NGO supports school children and their families

Winneba, Nov. 2, GNA - Challenging Heights, a child-centered Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) has since its establishment in 2003 supported nearly 10,000 boys, girls, women and families to access various support services.

The supports include educational, rehabilitation, scholarships, training, micro-finance and micro-business management and rescue programmes.

The President of the NGO, Mr James Kofi Annan made this known at the 5th Anniversary Celebration of the Challenging Heights Schools at Sankor near Winneba on Thursday.

The celebration was under the theme “To whom much is given, much is expected”.

Mr Annan said the school which started in 2007 with 8 children now has a student population of over 700 between the ages of four and seventeen from Nurseries- One to JHS Two.

According to him the NGO currently paid nearly 70 per cent of the cost of educating children in Challenging Heights School, while their parents paid the remaining 30 per cent.

"Challenging Heights has managed to secure donor funding to pay 100 per cent of the cost for over 150 of the students", he said.

Mr Annan said one of the aims of establishing the school was to support government's effort at increasing access to basic education, and preventing vulnerability of children excluded from classroom education.

The President said the NGO had established an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre equipped with 30 brand new computers and accessories, a modern instruction big screen television monitor and appropriate instructional software connected to the internet for the school.

"This has been done to bridge the ICT gap between the urban and the rural areas and also to demonstrate that quality education is possible even in fishing and farming communities".

He said through partnership with 'Hand in Hand for Literacy' of USA, the NGO was constructing a 50-seater capacity modern library in the school, adding that the project was expected to be completed by August, 2013.

Mr Annan said Challenging Heights aimed at providing support for the education of children in underserved coastal and farming communities along the coastal regions of Ghana.

"The Organization also provides support for families whose children are at risk of losing parental care due to poverty, and also work actively to prevent children from being exploited in child labour situations", Mr Annan said.

He added that Challenging Heights ran eight different projects and also operated in 40 different communities across the country.

The Rev. Dr Emmanuel Anim, Dean of Mission of Pentecost University College, appealed to parents to invest in their children's education to enable them to develop their God-given talents.

Prizes comprising books were given to hardworking pupils, teachers and staff.

GNA