But for the intervention of the Member of Parliament for Adaklu Constituency in the Volta Region, Kwame Agbodza, with the support of some Non-Governmental Organizations, over 200 children in one of the remotest parts of Adaklu, would have continued to have non-formal education in a thatch tent.
The children, mostly of Fulani descent, are from over 10 satellite communities in Avelebe; a farming area whose indigenes were hardly noticed.
The community shares close boundaries with the Akatsi South District, and its inhabitants are farmers who are mostly into cattle rearing and arable farming.
The children’s first exposure to literacy was when three local savings and loans personnel decided to start a school under a shed, and periodically gather them for lessons. The children, mostly Fulanis, had since been under their tutelage, until the MP on one of his tours in the district, came across the pupils in the deserted land.
Moved by the situation, Hon. Kwame Agbodza prompted the Ghana Education Service (GES), and later started partnering with NGOs to as a matter of urgency regularize the activities of the school to match with the GES curricular and provide the infrastructural needs of the school.
Four years on, the school can now boast of a befitting classroom block with ancillary facilities through the support of two NGO’s in education; Pencils of Promise and Adanu.
The over-4 km footpath which leads to the under served community has also been graded and opened up for vehicular movement through the efforts of the MP.
Speaking to Citi News, Kwame Agbodza hinted of the extension of electricity to the area which was earmarked to benefit from the second phase of the rural electrification project. This he said would aid teachers and pupils in their ICT lessons. He, however expressed worry about the poor network coverage of the area which he said cuts residents from the entire world in terms of telecommunication.
At the commissioning of their newest 3-unit classroom block by Pencils of Promise, one of the pioneer teachers, who gave his name as Mawuli, told Citi News it was heartwarming to see the school grow to this level with professional teachers being posted to the area.
Another teacher, Lambert Dzakumah, also told Citi News the interventions by Pencil of Promise and the MP, has brought a great relief to them. He asked for a JHS block so that the pupils after primary school would not have to trek several kilometres to attend JHS at nearby towns.
The CEO of Pencils of Promise, Michael Dougherty, was outwardly thrilled by the story of the school, and pledged his organization’s commitment to improving education in rural Africa.
He encouraged the pupils to put in enough efforts in their lessons, and take advantage of the opportunities available to enhance their lives and that of the community.
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
