School & Life Lessons in Ghana

“You built amazing relationships with the school and with your students. Do you remember how happy they were every day when we arrived at the school? They stuck their little hands out of the window holes in the wall to wave hello. With little direction, you were placed in front of a class of 40 students and told to teach. It was amazing to watch you all learn and adapt so quickly. You found ways to teach the kids so they actually understood the lesson, beyond just memorizing the information.”

-Kate, Program Mentor

Local students laugh with a GLA high school volunteer in Africa, in the schoolyard at our Ghana location

According to data collected by UNICEF, the illiteracy rate in Ghana sits at around 28%. While that might seem high, consider that literacy in the United States is at an astounding 99%, and it’s easy to determine that there’s much more that can be done in the Ghanaian education system.

Teens volunteering with Global Leadership Adventures get the opportunity to tutor young students who don’t always have the benefit of fully stocked library or access to a computer lab. Theirs is an impact at its most personal: giving these children their time and complete attention in the classroom. It is this passion that gets these teens up in the morning, and it is the same passion that inspires local kids and their parents to walk to school in the summer just for another opportunity to learn.

A Ghanaian student works on an assignment in class

“Teaching the children can be difficult at times because there are many distractions, however they are so happy and eager to learn, it makes the hard work worth it. We feel like we have adjusted to the basic layout of the classrooms and the lack of materials, so that it seems strange to think of normal classrooms back at home.”

-Francesca and Ania, GLA Ghana Alumni

With net enrollments in primary school under 85% for both girls and boys in Ghana, thousands of children are unable to receive even the opportunity for an education. That number drops for high school-aged Ghanaians, where secondary school enrollments fall below 50% for young men, and below 45% for young women.

Each day the GLA team of teen volunteers brings these students back to the classroom is one fewer day they are missing in their education. With many children required to walk miles to reach their schools, they must be inspired to show up. At Ghana: Children of Africa, our mission is to make the road to school seem a little shorter.

GLA students joining hands with Ghanaian children during a class activity

Our high school volunteers who arrive at our Ghana program are split into three or more service sites where they dedicate their time to tutoring - and of course, playing - with these young students. Every year, many dozens of Ghanaian students are able to get some extra time in front of the books, and play time in the schoolyard.

As one group of GLA student leaders reminded themselves at the end of their summer in Ghana:

“If you think you’re too small to make an impact, spend a night with a mosquito.”