Ada
Island Literacy Program
By Cecilia Amankwah
Tuanikope is a name of an island located in Ada in the Greater Accra Region, with a population of about 700 people. The predominant occupations of these people are farming and fishing. They speak a local dialect known as Ewe.
This is a small village surrounded by water, called the lake Volta which happens to be the largest reservoir in the world. It extends from Akosombo Dam which generates electricity and also provides inland transport and valuable resources for irrigation and fish farming in southeastern Ghana to this town that is the least of their priorities. The nearest school is only accessible by canoes which I deem a hazard considering the depth of the Lake.
About a year ago, ENA visited the Village to do feasibility studies and proceeded to help them with micro-financing loans to grow their businesses.
On March 13, 2014, Francis and I visited the people of Tuanikope to introduce the Adults Literacy Program to the loan beneficiaries and all interested participants who wanted to enroll in the Literacy Program. On our arrival, we were met by Mr. Gershon, the group leader at the bank of the lake, who welcomed us and took us with a canoe to cross to the island. Rowing the canoe was by manpower and it took us about 30 minutes to get to our destination.
We were welcomed by some group members who waited to help carry our materials to the place of meeting. Mr. Gershon did the introduction by telling them who we were and our mission of being there, after which Francis and I formally introduced ourselves. The members were very happy to see us and actively participated in the Literacy Program.
Francis and I introduced the literacy manual to them and also did some assessments. We encouraged them to have the desire and also belief that they could read, write and speak the English language. Members showed interest and promised to study hard so they could also encourage their children and grandchildren to go to school. We closed the class with a prayer from a group member, and we bid them farewell and promised to visit from time to time to monitor their progress.
Pictured below is Alice, one of our ENA Literacy Participants. She is about 30 years old with 4 children. She sells coconut to help feed her family. Alice has no money so none of her children are in school. She has now enrolled in the Adults Literacy Class to learn the English language so she can help teach her children. She said, "I didn't have the opportunity to go to school and I'm happy that I can study and also teach my kids." Life here is not easy.
We look forward to updating you on their progress next month!!
If you would like to help fund ENA's Literacy Program, please visit us online at our website here!!!
