A better Start to Life

With just under 50% secondary school enrolment, Ghana’s children need help to stay in school.

S3940 Ghana project profile-11Children from poor families in rural Ghana are starting life so far behind their peers that it can seem impossible to break out of the poverty cycle. Lacking some of the most basic necessities like shoes and good clothes, it can be hard for some young children to attend school at all, and those that do, have frequent absences because of illnesses like malaria, diarrhoea, or having to stay home when other family members are sick. Add to this a lack of resources in their area, and the odds are stacked against these little ones. “The communities that work with lack social amenities like early childhood centres, libraries, computer laboratories, good roads, and good drinking water,” writes Crossroads’ partner, an NGO working in rural Ghana.

Crossroads is shipping to this group, to help them give Ghanaian children a better start to life. They already run highly successful literacy programmes and other child-centred activities, but they want to open an early childhood centre and a computer school to train teenagers in employable skills. Our shipment will help them establish these two new ventures.

Literacy unlocking futures

Our partners are trying to boost those numbers by encouraging and empowering children in their education.

S3940 Ghana project profile-4More than 80% of children in Ghana finish primary school, but that number plummets to less than 50% enrolment in secondary school. Our partners are trying to boost those numbers by encouraging and empowering children in their education. They run exciting programmes like interschool quiz competitions in rural communities, after-school literacy camps and even a “street library” that takes books to places without community libraries.

Little Oliver is one of their success stories. He was a below average student, but thanks to the street library and the literary club, he has improved so much that he participated in the regional Spelling Bee and is now the president of his school literary club! He was also selected as an assistant school prefect through his hard work.

Shipment will include:

  • Computers for office use, and to set up a computer lab for youth training
  • Office and household furniture, and household goods to set up a childcare centre
  • Clothes and shoes for impoverished families who don’t have enough of the basics to send their children to school

Crossroads’ shipment will support these literacy programmes that reach 5,000 children like Oliver.

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Ghana Snapshot

Capital: Accra

Population: 27 million. 45% of the population is under 18.

Ghana is in West Africa, located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, and has a tropical climate. It is the fifth most stable state in Africa.
There are about 1 million children orphaned for a variety of reasons in the country.
34% of children are involved in some kind of child labour, and education is often inaccessible in rural areas.

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