Seed Grant Awardee Spotlight

JUDITH ALOKO, GHANA

Judith believes that “education is the bedrock to economic and social development.” As a Graduate Scholar with a degree in education from the University of Cape Coast she began her national volunteer service as a primary school teacher in a remote village.

As a new teacher she saw very quickly that the brightest students would not be able to advance academically without extra support. Even with many efforts and advancements made by various governments to provide accessible education the system can still fail a child.

In Ghana there is free compulsory universal basic education, meals during school hours and capitation grants for basic schools. However, Judith witnessed that “…some parents cannot afford for their children’s basic necessities such as uniforms, exercise books, school bags, pencils and pens for their effective learning at school.”

Without notebooks and pencils a student cannot take notes. Without notes a student cannot study. And without a backpack in the rainy season, any and all academic materials are soiled.

The Basic School Supply Assistance Project directly empowered 40 primary school beneficiaries in four remote villages. The forty students all received a tailored school uniform (for some it was their first), a school bag, 10 exercise books, and pencils. The school supplies directly reduced the financial burden felt by families with little to no income and lifted the heavy emotional toll that students felt on a daily basis for being without. During continued visits to each school, Judith and a team of volunteer educators met one-on-one with beneficiaries and hosted school-wide motivational speeches.

Judith plans to continue working with this group of students and aid them in progressing with their studies.