rich Tribe
Hawkwell Barn, Hawkwell Business Centre, Maidstone Road (A228), Pembury, Kent TN2 4AG