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>View discussions about this entry Country: Ghana
Organization: ACRO Ghana
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
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.
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.
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.
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: - a. annual budget
b. annual revenue c. sources of revenue (please provide percentages if known) d. number of staff (full-time, part-time, and volunteers) 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.
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 Contact Information:
Adu Adjei
Project Manager ACRO Ghana (NGO) Discussions about this entry
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GO BACK TO SCHOOL sustainable Brigade of Underprivileged Boys in the Dormaa District of Ghana
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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
> 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.
what type of jobs can school drop-outs get in your area ?
how are they paid ?
Are there youths in your clubs who do not live with their families (i.e. street children)?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky, I love your comments and your interest in what we do. I have read the entry of CVVC and I think we have the same objective.I will come back to that issue later on. As I have said already we operate in farming communities and therefore we encourage the school drop outs to go to the land. There many unemployed university graduates and hence the chances for thes drop out find paid jobs with living wages is very slim. The only chance for them is to go on the land either to till the land or animal husbandary.
Those who have chances to further their education are those we organise evening classes for so they re-write their examinations and pursue their courses.
All those in the clubs are either with relatives or with parents. Yet they have lost control and they do what they want. Meaning they only sometimes go home to sleep in the nights. In the club counselling, we try to encourage them to go into farming where at least they would be able to fend for themselves. It is not easy because then, we have to provide some start up capital which we do not have at the moment. We hope we would be able find investors to come to our aid.
On the post I found that, you do a lot. Do you work form Sweden? Could also support us with your knowhow since we want to do more with agriculture?
regards
Adu
Abu wrote:
>In the club counselling, we try to encourage them to go into farming where
>at least they would be able to fend for themselves.
In http://www.sportanddev.org/en/projects/see-all-projects/prisons-sports.htm (Project details: last modified 10. August 07), Kwabena Osei Bonsu (Graduate Teacher, ACRO Ghana in Dormaa Ahenkro) wrote:
>We capture on their interests in sports to hand them over to the sports clubs in
>their communities to find new friends which help them to reintegrate into society.
>Through these contacts, they are encouraged to participate in the AgriCare
>Project to start a new life.
Is the AgriCare Project a ACRO Ghana project or is it with Agricare Ltd ?
What do the ex-offenders do ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi
I have a problem in understanding whether activities are in operation or they are still in the planning desk (intentions)
In http://www.sportanddev.org/en/projects/see-all-projects/prisons-sports.htm (Project details: last modified 10. August 07), Kwabena Osei Bonsu (Graduate Teacher, ACRO Ghana in Dormaa Ahenkro) wrote:
>We capture on their interests in sports to hand them over to the sports clubs in
>their communities to find new friends which help them to reintegrate into society.
>Through these contacts, they are encouraged to participate in the AgriCare
>Project to start a new life.
On 13 Jan, you wrote:
>We have not as yet re-settle any of them as a result of lack
>of funding.
and in a separate message you wrote:
>The AgriCare is to provide the main livelihood support for participants.
>Here each community makes ACRO Ghana community farm to plant maize
>and cassava, and sometimes also vegetables.
As I understand now, the AgriCare project is just an idea/proposal on what could be done and that there is currently no "ACRO Ghana community farm" nor has any ex-offenders been sent to any farm.
Am I correct ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky, thank you for your investigative commentary. Really the only projects on the ground are the Community and Prison Sports. As I have already hinted, the land abounds everywhere and the labour is the people participating. We have no cash to add up to let the farming take hold. At least we provide a little incentive like food to be eaten at the farm whilst working. We do not have simply the cash so like you rightly stated they on the drawing board. The people are poor and I have to provide for transportation if they are to converge to make any festivities. It is very hard and sometimes very sad.
with best regard
Adu
Dear Abu
I understand the situation you have.
Access to land is essential to help youths at risk in poor countries (farming being one choice to create a sustainable livelihood). I have visited adult prisons and probation centres in Western Samoa, Uganda and Kenya. All prisons have land and often very large areas may be unused. Since you already have an active "Community and Prison Sports Project", a relationship with prison warden(s) and active intention to help ex-offenders, a starting point for your proposed AgriCare Project would be to request for access to some land for the ex-offenders. There are positive effects too esp. when current offenders can see "after care" interests for ex-offenders.
Start with 2 acre of land for 4 ex-offenders and this will also ensure that there is one person all the time (for security). Water is most crucial and you need to consider different water resources. IOBB (Intl Organization for Biotechnology and Bioengineering) Chapter in Pakistan is organizing an Internet Seminar (21 Jan-03 Feb 2008) on "Re-use of Domestic Wastewater for non-potable purposes with respect to Haroonabad, Pakistan" and based on a report "Urban Wastewater: A Valuable Resource for Agriculture A Case Study from Haroonabad, Pakistan" (2002) (29 pages available at
http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/Publications/IWMI_Research_Reports/PDF/pub063/Report63.pdf )
The discussion will be conducted at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/uwa-pk/
To subscribe for discussion messages by email, just send a blank email to :
uwa-pk-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
The e-seminar may be useful for you.
Once the AgriCare project has access to land, it would strenghten any application you make for funding. Many granting agencies do not give money to intentions that do not have any initiatives taken on the ground. We as NGOs must take the first step in voluntary action.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky
Thank you once again for sharing your rich experiences with ACRO Ghana. For land acquisition ACRO Ghana has no problem whatsoever. What we need now is a little funding to set the farming project operational. I hope we could even win a prize here and use it to start.
my best regards
Adu
Thanks Jacky! AgriCare is the name of our Agricultural Project and has nothing to do with Agricare Ltd. It was when I tried to find out how people can easily locate us through the search engines that I also came across Agricare Ltd. By this time we have taken that name for the project.
It simply means when we care for agriculture, agriculture will care for us. So we chose this name to show how our lives could improve as people in farming areas if we give agriculture a periority.
On the whole Ghana is an agarian country where crops do well in every corner. Umemployment is high even amoung graduates. That would mean ex-cons have no chance for any form employment that would give them a living wage. Some of the Prisons have their own farms and therefore it would not be difficult to re-settle those who have served their terms in farming areas with proper supervision. Government has all the expertise in all the districts should we have the means to set own farms and use that as re-settlements points. We have not as yet re-settle any of them as a result of lack of funding. We are still talking and supporting Prison sports within our limited capacity.
>We have not as yet re-settle any of them as a result of lack
>of funding. We are still talking and supporting Prison sports
>within our limited capacity.
Because you dont have any resources, I think you can play the important role of a match-maker; i.e. match a former offender to a farm. I hope your isnt one of those organizations that are waiting for funding before they do anything.
It is unfortunate that there is a growing group of poor people in many countries who live simply to have a roof over their heads and for some food to keep alive. They are members of the "culture of no accountability". This is the state of affairs for many youths in poor countries where there is no public social services where they can go to. They do not belong to any group. This is one primary and major difference them and the youths in the USA or Canada.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Adu asked:
>On the post I found that, you do a lot. Do you work from Sweden?
>Could also support us with your knowhow since we want to do
>more with agriculture?
I will develop e-learning packages in cooperation with www.mkfc.se and will keep you informed. MKFC is also developing a general e-learning package on agriculture.
Globetree's focus is currently in East Africa (since 2001) and brings Swedish children to meet others in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Globetree sponsors a Kenyan OVC NGO (OVC=orphans and vulnerable children) and organizes lots of social activities (including football). I have been a volunteer since 2003 and now with proper funding I will focus at how to make human resources "productive" and development of job skills.
Since 2003 I have joined children in social activities, creating opportunities for primary school education, and just like many other OVC NGOs do - - to provide care and protection to vulnerable children. But there is so little or no focus/action on what happens when such vulnerable finish primary school education and graduate from OVC NGO homes. Our partner NGO in Kenya has an overall operational budget of about 160 Euros per child (i.e. total annual budget divided by the number of children cared for in the organization). All their current energies/time of the staff, volunteers and children are going to day-to-day management (washing cloths, feeding program) and other fun-things like primary schooling, bible classes, singing/dancing, football, etc. Some 20 % of primary school children can afford to conitnue into secondary school. So the rest are unprepared to face the real work.
Traditional Kenya has children trained by their parents in their livelihood activities. We now have children who are dissociated with such livelihood activities due to compulsory schooling and prohibited by child labor policies. They just have no skills at the age of 16. All the youths are at risk !
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hmm! Jacky the Kenyan child situation is not limited to Kenya alone. Ghana has the same problem. High fertility rate amoung women, culture supporting more than one wife to a man and worsening poverty with in communities, many children have no caretakers, sometimes at very early stages before leaving primary school. The situation is very sad.
I have quickly gone through the MKFC's page and it would be useful particularly when you put the information about the e-learning there. Thank you for that.
To Adu Adjei
Could you tell me more about your project started in 2004 as described in
http://www.streetfootballworld.org/Projects/acroghana/index_html/en
>Project description :
ACRO Ghana serves as an institutional link between prisoners and ex-convicts
>and the communities they must learn to reintegrate themselves into. Its vision
>is a safer society where everyone belongs, human rights are respected
>and preventing crime means tackling social exclusion and re-integrating
>those who offend.
>Football creates an inclusive environment for its players, making them
>feel welcome, boosting their self esteem, and creating a sense of
>belonging in a community from which some feel excluded. In addition
>to football activities, ACRO also provides prisoners with legal aid and
>lobby to reform the penal systems in the hope of creating alternatives
>to imprisonment for certain individuals.
>
>Contact Person :
>ACRO Ghana
>Adu Adjei ( Co-Founder and Project Manager )
> Switzerland
>Telephone : +41 32 3230048
>Fax : +41 32 3230048 (Switzerland)
>adadjei@swissonline.ch
Lower Kabete (where CVVC will be located) has 4 public institutions and they have 3 football fields. I agree with you that football clubs provides a place and sense of belonging for people and sets their common goal/hope until the next match. I also observed a similar sense of belonging in church groups and even in online computer game groups like Warcraft.
Work and celebrations go hand-in-hand. I like to develop productive lives.
So a specific question is:
how do/can you integrate your primary strategy of football with the development of a productive life and livelihood for ex-offenders after they leave the prisons ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Thanks again Jacky! I was born and grew up in the District ACRO Ghana is established. I grew to know how even men football borught our villages together and enjoyment we all have our the village team is playing home. Those days it was the talented who could be part of the team.
We are using the same model, this time everybody could be part of it particularly we encourge women to play active part. see http://www.streetfootballworld.org/Projects/acroghana/p_galleries/galleries_view
This gives us a platform to discuss other livelihoods strategies. Apart from the Prison Sports which is found within selected prisons, we have as mentioned previously, the AgriCare Project; Kids playgrounds; Cultural Dancing Music, in addition to the main sports in the communities. This in ACRO Ghana's would revive the communual spirits and leave no one sitting on the fence.
The AgriCare is to provide the main livelihood support for participants. Here each community makes ACRO Ghana community farm to plant maize and cassava, and sometimes also vegetables.
Kids playgrounds is important for ACRO Ghana. At their early stage would want inculcate into the sence of belonging and sharing. At the same time they go out there to play to keep fit and find new friends who are not in their immediate vicinity. It gives us also the opportunity to observe the kids and interact as well with parents.
When I was growing up in our village each of our communities had a special cultural/traditional dancing music to entertain particulary during the moon lights. Now these beautiful groups and dying out and we would want revive them through our sports programmes where most of these people who know how to play converge. It would entertain the community because it does well even without electricity. During sports festivals, it provides the background music.
when all these programmes are running it would not difficult to find a place for ex-con who would normally not be accepted back within society.
Adu wrote:
>...I think we have the same objective
though we both deal with youths, there are many differences in the details.
for example:
>we operate in farming communities
I am more interested in the details.
e.g. what actually do you mean by "operate"
do you own the farms where drop-outs work ?
or
do you just have an advisory capacity, like a preacher promising "heaven" if you do this and that ?
CVVC is solely hands-on. Our partners have forest land, farm land, a stream, rabbits, cows, sheep but they all operate at low efficiency or productivity. E.g. 3 liters of milk per cow (Oct 2007); at peaks it is around 10 liters but why not target for 20 liters ??
There is a major difference in thinking and thus reflected in their management. Their operations are often for subsistence and thus below the critical number for sustainability, i.e. there is never surplus for sale. Food production activities are often not maximised to the fullest.
>we operate in farming communities
what do you grow ?
what are their yields
If we want to encourage youths to take farming as a choice to develop into a sustainable livelihood, we need to present a business plan for them. If you have one cow that produces 5 liters milk on an average, that will give 100 KES in Kenya. You cannot survive with that.
I met a group who was interested in a rabbit project and said they had 5 rabbits and in 2 months they got 20. I asked them how many do they have now. They answered "none" because they slaughtered all of them.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hmm, the rabit story if funny! We have used sports programmes to sensitize the communities the need for all afore mentioned programmes. We are about to start our first ACRO Ghana community farms. We want to into large scale farming including pigs and as you mentioned maybe rabbits and goats.
The problem here is, we do not actually need much to start since land is not a problem. I am the only financier of ACRO Ghana at the moment and it retire our advancement in so many ways. Hopefully, we would interested partners who would us a little bit financially whilst we do communual labour to do the rest. At the end we want get into micro-financing when we are able to deposit some level of cash with the banks.
The cultural dancing group would be income generating by providing entertainment within the community.
The kids play gounds would be community owned with a each household paying a little fee for its maintenance and expansion.
I must say that, as result of the limitations I mentioned above, we have not gone far with all these programmes except the sports. This year with begin with the farming.
thank you again for your interest and hope we can benefit from your experiences and help humanity.
regards
Adu
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:
>What we recently did was to mediate on the job training for a young lady who
>just dropped out of school.
I am interested to know more details. What job training is she now involved in and is AGRO Ghana paying any training fees ?
One of CVVC partners (Nakuru Girls Probation Hostel - NGPH) send their girls for hair dressing and saloon training. But the public saloons charge training fees. NGPH is now thinking of start its own saloon and income from public visitors can go to a public fund for the girls.
CVVC will have a business centre and I hope to recruit some fo NGPH girl probationers. They can also join other training activities, e.g. manage CVVC restaurant(s) and stores.
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky, how are you and your group doing with the crises in Kenya. Are you all at a secured place? Hope this would stop sooner than later.
Concerning your question regarding the on the job training, ACRO Ghana did not pay neither did the parents of the girl. The girl wanted to go to vocational school which the parents did not find the money and were not sure of the her success since in the vocational school they do not only practicals but academic work too. ACRO Ghana got to know the problem because the girl is in one of our football teams and we do carrier counseling for both parents and the children.
ACRO then looked around the community to find a place she could do the job training without necessarily paying big moneys parents could not afford. So instead of going to a school where she would pay money, she is learning the same trade at a place where she is accomodated and fed. Of course she does part of the household core duties and it part of the training. She is in Bakery, Pestries and house keeping or you may term it home economics. ACRO Ghana is in contact with all parties to make the objectives are met within the time frame.
One thing you should probably let the community to understand is that, your programmes benefit all and therefore as part of their social responsibility, they should collaborate with you. I understand the irony of such statements since they all are doing businesses, however there others who passionate to our course and hope one day many more would understand.
I happy we could exchange praticial experiences and hope we could keep it up
thanks for the good work
>she is accomodated and fed. Of course she does part of the
>household core duties and it part of the training.
>She is in Bakery, Pestries
is the bakery own by the household that is providing lodging and boarding to the girl ?
It is not the best deal but many vulnerable youths could face worse.
>One thing you should probably let the community to understand is that,
>your programmes benefit all and therefore as part of their social responsibility,
>they should collaborate with you.
Please note that CVVC is (at the start) for vulnerable youths who come via NGOs or institutions. The deal CVVC will have is that the Ministry of Home Affairs will provide board and loding to these youths. CVVC will provide/facilitate training. So if the girl in Ghana is in our CVVC program, she will then be in intern at the bakery and provide free labour (while being trained) with defined working hours during e.g 6 months. CVVC will provide transport money.
There is a great risk of exploitation in the case of your girl since house chores can be very demanding too.
Q: does the bakery only do baking or does it also run a shop to sell bread and pastries ?
regards
jacky foo
Children's Village and Vocational Centre (CVVC), Kenya
http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/node/3940
Hi Jacky I must say that, you programme is cute if you provide such facilities for the youth during the training. Of course as you rightly said there could room for exploitation. However, ours is very small we could not likewise in your case. The business belongs to the household and each morning many youngsters from the neighborhood who are registered in this business as sales personnel come to collect their allocation for sales from which they get their commission. So it means they produce and distribute to their customers and do not have their own retail shops.
One thing is that she is not the only girl learning here and also we have made her aware that there are other opportunities for her and therefore she should report any uncomfortable circumstances she might go through. We hope with the parents and ACRO Ghana team like myself getting into regular contact, would be able to detect any such exploitation cases.
It is possible to receive foreign girls from ACRO Ghana? What could the conditions be?
regards
Adu
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
thank you very much. I will begin to thing collecting the keyboards for this purpose. Can you support us with your rich experience and knowhow particularly agriculture?
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
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