From Discouraged to Eager: Fishing Village Ministry in Ghana Sees Significant Impact

From Discouraged to Eager:
Fishing Village Ministry in Ghana Sees Significant Impact

“The response from the parents has been overwhelmingly positive,” shares Gladys Donkoh, Open Schools Worldwide, Ghana Country facilitator, of the fishing village ministry that was introduced in Ekumfi Srafa in Accra, Ghana. “Started in 2023, it is sparking interest in education among the children in the fishing community. The program began with 64 children, comprised of 25 boys and 39 girls. Their enthusiasm for participating in the project is commendable and attendance at the project has grown this year to over 100 children!”

Informal local fishing labour market opportunities lead children in the Ekumfi Srafa community to seek income-generating activities, instead of attending school. Needing to support the family, the children from the fishing villages resort to going fishing and working on the beach to raise money. At times, the collective communal support for the children to sell their labour and the many adults in this community who are not concerned that children are not staying in school, are the reasons numerous children are not willing to attend school or have dropped out.

Gladys regularly visits to monitor the progress of the volunteer tutors as they teach numeracy and literacy skills to the children. She has trained 15 volunteer tutors, and their efforts have significantly improved the numeracy and literacy levels of our students. Three children, Justice, Christopher, and Despite, who had dropped out of school, attended our intervention program this year and are now preparing to enter Senior School by the end of the month.

The impact of the Open Schools program on our volunteer tutors has been profound. John, one of the volunteer tutors leading the Ekumfi project since its inception, highlighted that the program has made a significant difference in the lives of many children from the fishing villages of Srafa Emuna. Initially discouraged, many children were not attending school, but now they are eager to participate in the program, and their performance has markedly improved.

John emphasized that before joining the program, the children struggled with communication and were socially deprived. Thanks to Open Schools, they have developed relationships with their peers and are now more engaged both academically and personally. As a volunteer tutor and a teacher in a local school, John finds fulfillment in teaching, stating that he learns new teaching skills from the program, while also incorporating the content into the national curriculum. John and the other tutors invite the parents and community elders on project days to share their stories and histories, creating a sense of connection and collaboration and slowly attitudes towards education and the need for children to attend school are changing.

He appreciates that Gladys and her husband Joseph remain actively involved, ensuring the program's continuity through their regular visits. Overall, we are proud of the progress we have made in Ekumfi, and Open Schools continues to have a profound impact on our community in Ghana.

Pray for Open Schools:

• For the protection of the children during their summer holidays.
• For safe travels of our coordinator, Gladys and her husband Joseph as they travel to the projects crossing rivers and travelling on poorly maintained roads.
• For the volunteer tutors as they engage with parents who are at times reluctant to send their children to lessons because it takes them away from working with the fishermen to earn a little money for the family.
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