Today we danced, sang, and drummed for hours!
Well... not us, but we witnessed the Klokpo community perform a welcoming ceremony, and our team loved every minute of it. Even the elders of the village joined in.
Klokpo is a village of 1,000 people three hours west of the central city, Accra. Several months ago, a leader contacted SSEP and said there was a majority of their students walking hours to school outside the community. Our partner jumped into action and, after assessing the area, decided it was a prime location to build an educational institution for the surrounding villages. The completion date is estimated to be in 2021 and serve over 200 students!
---> Check out our Stories to see the energetic welcoming ceremony!
*Our team followed all the measures Ghana has implemented to keep their people safe and healthy during this time.
📷: @oscarminyo
Our second day was spent in Chorkor, a densely populated fishing village and urban slum within the Greater Accra region. We visited Dr. HS Bannerman Basic School, where SSEP sponsors many students every year. 🇬🇭
Even though the Ghanian education is free, there are still fees that are not covered by the government (textbooks, uniforms, transportation). This is when SSEP comes into action with their student sponsor programs. They make sure students don't have to walk hours to school, have many books to learn from, and much more.
Did we mention SSEP also has parent skills training? This enables parents to become skilled at a craft and gain profit from selling their items. The money then goes towards their children’s school fees and health insurance. Today we met Mr. Bennett, one of the talented teachers who creates jewelry made from Cows horn. Every year he has many men and women intern with him to pick up the skill to help their family.
---> Check out our Stories to see Mr. Bennett at work & behind-the-scenes interviews.
*Our team followed all the measures Ghana has implemented to keep their people safe and healthy during this time.
📷: @oscarminyo
We’ve been keeping a secret.
The eMite team is in Ghana for Project 23! After 17 hours of traveling and a lot of planning behind the scenes, we finally made it. And we are so excited to bring you along!
Yesterday our team drove 1.5 hours outside Accra to Bentum Dreambuilder’s School, where the bathroom you helped make possible was ready to be opened. We met with the community leaders, teachers, and students who expressed how grateful they are for their new washroom.
Esperance, the headmistress, showed us the old toilet, which was a deep hole behind a bush right beside the school. Over the hole were planks of wood with large gaps between each making it incredibly unsafe and exposed. The crazy part is 190 boys and girls would share this “bathroom” every day.
For the children and teachers, their new bathroom means having daily access to a safe, private, and hygienic place when needed. Thank you for giving Bentum Dreambuilder’s School a dignified place to study with guaranteed essential services.
---> Check out our Stories to see more infield photos & videos + the steps we went through to travel to Ghana. 🇬🇭
*Our team followed all the measures Ghana has implemented in order to keep their people safe and healthy during this time.
📷: @oscarminyo
Halfway There!
Hey everybody, check it out! We are over halfway there. We have raised over $5000 for the new bathroom in Ghana. Join us and be the team that carries Project 23 over the goal line.
Ways you can help:
1. Join us by giving what you can today at https://www.emite.org/give
2. Share this post with your friends and family.
3. Become a monthly giver.
4. Like and comment on this post to raise awareness.
Every little bit helps. Let's #DoGoodGlobally together. ❤️
Project 23 Update 10/9/20:
Need a reason to celebrate today? Check out the smile on these kids' faces and know YOU are a big part! Your gift to Project 23 has given 190 students + teachers access to a safe bathroom with clean running water.
This means sanitary restrooms for students, privacy, and dignity for young girls who previously skipped school during menstruation. Now the hours' children spend looking for a safe place to go to the restroom will be devoted to their studies.
We believe that's something to be celebrated!
Project 23 Update 10/1/20:
A few weeks ago, we asked our giving community if they had a bathroom in their school growing up. 100% of individuals said yes. Now the students at Bentum Dreambuilder's School can too!
To say our team had an ear-to-ear smile on our faces when we saw this difference would be an understatement.
Before, 190 students and teachers shared one wooden latrine in the middle of a field. With no privacy or handwashing stations, using the bathroom was extraordinarily unsanitary and uncomfortable, especially for girls. Today their brand new bathroom, you helped make possible, is almost finished and looking beautiful!
Something we may find so simple as a bathroom with a door and clean water to wash our hands is a life-changing amenity for so many. Your gift to Project 23 is changing children's attendance at school, improving hygiene practices, and so much more - probably more than you can imagine. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
We are still raising for Project 23 - Build a Bathroom and would be grateful if you shared this post with any friends or family members you believe would like to get involved. Visit our website here to learn more: https://www.emite.org/project-23
9/21/20: Project 23 update straight from the field in Bentum, Ghana.
Our infield team let us know they have made significant progress with the bathroom construction! There are still adjustments, such as installing toilet seats and painting the walls, but we are right on schedule for this project to be completed by the end of this month. We are so excited for the 180 students at Bentum Dreambuilders School to have a dignified place to study with the necessary amenities to support good hygiene and outstanding academic achievement.
Shoutout to our infield team that has worked diligently to complete the construction of the new bathroom. You guys are fantastic!
And a BIG thank you to our incredible giving community that has made this project possible. Our goal is to keep you informed of your gift and the impact it's driving across the world.
Why did we choose Sub-Saharan Education Project? (SSEP)
First, we established there's a definite need.
- Nearly 500,000 children are estimated to be out of school in Ghana.
- 36% of Ghana's primary public schools don't have functioning toilets. When schools lack hygienic toilets, adolescent girls stay home during menstruation missing several school days each month. Some girls will drop out of school entirely.
- In 2019, SSEP completed constructing their Dreambuilders School in the village of Bentum. However, the school still needed a bathroom for the 190 students + teachers that attend.
So, why Sub-Saharan Education Project?
We believe in their mission of supporting women's and children's educational advancement in Ghana by identifying the barriers to education and addressing them head-on. Here's how they achieve their mission:
1. Cultivate partnerships with marginalized communities in Ghana.
2. Build schools and provide infrastructure development through classroom renovations, constructing libraries, and building restrooms.
3. Provide scholarships to select middle, high school, and college students. As well as offering paid internships to scholarship student graduates. *Fact: 100% of SSEP's scholarship students enroll in high school, and 85% graduate VS the national average of 61% enrolling in high school and 46% graduating. That's huge!
4. Invest in local resources through women's vocational programs. Vocational training is free, and students are paid for their work. SSEP facilitates the export and sale of handmade goods and reinvests the proceeds into the communities.
Our partnership with SSEP and your gift towards Project 23 - Build a Bathroom will help hundreds of children attend school and not be worried where or how they will use the toilet. It will provide them with a basic service every child deserves - a safe, clean bathroom. #DoGoodGlobally
Let's talk about toilets.🚽🤭
In 2014 Ghana recorded its worst cholera outbreak affecting over 28,000 people and reporting 243 deaths. After an environmental assessment, open defecation, crude dumping, and inadequate sewage systems were found as the most critical reasons for the outbreak.
People were literally drinking water that was contaminated with human feces. Something had to change, and the answer wasn't as simple as septic tanks.➡️
Did you know septic tanks need to be pumped every three years? And it can cost you around $375? In Ghana, this is not a sustainable option for the average household or school. It's not uncommon to find sewage tanks leaking because of maintenance neglect or vacuum trucks emptying their liquid wastes into the sea or rivers.❗❗
After the cholera outbreak in 2014, a game changer of human waste disposal came to Ghana called the Biofil Digester.
Let's break it down:
• Biofil Digester uses living organisms (both microorganisms and macro-organisms such as earthworms) to breakdown the solid waste.
• Solid waste is then converted into manure and can be used for agricultural purposes.♻️
• Eco friendly, environmentally safe, and hygienic. No odorous gas emissions!
• Construction of a Biofil Digester chamber is low-cost and cheaper than a septic tank or man-hole system.
• Works efficiently without dependence on any source of energy.
• Designed in Africa for Africa, Biofil relies entirely on local manufacturers and local materials.🌍
When you donate to Project 23 - Build a Bathroom, your gift will support the construction of a Biofil Digester bathroom for 190 students + teachers at Bentum Dreambuilders School. You will impact children's education for years to come by providing them a clean, safe, and sustainable bathroom! Get involved in Project 23 and continue the change in Ghana today.
8/27/20: Meet the Project 23 Construction Team! Mr. Issac (far left), team leader, is working hard along with Mr. Kobby, Mr.Abu-Khali, Mr. Attashi, and Mr. Quansah to make Project 23 possible. Just a few more weeks of construction work and the bathroom will be ready for students returning to Bentum Dreambuilders Scool after their break.
Let's give a big shoutout to Bentum's construction team for their excellent work! Their dedication to completing this bathroom means 190 students + teachers will have a dignified place to study with guaranteed essential services. #DoGoodGlobally
8/20/20: Exciting update on Project 23! Our partner SSEP has cleared the grounds and begun construction on the bathroom you're making possible for 180 children at Bentum Dreambuilders School. To get a sneak peek of the foundation, swipe right. 😉
Stay tuned for next week's update as we will be introducing the fantastic construction team hard at work as well as insight into the sustainability of Project 23. #DoGoodGlobally
Project 23 Insight:
One in 10 Sub-Saharan African girls miss school during their periods. For some, this equals as much as twenty percent of the school year or 50 days. In fact, it's not uncommon for girls to drop out of school entirely once they begin menstruating, and this loss of education can mean girls are more likely to be forced into child marriage. With no private sanitation facilities in schools or hand washing stations, girls fear shame every time they need to use the toilet.
We have a question for you: Should young women be missing weeks of schools due to a lack of proper facilities or sanitary products?
At eMite, we believe nobody should be held back by their period. PERIOD.
When you give to Project 23 - Build a Bathroom, you're empowering girls at Bentum Dreambuilders School in Ghana by providing them access to safe, private, and clean bathrooms. Because of you, they can go to school and manage their periods with dignity.