Written by Ben Hayford
Education is said to be the bedrock of every nation.
Every nation that fails to invest in education is bound to fail.
Educating the younger generation is very crucial in this regard hence my interest and love for child education. Children are the future of the world and therefore must be prioritised in terms of education.
I came to realise my unflinching support and love for children’s education when I was doing my national service in the Ahafo region. I worked with the National Health Insurance office as a Management Information Systems (MIS) officer.
During my stay at the region, I visited several communities where I realised that most of the kids had lost interest in schooling because they was no motivation for them to go to school or to learn. It was an eye opening and also a very sad experience for me.
One could clearly see the wide gap and the disparities when we talk about rural and urban education. Most of the kids were bare footed with tattered school uniforms with no exercise books to write in. It dawned on me to do something for these young ones.
The name of the school was called ‘Subriso District Assembly School.’ At that time, 2014, the school population was roughly 40 students with only one teacher who also functioned as the headmaster. I took it as a personal responsibility and a challenge to to supply them with basic school materials such as books, textbooks, pens and pencils, shoes and clothings after my national service. I remember donating my first month salary towards this worthy course. I also called some friends and raised some funds to buy teaching and learning materials to support these talented and brilliant young ones but less privileged and somehow neglected in our rural communities. The joy on their faces both children and parents when they saw me back was unprecedented and very touching.
Move The World is doing a great job in bridging this wide gap through their GetGlobal program. I would be super happy if they extend their support to such rural communities. I call upon civil societies and non governmental organisations and the government to take a critical look at rural education. They are also part of us and need to be treated fairly.
*Move the World’s long term goal is to expand into the rural communities as Ben has mentioned here – it is important for us to make connections with schools and communities before offering the programme; but always looking forwards to more opportunities to reach every child in Ghana.
