By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga (U/E), Nov. 8, GNA – Ten basic schools in the Upper East Region have benefited from a donation of 3,435 teaching and learning materials under the Nurturing Education Through Resource Donations (NERD) project, an initiative by A-ensonga Hearts aimed at supporting schools in deprived communities with educational resources.
The materials, which included 2869 Alpha and Omega textbooks, 58 general books, 64 note pads, 300 pens and 144 pencils were distributed by A-ensonga Hearts, a charity organisation, in partnership with Alpha and Omega Publications based in Kumasi, and other individual donors.
The beneficiary schools included St. Theresa Academy at Zorko, Fr Lebel Memorial Roman Catholic Primary and Kindergarten, Feo Awiisi Primary and KG, St. Augustine Roman Catholic Primary School at Doua, Kunkua Primary School, Bongo-Soe Roman Catholic School, Winkogo Primary School, Feo Awiisi Junior High School, St. Augustine JHS and Kunkua JHS.
The NERD project seeks to bridge the unequal access to education among children, especially those in rural communities to ensure sustainable development and boost efforts to achieving goal four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which puts emphasis on access to equal education by 2030.
The NERD project forms part of A-ensonga Hearts’ broader goal of promoting quality education and reducing disparities in access to educational resources across Ghana.
Ms Kenndicta A-ensonga Ajene, Founder and Executive Director of A-ensonga Hearts, said the initiative was conceived to bridge the inequality gap in access to teaching and learning materials between well-resourced schools and those in deprived communities.
She explained that during several visits to schools across different regions, she observed that many pupils lacked basic learning materials while teachers struggled to teach effectively due to the absence of textbooks and visual resources.
“This project was inspired by the need to make teaching and learning easier and more effective for both teachers and students, especially in rural and under-resourced schools,” she said.
She said the partnership with Alpha and Omega Publications had significantly transformed the project’s scale, as the company donated more than 2,500 assorted textbooks covering subjects such as Science, Creative Arts, Reading, Numeracy, and Phonics for kindergarten and primary pupils.
Ms Ajene said other donors contributed cash to support logistics, additional notepads, pens, and pencils, which were distributed to Junior High School students and teachers, especially those who excelled academically as a way of encouraging hard work and excellence.
“The NERD project is about collecting new or fairly used books from individuals, homes, and institutions and channelling them to children who need them most. It is about giving every child, regardless of location, a fair chance at quality education,” she said.
She expressed gratitude to Alpha and Omega Publications, the various individual donors, and volunteers for their immense contribution to the success of the project, and called on more organisations and individuals to come on board to sustain the initiative.
The Executive Director revealed that plans were underway to roll out the second edition of the NERD project in the Upper West Region in the coming weeks to support more deprived children to access quality education.
During the donation, teachers, Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) members, and pupils of the beneficiary schools expressed appreciation to A-ensonga Hearts and its partners for the gesture and pledged to make good use of the materials to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
The PTA also expressed gratitude to A-ensonga Hearts for previous projects including the Floor to Desks (F2D) project, provision of boreholes and other auxiliary needs that had impacted their schools and communities positively.
Mr Thomas Azure Alukuke, a Headteacher at the Fr Lebel Primary School, expressed gratitude to the A-ensonga Hearts and its partners for the gesture, noting that it would boost teaching and learning in the schools.
He pledged that the materials would be used for the intended purpose to improve academic performance among the schoolchildren.
Ms Jovina Abagbire, a Basic six pupil of Winkogo primary, who expressed gratitude to A-ensonga and its partners, said the gesture was not only a boost to teaching and learning but an inspiration for them to learn hard and excel in their academic journey.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Christian Akorlie