Education in Ghana

Article and photo by Gail Haffes, 16
Ghana

I'm from Ghana, a country in West Africa. I was born here and I've lived here all my life. Ghana is a country with a history most of us learn about at a young age via storytelling and myths in school and at home. Some artifacts from our culture include "Kente," a special cloth originating from my country which is woven with strands of thread on a special wooden machine known as the "loom." The first Kente was woven by two brothers who carefully studied a spider weaving its web and used the same technique to weave a cloth. Today, so many types of "Kente" are woven. Another is the "golden stool" which is believed to have been commanded from the sky by "Okomfo Anokye," one of the greatest fetish priest to have ever lived in Ghana.

Aside from all of these spectacular aspects of my country, we're still faced with poverty. This challenge has led to so many problems. One major effect of this poverty is the country's high rate of illiteracy. Many children in Ghana are not getting educated, mainly as a result of not having sufficient funds to pay for it (public school in Ghana costs money) and instead of school, many kids end up selling on the street, wasting away their lives. In some rural areas you can hardly find any schools at all and the few determined children have to walk long distances to get to school. Although the government has set up a free education system in some rural areas, it's still not enough. I believe education is the key to get us out of our situation and yet children don't have access to it.

One of my dreams is to see every child in my country get an education. I saw an opportunity to begin taking steps towards achieving this dream when my school, Alpha Beta Education Centre, undertook a project to build a library for a nearby community school about a year ago.

I volunteered to collect funds from the roadside with a few other girls and I also sought funds from my family, friends, and church members. Although I was not able to raise the most funds, I am glad that I was able to contribute to the building of the library, which is almost complete. I am satisfied knowing that I've taken my first steps to making a change in my country. I can't wait to get involved in another project like this one.