Please Donate! Help Train Teen Girls in Ghana
Looking for an awesome Christmas gift or just some plain ol’ good karma? Well, I’ve got something for you.
For the past few weeks I’ve been planning a fundraising campaign for a school located about 45 minutes outside of Accra, and after a few visits and some iMovie magic, it’s here!
You can read all about it on the funding page but here are the basics: the campaign is to raise funds for the Women Action Group Vocational School. I learned about Women Action Group through WiLDAF (where I work now), as they are a partner and have been having some serious funding issues (read: there’s no money and they need some urgently). A fellow Crossroads volunteer is actually working full time at the school so I’ve visited a few times and I’m continually struck by a) how much they need funding and b) how awesome the girls are.
Basically, the school provides education to girls who otherwise wouldn’t have any. Voluntary instructors teach things like English and Math, in addition to the vocational skills that are so crucial in the rural areas of Ghana where many of the girls call home. In those areas, women have very few options when it comes to how they can make money, and this often leads to them entering prostitution or otherwise relying on a man so they can survive. Some ways they can make money are through gendered occupations like dress making, catering, and hair dressing: all skills that are taught at the school.
Beyond the education the school provides, it also acts as a safe space for many of the girls who have a difficult or dangerous home life. Several of them even sleep at the school as they have nowhere else to go.
This place has been around since 1991 and it’s run by an amazing but very stressed out woman named Felicia. She founded the school and has devoted her life to giving hundreds of girls a chance at independence. The funding issues have built up to the point that Felicia doesn’t know how she’ll continue the school…but with a little help, this place can go back to it’s former glory and continue helping girls for years to come.
Every bit helps! I know this is the second time I’ve annoyed you for a donation (sorry!) but being in Ghana, I’m continually faced by situations that I wish I could change or help. This is one situation that I can at least try to change, and I hope you’ll help me.
Here’s the link to the campaign, please watch the video and spread the word!
Kelsey Parsons 
Keep up the good work…hope this little bit helps the cause….Muriel & Noel