A grandmother registering two orphans for Oasis Pathways Academy. They are both on full scholarship with a hot meal provided each day.

RSS Feed

This September,  a school was started in the community. Classrooms were created out of three renovated rooms to house around 30 students in KG1 and KG2 (two levels of kindergarten in Ghana). We have a wonderful headmistress and teacher, Suzie who is a retired teacher and was trained in the UK. Madam Jennifer is now teaching the KG1 students. 

Our new school, Oasis Pathways Academy, has now been in session for two months. Students are learning and thriving, amid some hardships.  The classrooms are quite small and there is a need for a much larger more standard sized classroom.  We are turning away families asking about pre-school for lack of facilities. All of our resources have gone into classroom furniture,  text books, some toys, supplies and paying the teachers.  However, the students are still sharing text books, do not have uniforms and are forced to "free range" since there is no toilet or running water. 

Many of our 27 students have younger siblings not yet old enough for kindergarten. More than a few of them follow their older brothers and sisters to school and take seats on the floor in the back just to absorb what is being taught. Even these little ones are learning English at an astounding rate.  The students in kindergarten 1 and kindergarten 2 pride themselves in speaking English and can be heard repeating the rule; “No vernacular!” as they encourage each other to try English even when not in school.

As our school grows the children are naturally progressing through their grade levels, which creates a need for new classrooms, as well as room for storage, a simple kitchen and very importantly a composting toilet

---

Teachers noticed that the children were coming to school without breakfast or food from home for lunch.  Funds were quickly resourced to buy ingredients and supplies, find a cook and start preparing a hot meal for these village children. After a month, most of the children began to put on weight and show improvement in their skin and spirit. The meal served at school is the most substantial food most of these orphaned children will eat in a day. 

---

These are our current classrooms, three small renovated storage rooms. At 27 children plus their siblings that show up each day, the tables and chairs are just about at capacity. We need full sized classrooms to hold 35 students and learning centers.

Our plans for building a complete primary school on nearby donated land is in the works. Theclassroom design is sturdy, simple, well-ventilated and reproducible, and is built using local materials and local labor paid a fair wage.