Oti: WORLD VISION SUPPORTS 67 AFTER-SCHOOL-READING CAMPS

As part of efforts to improve learning outcomes of pupils in Basic Schools in the Krachi East and West Districts of the newly created Oti Region, World Vision Ghana (WVG) in collaboration with the World Bicycle Relief (WBR) has presented 108 Buffalo bicycles to its Community Volunteers (CVs) otherwise known as After-School-Reading-Camp Facilitators or Teachers at two separate ceremonies at Dambai and Kete Krachi respectively.

The donation was made under the WVG's Bicycle Education Empowerment Programme (BEEP) which is aimed among other things at supporting After-School-Reading-Camp Volunteers in their monitoring and home visit support activities of their pupils so as to improve the overall learning outcomes of more than 6000 less-priviledged primary school children in 39 communities in the two districts.

The intervention by WVG in the two districts follows a less than 1 percent abysmal performance of primary school pupils in a baseline reading test conducted in the area in 2017. After implementing the pilot project for one year, the number of pupils that could read jumped from 1% in the baseline assessment to 6%. This was also corroborated by the 2018 Annual Monitoring Indicator on Child Well-being (AMIC) hence the decision by WVG to continue the project so as to bridge the yawning gap in reading skills and knowledge between pupils in these 39 deprived communities and their counterparts in the cities and urban areas. 

The project which is being implemented on pilot basis, is gradually increasing the scope of the pupils' knowledge and skills in reading apart from also building up their general capacities and confidence towards life and studies as future leaders of the country.

The bicycles are therefore serving as incentive package for the CVs who are not being paid any remuneration by World Vision and its partners for the work they do.

Launching the BEEP in the Krachi Cluster, WVG Education Technical Programme Manager, Andrew Ofosu Dankyi lauded the effective collaboration among all the stakeholders of education in the area in the implementation of the project so far. According to him, the need to continue to support pupils in the deprived communities in the area in literacy skills and knowledge for them to catch up with their colleagues in the cities and big towns, cannot be over-emphasized.

Mr. Dankyi noted that investing in the future prospects and education of the pupils today is the best thing that can happen to the life of the poor child in the deprived area, adding that it is that investment that can guarantee the child's quality education thereby equipping him or her with the needed skills and knowledge to turn around the socio-economic development of the area in the final analysis.

He commended the volunteer teachers for their sacrifices so far and urged parents and guardians in the beneficiary communities to accept and motivate the teachers to give off their best to their wards.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Krachi West, Douglas Ntim Osei and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Krachi East, Patrick Charti Jilima commended WVG and its partners for their immense contribution to quality education and its development in the cluster. They also praised the NGO for its infrastructural projects in the districts particularly in CHPS compound, dormitory blocks and borehole constructions amongst others. The DCE and MCE gave the assurance that their respective Assemblies would continue to give the needed support to WVG and its partners for them to realize their vision and dreams for the area.

The WVG Programme Officer (PO) in-charge of Education in the area, Sasu Brako disclosed that apart from the provision of several classroom accommodation facilities for schools in the two districts, more than 10,000 Teaching and Learning Materials (TLMs) have been provided for various levels of pupils in many schools. Periodic training services for hundreds of Kindergarten to Basic Three teachers have also been carried out.

According to Mr. Brako, the After-School-Reading-Camp project also runs a Child Parliament concept in a number of beneficiary communities. The initiative, he said allows the pupils to discuss and sensitize themselves on various local, national and international topical issues.

He was hopeful that the initiative by WVG would go a long way to drastically and further improve the reading abilities and skills of pupils in all the 67 reading camps dotted across the two districts.

As part of the launch, there was a short drama by some selected members and pupils of the reading camps on the after-school-reading-camp concept and its benefits to the school children. The concept which combines child play, interactive and activity strategies of learning, enables the young school child to have the free space and freedom to grasp a lot of knowledge and skills within a short period.

The use of the bicycles is to be monitored by a Bicycle Supervising Committee (BSC) which would ensure that the CVs do not only maintain the bikes but also use them for the intended purposes.

Present at the launching of the programme included officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES) and World Bicycle Relief (WBR), some Chiefs and Queenmothers as well as teachers, pupils and the CVs from the beneficiary camps and communities.

Source: Akukorku Media