The Need

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Many rural African children live in desperate poverty. While Ghana’s economy has experienced growth over the last decade, poverty in the northern regions has actually become worse. A survey by the charity ActionAid suggests that one out of every two children in northern Ghana do not attend an infant school. Research by Care International indicates that in Lawra district (the area where the Trust is working) “about 78% of the people can be classified as illiterate and only 5% of the over 11 year olds have been to primary school.”

These bare statistics hide a difficult and harsh everyday existence for village children like Mperismer. During the dry season, children can often go several days without food. Simply to survive, they have to scavenge for mice, rats or birds to eat.

Child poverty in urban areas is more visible and, within minutes of arriving in an African city a child is likely to tug your sleeve or knock on your vehicle window. Behind the vast numbers of youthful trinket sellers, shoe cleaners or beggars there are often stories of rural poverty.

Many children will have been driven with their families from the countryside. They arrive in the city with next to nothing. Without education or vocational skills, they have few choices. They are essentially trapped.

The Ghanaian government is committed to providing infant and primary education for every child in Ghana by 2015. It has calculated that to achieve this objective no less than 21,420 primary classrooms need to be built.

The syllabus that is being used in our Savannah schools is designed to be helpful to these rural children. A basic education gives children knowledge of simple improvements that can be made to rural life, for example in agricultural techniques and hygiene. It helps to meet the needs of all their family.