Emmanuel International School Overview

August 2007

Below is an overview of Emmanuel International School, our second partner school. You will find a list of the school's needs, as well as the Partnership's goals and objectives. Please take some time to see what GWF is doing to help Emmanuel International and what you can do to help as well.

Emmanuel International Overview

GWF's second partner school, Emmanuel International School, occupies a land of five acres (purchased from the school's own resources) in Dodowa, Ghana, a predominantly farming community with a population of about 3,000. Emmanuel International currently houses a Kindergarten, Primary, and Junior High School. The school has just moved from a dilapidated wooden structure, where some classes were held under the shade of mango trees, to a new school ground where a more respectable school has begun to take shape thanks in large part to a donation from a past volunteer. However, construction has stalled as funds have dried out. What remains is a half finished school.

So far an eight unit classroom block has been constructed with six rooms roofed with corrugated iron sheets. The remaining two, however, are yet to be roofed. All rooms have unfinished floors and walls and lack windows and doors leaving the entire structure helpless during the rain season. With each passing wet season the infrastructure damage will mount.

When acquiring the land for the new school, Mr Otu, the school proprietor, took into consideration the probability of future expansion as school enrollment continues to increase, therefore the land purchased lies a bit outside the town limits. The majority of children (95%), therefore, use the school bus with an eighteen person capacity. To meet time requirements and to save money on the ridiculously inflated gas prices of Ghana, the number of student passengers far exceeds the eighteen limit capacity each morning, causing unsafe driving conditions. Another school bus is therefore needed. Also, to save on gas and to increase enrollment a service road needs to be constructed. Currently, the shortest and most useful road is inaccessible, and so the bus runs a long detour to campus.

Emmanuel's needs go much deeper then buses and buildings. Today, the majority of children must bring their own chairs and tables to class, placing a financial burden on their parents. Without any windows, these chairs and desks sadly become firewood and personal chairs for thieves. Besides desks and chairs, the school is also without electricity and running water, and the children's own desks serve as the only type of cafeteria for now. Students aren't the only ones who lack sufficient materials and resources. Teachers must teach with little more than a piece of chalk each day, and teacher training is impossible with the current school budget situation.

Despite the alarming lack of resources and funds, Emmanuel continues to honor its relationship with fourteen orphaned children in which it educates free of charge. In a country where businesses and schools struggle to stay alive, this financial burden is not to be taken lightly. On top of this, Emmanuel tries to encourage its students to excel by offering scholarships for students who show a passion for learning through their high marks. It is Emmanuel's desire to one day set up scholarships for these children so that their financial burdens do not cast shadows on the entire school population.

Partnership Overview

GWF and Emmanuel International became official partners in November of 2006. Through the Partnership Contract, finished in May of the following year, both parties pinpointed and prioritized the specific needs for Emmanuel and have launched a plan to achieve each goal. Below is an overview of the types of programs, funds, and fundraising campaigns launched. If you are interested in learning more about any of the programs most of them can be visited on our web site.

Emmanuel has prioritized its financial needs as follows: 1) Completion of classroom buildings, 2) Construction of an access road, 3) Construction of a cafeteria, 4) Purchase of a school bus, 5) Acquisition of furniture, 6) Provision of electricity and water, 7) A facility for a boarding house. The total costs to meet these seven objectives is estimated at $56, 761.83. The sooner the funds are attained the less of an effect inflation will have on the initial estimate.

Priority numbers 1, 2, 3, 7 on the GWF / Emmanuel International Partnership have been consolidated into one financial goal. The estimated total for achieving this goal sits at roughly $45,000. This is a huge project and has been broken down into several components. As Emmanuel continues to garner financial support through tuition fees and other fundraising events held in Ghana, GWF seeks to raise money for this task through public funding, grant solicitation, and corporate sponsors. To see how you can contribute to this important undertaking visit the Emmanuel International General Fund . If you are interested in becoming a corporate sponsor for Emmanuel International, please contact me at info@ghanawisdom.org

Emmanuel is also in dire need of capital support, that is funds to buy specific equipment for the expansion and improvement of the school. Tops on the list for capital support is a school bus, desks and chairs for each student, books and educational resources, and computers. GWF has created a unique approach to solving the school bus problem:

Run-For-Wheels Program - The ideal program for the athletic philanthropist. To help with the acquisition of a new school bus ($7, 143. 64) Emmanuel has been added to the list of schools awaiting financial support from this GWF program. We are looking for individuals and groups that will help us carry out this program and fulfill our obligations to bring much needed school transportation to Ghanaian schools.

The other needs of Emmanuel International will fall under general costs of operating a private school. GWF and Emmanuel are working together on numerous projects to ensure a lasting solution to Emmanuel's financial problems. Here are some of the ways we are fighting this problem:

GWF School Store - Purchase authentic Ghanaian crafts and help a school raise money at the same time.

Volunteer Fees - Fees from our volunteer program go directly to the school in which you volunteer at.

GWF's Volunteer Program is a unique, one of a kind experience that allows caring individuals to join the GWF team and become a "partner" along with GWF to help Emmanuel International School reach their educational goals. Volunteer experiences are unique to each one of our partner schools, and are constantly changing to meet the specific needs of that specific school. Volunteers at Emmanuel can help in a number of ways (e.g. program development, teaching, team teaching, construction, grant solicitation, and more). To learn more about this program and how you can help Emmanuel International visit the Volunteer Program page.

Finally, GWF will work with Emmanuel International School to create a functional and effective web site for the school. This web site will be on ongoing project, aimed at promoting its mission and specific fundraising activities, advertising its programs, and informing parents, prospective teachers, and other interested individuals, both in Ghana and abroad, about the current status of the school, about upcoming future events, and finally what they can do to help. To visit the early stages of Emmanuel International's web site visit http://www.ghanawisdom.org/Schools/Emmanuelinternational.htm.