ATE Chief Executive Sarah Annable-Gardner becomes MBE in 2026 New Year's Honours!

Changing lives through education, enterprise and inclusion

We work with rural communities in Upper West Ghana, tackling poverty, creating opportunities and switching on hope

Switching on Hope

We’ve been switching on hope all year in Upper West Ghana! One thousand school pupils, 800 disabled children and carers, 34 entrepreneurs and farmers, 20 apprentices, 18 senior high school girls and hundreds of children at our new Technology and Learning Zones are all making the most of new opportunities, support and resources – to transform their lives.

And there’s more to come in 2026! We’ll be partnering four new schools, launching two disability groups and supporting even more people to grow businesses and learn skills. This is how whole communities are uplifted and change is real and long-lasting. This is hope..

Change through education

We work with 13 schools, providing meals, educational resources and sanitary products that enable pupils to learn on full stomachs and with dignity. So far, we’ve helped more than 4100 young people access education. Olivia (above) goes to Bagri Junior High and appreciates the monthly sanitary pads provision:

“It helps us come to school. We girls are much happier.”

Change through enterprise

We have backed 174 small businesses with grants, training and mentoring, enabling them to become sustainable and profitable. 82 girls (including 9 with disabilities) have learnt a trade through our apprenticeship scheme. Barikisu (above) runs one of 37 ATE-backed dry season farms:

“ATE gave me all I needed to succeed.”

Change through inclusion

We bringing disabled children into the light, challenging stigma and enabling them to learn and laugh. Our SNAP disability project supports almost 800 children and carers across 8 locations, providing education, equipment, medication, advocacy and lots of joy. Tierto (above, with Julita and Charles) says:

“The main reason I love SNAP meetings is I know I am not alone. I have learnt new things, I worry much less, life has improved.”

How we work

We’ve developed a unique approach to tackling poverty, integrating our key areas of work into a dynamic model based around community hubs. It puts local people and local leadership at the heart of everything – and is driving our expansion to new rural locations.

Where does your donation go?

We are financially transparent and carefully monitor and evaluate our work to ensure the money you donate is used in the best way possible.

87p goes directly towards project costs

Creating opportunities through education, inclusion and enterprise – such as our Dry Season Farmers programme which supports sustainable agriculture all year round.

9p is spent on fundraising

Giving us the resources to pay for projects, plan for the future and provide job security for our 33 school cooks and other staff.

4p is spent on administration costs

Ensuring we can deliver our annual report, be a responsible employer and fulfil our legal responsibilities in the UK and Ghana.

Our latest posts

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“My journey was not easy, but ATE held my hand. Today i wear the green uniform of nursing training college with pride. Thank you for making my dreams reality”

Through her teens, Agnes was student in term time and a kayeye street girl in the holidays. She travelled south and worked from 4am everyday selling meat pies on the side of the road, to return to Biro every September with a pair of sandals and a dream of something better for her future.

When Byron Wigglesworth interviewed her in 2021, he asked her what she wanted to become, ‘I will be a nurse’ she beamed, looking down at her sandals. Her quiet confidence shone through. From a community where almost nobody before her had made it to tertiary education, she knew exactly what she wanted for herself - against all odds.

Agnes has been determined to succeed, and she’s done it. Today her dream has come true. She’s training to be a nurse.

We are hugely inspired by her, this incredibly young woman who is forging her own path. We're proud to be part of her journey.

Her story from 2021 is moving and beautifully written by Byron, read it here here: ateghana.org/a-day-in-the-life-of-agnes-a-kayeye-street-girl/

We can’t think of a better way to spent a Friday morning than taking a moment to celebrate Agnes 💚
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“My journey was not easy, but ATE held my hand. Today i wear the green uniform of nursing training college with pride. Thank you for making my dreams reality” 

Through her teens, Agnes was student in term time and a kayeye street girl in the holidays. She travelled south and worked from 4am everyday selling meat pies on the side of the road, to return to Biro every September with a pair of sandals and a dream of something better for her future.

When Byron Wigglesworth interviewed her in 2021, he asked her what she wanted to become, ‘I will be a nurse’ she beamed, looking down at her sandals. Her quiet confidence shone through. From a community where almost nobody before her had made it to tertiary education, she knew exactly what she wanted for herself - against all odds. 

Agnes has been determined to succeed, and she’s done it. Today her dream has come true. She’s training to be a nurse.

We are hugely inspired by her, this incredibly young woman who is forging her own path. Were proud to be part of her journey.

Her story from 2021 is moving and beautifully written by Byron, read it here here: https://ateghana.org/a-day-in-the-life-of-agnes-a-kayeye-street-girl/

We can’t think of a better way to spent a Friday morning than taking a moment to celebrate Agnes 💚

Comment on Facebook

The impact of ATE is one that you can't just imagine but it is happening ❣️

Congratulations to her and Lawra is proud of your contributions to changing the lives of her people. Long live ATE.

ATE is really impacting lives

Congratulations Agnes and God bless the founders and donors of ATE 💕💕

The smile alone defines it all. After all the fear of failure, with the help of ATE your long time resilience came through. Congratulations dear 🎉🎉

Congratulations

Great 👍. Impactful

Wonderful! Go Agnes!

Such an inspiring journey! 💚 Agnes is just one of many girls with incredible potential, but whose circumstances and lack of support can limit their opportunities. Stories like hers remind us why creating opportunities matters Action Through Enterprise - ATE.🎉

ATE is an excellent organization that has done extremely exceptional in the Lawra municipality and beyond. I can say this because I had been fortunate to work with this organization on a part time base and trust me Action Through Enterprise is a blessing. As we pray for its continuous growth and success, I stand on my authority to plead with everyone putting efforts to make this work, to continue and be assured that you are making a difference. I have worked with Sarah Annable-Gardner from the beginning and I can confidently say you are making a great impact in society. To the founders of ATE, donors, trustees consultants and everyone involved, I say good work done. To the beneficiary from the various models , please I advise you to make this effort by ATE count just like Agnes and even better. Opportunity they say come but once.

This is a huge incredible journey for Agnes. Such amazing and interesting stories to hear. Thanks to Action Through Enterprise - ATE for the transformation. May all these incredible stories uplift the organization with great resources to support others. Bravo to all the donors 🤞🤞

So happy for Ages that she has achieved her dream, she gives me hope ❤

Congratulations, l Agnes. You were determined.

congratulations

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We are fully horrified by this statistic. 53,414 teenage girls pregnant in Ghana in the first half of this year, and even worse - 1501 of them were between 10 and 14 years old.

It makes us feel sick. And it drives us to do more for young women.

Making sure girls can stay in education, that they have the basic tools they need to learn, changes everything. It empowers them, provides structure and purpose, educates them on their rights and enables hope for the future. Ultimately it protects them.

This September, we’re supporting 40 girls to go on to senior high school. 40 amazing young women who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go, who tell us they would have been had to travel south to earn money, or get married. 40 lives changed forever.

It is the single most powerful thing we do.

And the very best bit, is that we’re beginning to see long term results. Girls we supported back in the early 2020’s have now graduated. They have jobs, are training to be nurses, or at university. And they’re volunteering for us when they can, supporting the next generation. They are strong and capable, they have bright futures ahead.

These horrible statistics, and the anger we have about every single girl who this has happened to - they remind us why we do this work.

Thank you to everyone who helps make it possible 💚
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We are fully horrified by this statistic. 53,414 teenage girls pregnant in Ghana in the first half of this year, and even worse - 1501 of them were between 10 and 14 years old. 

It makes us feel sick. And it drives us to do more for young women. 

Making sure girls can stay in education, that they have the basic tools they need to learn, changes everything. It empowers them, provides structure and purpose, educates them on their rights and enables hope for the future. Ultimately it protects them.

This September, we’re supporting 40 girls to go on to senior high school. 40 amazing young women who otherwise wouldn’t be able to go, who tell us they would have been had to travel south to earn money, or get married. 40 lives changed forever. 

It is the single most powerful thing we do.

And the very best bit, is that we’re beginning to see long term results. Girls we supported back in the early 2020’s have now graduated. They have jobs, are training to be nurses, or at university. And they’re volunteering for us when they can, supporting the next generation. They are strong and capable, they have bright futures ahead. 

These horrible statistics, and the anger we have about every single girl who this has happened to - they remind us why we do this work. 

Thank you to everyone who helps make it possible 💚

Thank you Pilates with Carrie for putting on a Cake & Coffee Morning to support our disabled children in Ghana 💚

Carrie's amazing Mum, Dee Anderson, has been volunteering for us for over a decade, travelling to rural Ghana twice a year to train our inclusion team in using play in learning. She is a hero, and we're so grateful to have Carries supporting us too.

£70 raised already! Every penny makes a difference and is appreciated so much.
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Registered Charity: 1149988