Yes, we know. The chart below is barely readable…but we
wanted to show it to you anyway. It shows the 1st term, 2016-2017 school year, scholarship costs for 69 Axim students, sponsored by Ghana Together.
In most cases, these costs are shared with the extended families, as with the CTK Academy students where parents supply uniforms, underwear, notebooks, shoes...and we pay tuition...for students living in this remote area, where the only reasonably available school is a private school.
In most cases, these costs are shared with the extended families, as with the CTK Academy students where parents supply uniforms, underwear, notebooks, shoes...and we pay tuition...for students living in this remote area, where the only reasonably available school is a private school.
We also list WHH staff salaries for three months and Internet-In-A-Box internet support, so the North American team can troubleshoot this incredible resource at Axim Girls High School and the Axim Public Library, which most Axim children frequent.
Note that "CDVTI" stands for Community Development Vocational Technical Institute, a government vocational training school. Note that secondary schools in Ghana are NOT tuition-free at this point.
Note that "CDVTI" stands for Community Development Vocational Technical Institute, a government vocational training school. Note that secondary schools in Ghana are NOT tuition-free at this point.
| Payee | Beneficiary | Item | CEDIS | USD (3.9) |
| Axim Girls Sr High | Ernestina | tuition, textbooks, math tutorial (Term One) | 769 | $197 |
| Manye Academy | Ben, Gladys, Johnson | Tuition, boarding, fees, notebooks, textbooks, uniforms, sandals… | 2942 | $754 |
| Various vendors | 6 WHH Scholars | Personal supplies: health/hygiene, snacks, pocket money, etc. | 1560 | $400 |
| CDVTI | Kingsley | Tuition, room, board | 380 | $97 |
| CDVTI | 10 women, 2 men | Tuition, room, board | 2860 | $733 |
| Nsein SHS | Peter | Extra Classes, student council, sci club, debate/drama, practicals | 970 | $249 |
| Midwifery/Nursing School | Dorothy | Nursing-midwifery tuition, room, board, texts, etc. (one semester) | 2175 | $558 |
| Christ the King Academy | 50 primary students | tuition, 1st term | 5850 | $1,500 |
| WHH Staff | Arloo, and 2 watchmen | salaries July-Sept (three month) | 1500 | $385 |
| Azim Girls SHS | Computer lab support | Cellphone subscription for internet-in-a-box support | 400 | $103 |
| TOTAL | 19406 | $4,976 |
Maybe you can’t quite make out the small print, but the
bottom line is almost exactly $5,000 for most of the school costs for 69 students, averaging about $73 each. And some of those costs are "once/year" only, like uniforms, sandals, and textbooks.
Some of you have asked how we get such accurate, detailed info
from our friends in Axim, esp. when it comes to school costs.
Well, we won’t burden you (J) with
the incredibly detailed 16 sheets of statements/invoices that our guy in Axim,
Evans Arloo, collected from the schools and forwarded to us.
Every detail is in these statements!
Did you know, for example, that Dorothy’s “obstetrics
textbook” for her 2nd year will cost exactly 30 Ghana cedis? That’s
about $8.00. Or that Peter will pay 10 cedis (about $2.50) for his Science Club
dues…the Club of which he, as an outstanding student, is the “Executive.” Or
that Kingsley will pay 270 cedis (about $70) for food for Sept-Dec (quite a
bargain for 16-year old guy!)? Or that Ernestina’s “bed user fee” will be 2 cedis
(about 50 US cents) for her 1st term, along with 399 cedis ($102) for her tuition?The schools’ administrative offices prepare these statements and give them to parents, or in our case, scholarship sponsor. The sheets are stamped and signed with the name of the school and the accountant/preparer.
And, I'm sure you are DYING to know...how exactly does Arloo get these 16 typed or handwritten sheets to us 10,000 or so miles away?
Why,
of course, by the magic of “Camscanner”, the cellphone app. With it, he
photographs the statements and saves them as PDF files. He then forwards them
using “Whatsapp”, another nice little free tool, using the nice signals pouring out from the cell tower in Axim Town. And we use Whatsapp too, to "receive" the files, and also for follow-up communication. Our Ghanaian friends are total
whizzes when it comes to cellphone use, seriously! They've taught us all we know!!
So, friends, these are children we’ve been supporting for
some years. Knowing the needs of local families well, Queen Mom Nana Adjow Sika
II and James Kainyiah have chosen these students, along with input from Headmaster David and Director Seidu, and have overseen their
progress. Evans Arloo helps the scholars with their day-to-day needs and challenges.
And yes, we would appreciate your financial help in
launching the new school year, 1st term, for these 69 youngsters, beginning mid-September. Thank you.
Ghana
Together
808
Addison Place
Mount
Vernon, WA 98273
360-848-6568
For Paypal, go to
http://ghanatogether.org/HTML/Donations.html
info@ghanatogether.org
We are a 501c3, Fed ID 26-2182965
