Launching A Project to Keep Girls in School in Ghana
This post was authored by Co-Founder Harry Leibowitz
Last week, I had the good fortune to spend a few days in Ghana with our 2015 Youth Honoree Winnifred Selby and representatives from Procter & Gamble Sub-Saharan Africa who are helping us with our three-party program to keep Ghanian girls in school. Together, we traveled to Dagomba Village, about 100 km from Kumasi, a small city in the Ashanti region of Ghana. There we launched a “beta test” designed to help prove that with proper menstrual hygiene supplies, complementary health education, and proper facilities to dispose of used product, girls will miss fewer school days when they have their periods.
Gathered in this small village to welcome us were over 200 girls from three nearby schools, their teachers, and classmates, and many local dignitaries including the Head Chief of the regional district and the District Education Director.
The Head Chief of the region spoke about his commitment to see all his girls finish school and encouraged them to do so. Our friends from P&G had an opportunity to speak about their Always Keeping Girls in School Program, and Winnifred and I each had an opportunity to talk about our respective work helping vulnerable children.
We then did a ceremonial ribbon cutting for the 2 biofill bathroom facilities funded through generous gifts to World of Children. These facilities are set aside for girls only to ensure they have safe, sanitary facilities to use while they are attending school.
Perhaps the most emotional moment of the entire day was when the Headmistress of one of the schools came over and hugged me. Said she felt blessed that we would choose her girls… she had prayed for such a chance for them.
These girls that we are all helping are the future of our world. I too, feel blessed that we can give them this support to help them stay in school. Thank you for helping World of Children make this wonderful day, and this amazing project, possible.
We’ll have much more news for you as we follow up with Winnifred and the girls in the coming months. I’ll be sharing more as we hear from them. Until then, you can learn more about the program here and see photos from our very special day in Dagomba on Facebook.