Ghana 2015

This September Community Wings is leading a trip to Ghana, West Africa, to support the students of the rural northern Talensi district.

HELP US REACH OUR GOALS:

1. STUDY CENTER: Many of the homes in this district do not have electricity. An electrified study center will provide students with a place to borrow books, to read, and study after the sun goes down.   

2. SCHOLARSHIPS:  Public school tuition is free for Ghanaian children through junior high but fees are charged for school supplies, testing, uniforms and text books. High schools require tuition that many families cannot afford. Scholarships of $75/year cover costs through junior high, scholarships of $250 cover one year of a student’s high-school fees & tuition. 

How these became our goals:

In the northern Talensi district of the Upper East Region of Ghana, deep in the Tongo hills, lives a community of several thousand subsistence farmers, laborers and their families. They live in mud & thatch homes and their children help farm the land. With great encouragement from their parents, these children endeavor to achieve excellence in one of twenty primary schools in the region. However, it is a struggle to meet the demands of home life & school. Most students quit school and fall back into near-inescapable poverty. It has been our goal at Community Wings to make the small critical changes in the lives of these students that help them succeed and progress through school to achieve brighter futures. 

Over the past ten years, Community Wings founders, Kirstin Green and Ryan Allmandinger have developed a strong and lasting relationship with the families in this region. In 2006, Community Wings helped found one of the first Community Based Organizations (CBO) in the region, called Peal Deng. Peal Deng remains active to this day, serving as a link between residents and those outside the region. Community Wings has made five service trips with American students to engage in cultural exchange with the people of Peal Deng and Talensi-Nabdam.

Several years ago we learned from community leaders that most students in the region have no access to a computer. As a result, many were unable to pass computer-related state tests qualifying them for continued education into high school. We made it our goal to raise money and build the first computer lab in the region. Hundreds of students and parents alike, came to use a computer for the first time in their lives. It was an extraordinarily rewarding project that continues to impact the lives of students and their families. Recently, we again asked community leaders what their children needed most to succeed in school and in life. Their answers: 1. a learning center where students have access to books, laptops and electricity, 2. a playground to occupy the youngest children, 3. scholarships for high school-aged students. In September, Community Wings will travel to Ghana again to help meet those needs.

We hope that you, and anyone you know, can help us reach these goals. Thank you for your support.

• Tier 1: $5,000 Learning Center

  • Building preparation, school books, laptops, computer repair, shelving/desks

• Tier 2. Scholarships

  • As many students as possible with your generous donations at $250 per student.

A little more About Ghana:

Ghana is a small, remarkable country in West Africa. It is a vibrant, culturally rich place with a fascinating history. It is also a developing nation with many obstacles in its path to creating a higher quality of life for all of its citizens. Ghana is a country divided; Most of the country’s affluence is concentrated in the southern urban centers of Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast. Northern Ghana is largely rural, and families survive primarily on agriculture. The economic disparity between the north and the south is stark and palpable.