LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — In an interview with Cyril de la Nouet, The Bogen Project announced that the student-led initiative Ghana Education Community will continue to provide education to children in Ghana despite the COVID-19 lockdown. Find out how it has effectively helped you keep giving.

Establishment of the Ghana Educational Community

De la Noue co-founded the Ghana Educational Collaborative with Ayo and Yani Ince. The organization helped bring education to children in Ghana by creating educational videos for students at the Divine Kids Academy in Jukwa Village, Ghana, who were unable to attend school due to pandemic restrictions. did.

Before the pandemic, the other two co-founders traveled to Jukwa to meet with the Academy’s director. It was this personal connection that brought this project to life. The founders got in touch with the director and when the COVID-19 lockdown hit the country, the Ghana Educational Collaborative decided to bring the mission online to help students continue their learning.

This was an international team effort providing interdisciplinary support. As de la Noue told his The Borgen Project,[the Ghana Educational Collaborative]Members from all over the world participated in this project and were able to teach classes ranging from STEM in Mathematics, Science and Computer Science to English, French and Mandarin languages. “

Using virtual means to provide education to children in Ghana

As this project took place during lockdown, members of the Ghana Educational Collaborative took advantage of the shift to virtual work. As de la Noue explains: […] With most members on lockdown, it was much easier for everyone to join the call and everyone was used to working online. “

Initially, the co-founders had to figure out how to organize Zoom calls that would work across time zones, according to de la Noue. However, he said the project went smoothly thanks to the teamwork and dedication of all the members. “Everyone really invested in the project, which made it very easy to organize.”

After creating the instructional video, members sent the video to the Academy correspondent. Academy correspondents either presented the video in front of the class or sent it to the students’ families, depending on the lockdown situation.

measuring success

De la Noue recalls that the Ghana Educational Collaborative initially received no feedback, but continued to produce the video. However, when the feedback arrived, it was so positive that the members continued to work.

As de la Noue says, the Ghana Educational Collaborative received an update from the director of the Divine Kids Academy, including videos and photos of students watching videos and taking notes. In fact, even town cops used Ghana Educational Cooperative videos for their children’s learning.

“Positive feedback has motivated us to continue working on these videos. I found it rewarding,” says de la Noue.

In fact, seeing this positive impact is one of De la Noue’s favorite parts of her initiative to bring education to children in Ghana. Parents of many students sent supportive messages and expressed their appreciation for the video. Ms de la Noue said the message was “extremely moving and a great motivation to continue providing education to children in Ghana”.

Child Poverty Rate and Education in Ghana

According to UNICEF, as of 2020, only 47% of Ghanaian children completed secondary school due to high dropout rates, high dropout rates or delayed completion. Jukwa is geographically located in the central region of Ghana in the southern part of the country. Southern Ghana has a higher secondary school completion rate than northern Ghana, but only about 29% of children in the central region complete upper secondary school. UNICEF continues to help provide education for children in Ghana.

The largest reduction in poverty in Ghana followed the state’s period of democratization from 1991 to 2012, when the poverty rate decreased by almost 75%, from 47.4% to 12% in 2012. At 12%, Ghana’s of 2012 poverty rates of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and low-middle-income countries.

However, from 2012 to 2016, there were regional differences due to regional differences in labor patterns. According to the World Bank, these regions have seen high rates of poverty reduction as they have shifted “from agriculture to private wage employment and non-agricultural self-employment.” However, poverty increased in rural areas in the north, with Ghana’s average poverty rate reaching 13.3% in 2016.

COVID-19 has had a major impact on Ghana. Poverty levels among households facing unemployment due to the pandemic have increased by 55.7%, and living standards have also fallen significantly. Similar to global trends, the impact of the pandemic has hit women-led households harder. In 2020, the poverty rate reached 25.5% for her, an increase of 0.5% for him compared to 2019. Nevertheless, the economy will begin to recover in 2021, and the World Bank forecasts economic growth of 5.5% for her in 2022. Inflation has risen due to the Ukrainian war, but “strong domestic demand” and rising export prices offer a positive outlook for the country.

Importance of education and poverty reduction in Ghana

The Ghana Educational Collaborative helped provide quality education to children in Ghana through virtual means. Education is a key tool in helping countries reduce poverty levels, and UNICEF, in partnership with Ghana, continues to work to increase school completion rates. Ghana’s poverty rate has increased since the pandemic, but the country is on the road to economic recovery.

– Elena Sophia Massachesi
Photo: Flickr