The rain poured down in Tokuu yesterday, but that didn’t stop the smiles! Despite the weather, 48 children came to school and enjoyed their FIRST EVER school lunch. This is a brilliant start to our partnership with Tokuu Junior High School – when we first visited, attendance was just 33%. On Wednesday, it was 75%!!
Hunger is a huge reason children don’t stay in education. Joseph, 13, was sent home four times last term when it got too much. He told us: ‘I used to have stomach pains due to hunger, so I think the help will mean I will have no more stomach pains, so I will now stay in school to learn.’
Yesterday’s jollof is just the start! We’ll be providing books and educational materials, and sanitary pads for girls – everything to help children get the most out of school. Our support can’t come soon enough. Tokuu JHS – our second school in Nandom District – is ultra-rural and very run down. Classrooms are in dire need of books.
But there is hope. Paula, whose daughter Emelia is a pupil, summed it up perfectly: ‘I’m hopeful this support will motivate her to learn hard and hopefully become someone in the future with it to help their family and take us from the poverty that we are in right now.’
Thank you to the school and community for being such wonderful partners and building the kitchen so quickly.
Another group of pupils starting the school year with a smile are the disabled children we support. More than 100 children in Lawra and Nandom were kitted out with new uniform over the summer – made by seamstresses supported by ATE. We’ve also given them other schools basics likes books, bags, pens and pencils – materials that are often out of reach for very poor families.
Kanyiri Kuube-isaan, ATE Impact manager, said: “By providing these essentials, ATE is not only equipping children for the classroom, but also breaking down barriers to education, boosting their dignity, and reminding them that their dreams matter.”
