By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, April 30, GNA – EduSpots has launched its new Ignite Programme in Tamale with five regional training academies to empower people in communities.
The programme started with a conference in Tamale that brought together 80 local community volunteers from Kalpohin, Sakasaka, Dulugu, Bimbilla, Savelugu and Zangbalun .
These were communities where EduSpots had worked with local volunteers to create community-led and owned education spaces named ‘Spots.’
This was contained in a statement issued by EduSpots and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.
EduSpots is a UK and Ghanaian registered NGO that aims to connect, train, and equip a network of local volunteers named ‘Catalysts’ to create transformative literacy and STEM through 50 education spaces named Spots across underserved communities in Ghana and Kenya, with a focus on female empowerment and environmental sustainability.
The statement said, “The Ignite Programme is designed to further enhance the impact of network of over 250 local volunteers, who are a diverse mix of teachers, students, parents, and wider community members.”
It said, “The programme will enable the Catalysts to share their ideas and engage in quality training led by the Ghanaian team ahead of leading a range of activities across their 50 community-led education spaces named ‘Spots’, impacting an estimated 15,000 students and adults.”
It said, “The programme kicks off in Tamale on Friday 28th April with four three-day regional training academies across April and May, with Catalysts also coming together in Akumadan, Elmina and Ho with online training also available.”
It added that, “A key focus of the training is to ensure that all the Spot volunteers have strong understanding of child safeguarding and protection alongside our policies for ensuring everyone is safe whilst in the education spaces.”
The statement said, “Alongside training in their long-running programmes for Junior High School students – EduLit and EcoSTEM – the programme will also see the launch of three exciting new strands of their work: Ignite Girls, EduKidz and Spot Ops.”
It said, “Ignite Girls aims to empower JHS girls with the skills, knowledge, and mindset to meet their own goals for education and wider life. Spot volunteers will form Ignite Girls clubs enabling girls to engage in series of monthly activities, also supported by a mentor from the local community.”
It said, “EduKidz aims to enable children to build strong foundation of literacy skills, and cataylse a lifelong love of learning through establishing locally led EduKidz Clubs. The Catalysts will be supported in ensuring the Spots are welcoming for early years students, with sustainable resources to enhance their learning.”
It said, “Spot Ops looks to engage Catalysts in series of monthly activities that enable them to drive forward the sustainability, impact, and community ownership of their Spots.”
The statement said, “In this process, EduSpots are equipping all Spots with resource boxes for literacy and STEM, including over 7000 storybooks by local authors and local textbooks, alongside electronics kits for every Spot.”
It said, “Alongside catalysing change relating to core literacy levels, this programme will lead to significant advancement in over 10,000 students’ engagement in education, confidence, and wider leadership skills, with 250 Catalysts alongside wider community members empowered as active citizens and educational leaders.”
The statement quoted Miss Getrude Akunlibe, Dulugu Spot Founder, as saying “I feel overwhelmed and excited to see how many people believe in the vision of EduSpots and have signed up to travel to this programme to learn more and contribute their ideas. I look forward to seeing everyone and learning what EduSpots has to offer in terms of a more refined programme structure.”
It also quoted Miss Catherine Davison, Founder of EduSpots as saying “After working with many of the communities in our network for five years, it is exciting to come together for this collaborative training programme, which partly aims to embed local ideas into our wider programme design and organisational model.”
The statement said “EduSpots would like to thank all their sponsors for their support of this programme, but in particular the British and Foreign Schools Society and the Fonthill Foundation.”
GNA