Nkwanta School Supply Drop

On my third trip to Ghana, I took money graciously donated by our campers to Ghana.  In Accra, the capital of Ghana, me and my friend Mustapha used the money raised to buy basic school supplies; pens, pencils, notebooks, etc.  We also purchased soap and some large plastic bowls for the students to wash their hands in, since there are no bathrooms in many rural schools. 

Then we loaded up all these supplies in my backpack and headed for the rural village of Nkwanta, which has about 400 inhabitants.

Once we arrived, we met an old friend of ours who is also a teacher at the junior high school in Nkwanta. He accompanied us, introduced us to the faculties at both the elementary and junior high schools, and helped us pass out the supplies.

First we headed to the elementary school. The kids were so excited to see us come, even when they didn't know we were coming to pass out supplies. They kept leaning out the windows and asking me to take their photos.

First order of business was to introduce ourselves to the principal and teachers at the school. Then we accompanied the teachers to their classrooms, starting with the preschoolers, and began to pass out materials.

The kids were so cute. They were thrilled to get their notebooks and pencils. They kept yelling and cheering like kids do here when school is out for the summer. It was unbelievably loud but also really fun.

We had also brought some posters for the preschoolers that would help them learn things like the alphabet, the names of animals, and good hygiene habits. Here I am with all the preschool teachers who are showing off the posters.

Soon, it was time to go. But the kids gave us quite a farewell, running after us and cheering...

Next, we headed to the junior high school, which was considerably smaller. Again, introductions had to be made before we went to see the kids. The teachers were very friendly and happy to help us pass things out.

But they still weren't as happy as the kids! They were laughing and dancing in the aisles.

As we walked to go catch a bus home, our friend told us that many of his pupils couldn't afford any notebooks, and the few  who could buy notebooks could only afford one or two.  He said that this made a student's life very difficult, because they study 6 subjects each day and soon use up all the supplies they can afford. The teacher often found himself buying notebooks for students, even though his salary is hardly enough for he and his family to live on.  Because of your donations, every kid received several notebooks and the school was able to keep some spare notebooks for later.  This takes immense pressure off the kids, the parents, and the teachers; it also enables the children to learn.