GO BACK TO SCHOOL sustainable Brigade of Underprivileged Boys in the Dormaa District of Ghana
Location
Very low education levels act as poverty traps, the GO BACK TO SCHOOL is for in-school and young school drop outs to learn skills.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
Project City
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
Your idea
Year the initative began (yyyy)
2007
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Project URL (include http://)
Plot your innovation within the mosaic of solutions
Which of these barriers is the primary focus of your work?
Low self-value and stability leads to risky choices
Which of the principles is the primary focus of your work?
Create credible choices and opportunities
If you believe some other barrier or principle should be included in the mosaic, please describe it and how it would affect the positioning of your initiative in the mosaic:
Lack of good parenthood and mentors
Name Your Project
GO BACK TO SCHOOL sustainable Brigade of Underprivileged Boys in the Dormaa District of Ghana
Describe Your Idea
Very low education levels act as poverty traps, the GO BACK TO SCHOOL is for in-school and young school drop outs to learn skills.
Innovation
Describe your program or new idea in one sentence.
Very low education levels act as poverty traps, the GO BACK TO SCHOOL is for in-school and young school drop outs to learn skills.
What makes your initiative uniquely positioned to create change in your community?
Ghana's youth will be the driving force behind economic prosperity in future decades, but only if programmes are in place to enchance their opportunities and encourage smaller families. A cycle of positive outcome would result from larger, better educated workforce with fewer children to support. A recent UN report sugguests that, 44% of the Sub Saharan Countries population, including Ghana is under the age of 15. That is a huge potential to vehicle economic growth if boys who are mostly at risk are given opportunities through education. ACRO Ghana through sports brings boys back to the classroom to give them the needed skills to participate fully in the economy and public life, and promote healthy behaviours. ACRO has teachers and also work with resourceful stakeholders to teach and encourge boys to consider their future and take advantage to learn now and stay away from trouble. ACRO mediates and recommends on the job training for those at risk to prevent crime.
Describe how you organize and carry out your work?
GO BACK TO SCHOOL is for in School and mainly drop outs . They are grouped accordingly by level of learning and interest in trade. The higher level school leavers have the mandate to teach the junior ones with professional teachers as supervisors. This is done daily from 1900 to 2030 Hours during school terms in various school blocks. Regular, best behaved, academics as well, are rewarded during meetings of parents to boost morals. Retired Educationists organise workshops on Peer to Peer teaching.
What is your plan to scale and expand your innovation into your community and beyond?
This boys' Brigade has started within ACRO Ghana's 15 sports clubs. But the fact that marginalised boys are highlighted does not mean, they are necessarily the only target beneficiaries. It is important for ACRO Ghana to understand who they are and how their livelihoods are constructed in order to assess how they will be affected by any development activity. Conseguently, retired volunteer Educationists write all inclusive teaching and learning concept and provide training for Peer to Peer tutors and professional supervisors. The counselling of parents and the participants for the evening classes would minimise the engagement of children in the many core house duties after school. Each of the 15 clubs has Community activity unit who oversee the classes in their areas. End of term test competitions are organised and best students awarded prizes according to their needs and future plan. ACRO envisages broad band internet room in the District Capital to serve as IT centre as well as for distant learning for young graduates.
What other resources, institutional, or policy needs would be necessary to help sustain and scale up your idea?
In our societies today, many of the policies and institutions discriminate against the dis-advantaged poor. Such discrimination undermines developments efforts to eradicate crime. ACRO generally accepts that, significant and sustainable gains in the prevention of risky behaviour, cannot be achieved unless accompanied by pro-marginalized reforms to domestic and international policies and institutions. In this GO BACK TO SCHOOL BRIGADE, disadvantaged boys are trained as leaders to manage most of the affairs to the extent of being engaged in decision making processes and individual and civil society rights. What is planned is to equip all the 15 communities 4 feet rechargable florecent tubes each to provide lights since electricity in rural communities is a problem. Used computer keyboards are also needed to help kids to master the ten finger typing system. Since ACRO re-settles ex-cons, it is hoped crime prevention advocacy would have the required personnel to keep boys away from trouble. Again those who faulted and were convicted, now with turn around behaviour would help correct.
Impact
Describe your impact in one sentence, commenting on both the individual and community levels.
Boys at risk are gradually integrating into society and able to engage in decision making processes as well as individual and civil society rights.
What impact has your work achieved to date?
ACRO Ghana commits itself to promoting education, health and opportunities for dis-advantaged boys through sports and GO BACK TO SCHOOL BRIGADE programme. These range from mobilization of developmental resources towards investments and to helping mediate on the job training for boys who until then were not known in society. To date ACRO Ghana has used the various clubs to sensitize the community about the importance to support in-school and drop outs particularly boys who patronge most of the smoking hide-outs in Dormaa Ahenkro and its environs. Read message to participants during recent farmers day in Ghana. http://www.streetfootballworld.org/Projects/acroghana/p_files/files_view. We are proud, that parents assigning kids core household duties are on the decline at the beginning of our education drive. ACRO Ghana has educated in and out of School boys the importance of internet technology and communication and as a source of self help learning. We hope to expand the internet facilities to enable many more boys to take advantage of internet fun to learn.
Number of individuals served
Human capital represents the skills, knowlegde, ability to labour and good health that together enable people to persue different livelihood strategies and achieve livelihood objectives. ACRO Ghana offers avenues for boys who are in and outside club membership to learn skills to achieve livelihood objectives. These boys at risk are many atimes restricted by adverse structures and processes hence the interests created by this informal system has gathered momentum to benefit not less than 15 communities of 800 beneficiaries.
Community impact
Through using this community-based and community-led model, ACRO Ghana GO BACK TO SCHOOL has brought different pupils in and drop-outs boys to engage in something positive, which takes co-operation and willingness to undertake. This helps to break down social barriers that exist within our community. It has also helped to prevent the anti-social and offending behaviour, which otherwise, has such a negetive impact on the Dormaa community. When a Bus load of school kids come to ACRO Ghana's office to see what internet is, it is proven then that, these boys are now moving towards learning what internet is and does taken them away from activities that would otherwise might get them into trouble with its adverse effect on the community at large. In the early stages of the boy's development, we teach them values such as belonging, participating and sharing. The engagement of marginalized boys has the tendency to reduce fear among residents, increasing income, resulting from creation of business.
Society at large
ACRO Ghana has provided better understanding of the multiple dimensions of poverty and the urgent need to find solutions through education and by providing the framework for debate and discourse about poverty elimination.
What measure do you use to gauge your impact and why?
The increasing number of participants in the programme and the support enjoyed from the community and stakeholders in particular. This ACRO Ghana believes, once the programme becomes communitiy owned, rate of sustainability is high. Number of dis-advantaged boys graduating from the Brigade and finding jobs are bench marks of the success or otherwise of the programme.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative currently being financed and how would you finance further expansion and/or replication?
The project is financed in kind with voluntary work and funds from the founders. The few years of ACRO Ghana’s operations has seen a close link with key players in the area of operation. ACRO Ghana is in close collaboration with the Prisons, Social welfare Department, Police and the Labour Office in the region to co-ordinate, and collaborate to prevent and reform those who offend to reduce crime. Opinion leaders and parents are also well vexed in programme.
Despite these collaborations however, ACRO-Ghana (like other NGOs) are unable to solicit for financial resources from relevant government agencies to help achieve the target objectives. That is why external funding is urgently required. With external funding however, we will work to attract wider local partners to support project.
Provide information on your current finances and organization:
Budget Jan. 2008 - December 2009 in GHS (Ghanaian New Cedi)
2. Bookkeeper and Office Assistant 5643
3. Teachers / Coaches 14400
4. 4 feet florencent Tubes for lights 12000
5. Computers / IT 2000
6. Internet 3600
7. Balls (Footballs & Volleyballs) 5700
8. Clothing (Jerseys) 9500
Administration
1. Office rent 3360
2. Office supplies / copying 2400
3. Communication / postage 3600
4. Bank / currency charges 480
5. Audit & Monitoring / Evaluation 4000
6. Fax 250
7. Office Furniture 1000
8. Electricity 720
9. Maintenance 3900
10. Transportation 7900
Who are your potential partners and allies?
The Dormaa District Education Office, Social welfare Department, Police Administration, Dormaa Distict Assembly, Traditional Authorities, Parents and the Ghana Prisons Service are amongst the many stakeholers aligned with the programme.
Who are your potential investors?
As at now we have not had one except the local community. We hope soon some investors would take over at least the awards of best acedemics, best behaved and any other awards instituted as the programme grows.
The Story
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story.
I was in Ghana during the summer holidays to visit ACRO Ghana community and I felt good to see my roots again only to be disappointed by change in life styles of the boys I came in contact with. They basically have no hope in life and they care very little about anything. I was told there are no less than 100 Indian hemp hideouts with in Dormaa Ahenkro Township alone. Remember that, there could be equally the same number of alcohol drinking sports in addition. The young boys are lean, unhealthy by appearance. Thereon, I began to share my observation with ACRO Ghana leaders.
I realized the intensity of the problem after dicussing with some other stakeholders. The source of the problem, I was told is Lack of education and unemployment which have demoralize and dampened their spirits that most are falling into depression. They have no hope in life and prefer to beep up their heights by resorting to alcohol and other harmful drugs.
The young drop-outs have no rooms of their own and so do their junior ones in school. This situation makes studies more worrisome, particularly in the evening when all is quiet for good reading. The GO BACK TO SCHOOL BRIGADE is mopping up all those boys on the street, smoking and drinking sports to the classroom to teach skills of life to enchance their chances in the Job market.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material.
A graduate of the Institute of Professional Studies, (IPS) Legon Ghana, where I achieved a specialisation in accounting in 1986. From 1987 to 1994, I worked in Agogo Hospital and Dormaa Rural Health.
In Switzerland, I worked in Handicap’s Peoples Home, UNICEF, BNS Group AG, and Revistag Treuhand (Accounting firm) as a client Accountant. I worked also for the city of Biel, at the Tax Administration Department.
ACRO Ghana was founded in 2004, and I had since been working as the project manager
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Comments
Hello Adu,
Its great to see your entry in the competition! The Changemakers team is headed out for a brief holiday break but we'll be sure to give you some feedback early in the new year. All the best and Happy Holidays!
Dana Frasz
Changemakers
Dear Adu,
This sounds like another strong program from ACRO Ghana, I am wondering if you could provide further details on how the boys are getting back to school. I understand that the older boys have a program targeted to keep boys in school, however, what does that program entail? It appear that they spend a good three hours time late in the evenings, could you explain more on this detail?
I like the mentorship model, keep up the great work!
Tyler Ahn
Changemakers
Hi Tahn, thanks so much for your interest and the comments that followed. The GO BACK TO SCHOOL BRIGADE Programme runs on two parallel schedules.
The first group are those in school but have no facilities at their homes to study in the evening. The group are what we call the prep goers. They go in there with their home works or individual readings which they could call on supervisors for support in case they are in difficulties. This a programme essenticially for school going pupils.
The other group is the school drop-outs, young school leavers and those you did not benefit at all in any formal education. Further classification to this group are those school leavers and drop outs wanting to resit their examinition and did not get re-admission into their schools. Here the courses are thought with the general education syllabus to enable students re-sit their examinations. A class is devoted for those adult illiterates wanting to read and write.
Concerning the time, attention has already been drawn to bring all classes to close by 2030 Hours since the school kids in particular have to sleep early enough for the next school day.
Hoping to hear from you again in case I failed to make myself very clear.
Best regards
Adu
Adu Adjei wrote:
>The other group is the school drop-outs, ......(cut)........wanting to resit their
>examinition and did not get re-admission into their schools.
>......A class is devoted for those adult illiterates wanting to read and write.
Is ACRO Ghana providing any trade/job skills training ?
If yes, what are they ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky, how are you doing? Thanks for your interest in knowing what other job skills training ACRO Ghana offers. Currently we have only limited IT training for interested school kids. We operate at the moment in and around farming communities, hence our desire to encourage as many to be on the land as they do their sporting activities. What we recently did was to mediate on the job training for a young lady who just dropped out of school. This is another way to train people on life supporting skills. ACRO Ghana perse has not got its own establishments to train, however we could recommend and mediate on behalf of our participants to get training in the larger society.
with kindest regards
Adu Adjei
Adu Adjei wrote:
>Currently we have only limited IT training for interested school kids.
how do you go about arranging such IT training for school kids (ages: ?) ?
what specific training activities do they do ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
This is good question. We operate in remote parts and therefore have very limited access to internet. However we let the kids know something like that exists. We are using the office equipments to do that and they come to the office. We have downloaded a typing programme called typing master, trial version. with this we teach them ten finger typing. This is difficult since they need to type every day in order to move forward.
thier ages are between 7 and 15 and there are many more who are intereted. When we get funding we could get more computers so that they would type at least 15 minutes everyday and after the typing lessions they could learn the office programmes and the internet.
Hope to read from you again.
regards
Adu
Adu wrote:
>We are using the office equipments to do that and they come to the office.
>We have downloaded a typing programme called typing master, trial version.
>with this we teach them ten finger typing. This is difficult since they need to
>type every day in order to move forward.
Q: how many computers do they use currently ?
>When we get funding we could get more computers so that they would type
>at least 15 minutes everyday and after the typing lessions they could learn
>the office programmes and the internet.
In the early 70s when I was registered at Los Banos (Philippines) for my PhD, I visited a typing school and found that girls would practise on a cardboard with the typing keys drawn on them because there were not enough type-writers. I guess you could get hold of some old computer keyboards for your kids to use.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky you made my day. you made me laugh. Well, we have only two computers and those who are arranged to use for a particular day run in turns.
You made me laugh when you shared your experience in the Philippines, and the cute sugguestion you gave afterwards. I am still imaging how that would work because of difficulty in correcting errors. the instructor can call out the keys with the old keyboards with the kids, how would they be corrected if they type the wrong keys. Can you tell me more.
The somebody from Ghana come to you for some sort of training to implement your practice in our areas?
with best regards
Adu
>I am still imaging how that would work because of difficulty in correcting errors.
>the instructor can call out the keys with the old keyboards with the kids, how
>would they be corrected if they type the wrong keys. Can you tell me more.
the first thing a person needs to do is to master the keys with closed eyes. That's what the unconnected old keyboards are for. Then the person types what s/he is thinking or composing in her/his head. Student can even take a keyboard home if you can find many of them.
Then s/he goes for the real thing on one of your 2 computers and the 15 mins would be very much effectively used.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940