Book Boxes, a project that GHEI staff have been planning for months and dreaming about for years, finally became a reality on Monday in Soroano. Every last detail of the event was planned out, and somehow it went perfectly. As promised
a few weeks ago, here’s what went down.
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| Parade of the Boxes |
GHEI staff met early in Soroano, picked up our newly made boxes from a local carpenter, locked the new books inside and carried them to Soroano DA Primary School. The boxes were stacked in a nice pyramid, a white sheet was placed over them and teachers lined their students up to begin the presentation ceremony.
Once everybody was ready, GHEI staff went first, and then the chief, head teacher and an elder took turns speaking to Soroano’s schoolchildren on the great value of books.
It was an impressive sight; topped only by how excited about book boxes the Soroano community really is. Hearing their leaders’ statements and speaking with teachers, PTA members and others, you get the feeling that everybody truly believes this project will make a great positive impact.
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| Soroano Chief Speaking to Students |
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| GHEI Staff, Soroano Chief, Elders and Teachers with the Book Boxes |
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| Primary 1 and Primary 2 Students |
After the ceremony, it was time to bring each classroom their box and explain how to use them. To go with each of the six primary classes, GHEI staff split into groups of two to hang posters in classrooms, go over the sign out sheet, unlock the boxes and start reading.
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| "Readers are Leaders" |
Once the boxes were opened, everybody was reading. Students took breaks only
to whisper to each other about their books.
One of these photos is the contents of the store closet for the Primary 2 classroom. The second is the Primary 2 Book Box which was added to that closet yesterday. While students in Soroano have a school to go to every day, resources are scarce.
Ghana is one of less than a handful of African nations which has achieved universal primary education. The challenge for Ghana now has turned to quality. Even if children are going to school- it is possible that they are not learning anything. While the situation here is probably not that bleak, educational quality still needs to be addressed. With the new Junior African Writers Series books, our hope is that the creation of a rich-text environment will improve schools and make an actual impact in Soroano’s children’s education.
It was absolutely amazing seeing a school full of students immersed in books, with their whole community behind them. While this is just a pilot program that has not been evaluated yet, there is no question that Soroano’s students will benefit from these books.
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As always with our outreaches, don’t forget to check our
Facebook where more photos will be posted soon!
One of these photos is the contents of the store closet for the Primary 2 classroom. The second is the Primary 2 Book Box which was added to that closet yesterday. While students in Soroano have a school to go to every day, resources are scarce.
Ghana is one of less than a handful of African nations which has achieved universal primary education. The challenge for Ghana now has turned to quality. Even if children are going to school- it is possible that they are not learning anything. While the situation here is probably not that bleak, educational quality still needs to be addressed. With the new Junior African Writers Series books, our hope is that the creation of a rich-text environment will improve schools and make an actual impact in Soroano’s children’s education. 
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