Africa's Future

Africa's Future is a UK organisation set up to fund sustainable development projects in Africa, and in particular projects that seek to provide education for impoverished children.

Projects - The Lady Heike Nursery

The Lady Heike Nursery, in Akatektya, near Cape Coast in Ghana, has been built and is run with the support of Africa's Future. At present, it teaches 4 to 6 year-olds, but as the charity grows, there are plans to provide education to a higher level.

Building a Nursery

Akatektya is a village highly affected by poverty. The lack of jobs in the village means that many of the men leave to nearby Cape Coast. This has left a largely female-dominated population, forcing many women into prostitution as a form of income. The Lady Heike Nursery aims to educate the poor children of this village for a more hopeful future, teaching basic numeracy and literacy skills as well as the Ghanaian official language, English.

The nursery was opened as soon as initial plans had been put into action. However, without a building, it had to take place in a disused building in the local state school. On the first day, 30 children arrived, which doubled to 60 on the second day. Another temporary shelter had to be erected with four posts and a palm roof.

Thanks to generous donations, a new building has now been built to house the nursery, as shown in the photos opposite.

Africa's Futures now supports the continuing development and day-to-day running of the school. This includes paying for the teachers and food for the children every day. There are 30 pupils at the school at the moment, but more than that in the village needing education. There are also plans to expand the school so that the children can continue their education to a higher level than is available at the moment. With the ability to read and write, the children will have far better job prospects for their futures.

To help the children feel as equal as possible to other children whose parents can afford the state education, children can buy or be provided with a school uniform. The state schools all have uniforms and so it helps the children feel more valued and less segregated from the other children.

Local teachers are employed at the nursery, which helps people in the village, and local tradesmen are used for all the upkeep of the building work. The nursery hopes to invest as much in the village community as possible.

The benefits of the school are vast. Here are just some examples of how the school is helping.

Grasp of the English language

Whilst English is the official language in Ghana, the vast majority of people do not speak English at home and only learn it at school. In order to progress and achieve academic as well as professional success, perfect English is a necessity in Ghana. Being taught in English from an early age enables the children from the Lady Heike Nursery to excel in their later schools and academic careers, which in turn will help them on the job market.

Exposure to different cultures

It is not uncommon in Ghana for children to run away from an ‘abruni’ – a white person – as they've simply never been in contact with or seen a white person before. They often have little or no knowledge of the similarities and differences between themselves and white people. As they are being taught by volunteers from a different cultural and ethnic background, they are exposed to the differences – and especially the similarities – between themselves and others at an early age and can grow up with less stereotypes and preconceptions about others.

Different ways of teaching

The Ghanaian teaching system is rather strict in its approach and doesn’t give much scope for teachers to tailor their lessons to the individual children. At the Lady Heike Nursery, a large part of teaching is fulfilled by volunteers from a number of different countries and thus a number of different approaches. The children can experience a different environment, which is based as much on having fun as it is on learning. Most children are not used to being able to combine the two and this alone is a great learning experience.

Keeping children away from crime

The Lady Heike Nursery is situated in a deprived village outside one of the larger cities in Ghana. The majority of children are left to roam the streets by themselves, whilst their mothers are away looking for work and food for the children. It is maybe little surprise that many of the younger members of the village have turned to crime. The nursery not only gives children something to do, it also gives them a good start in the education system and helps awaken their interest in knowledge and learning. Combined, these factors can show the children of the village a way out of their situation that is not based on crime, but on education.

Giving children a regular meal

One of the reasons the Lady Heike Nursery has fantastic attendance rates is the fact that the children get given a full meal at lunch time. The nursery employs a cook, and care is taken to introduce the children to fruit and vegetables (depending on funds available) – not a staple in Ghanaian diet as a general rule. As well as giving the children a regular meal, the topic of hygiene is introduced to the children, which may be one of the most important lessons taught to the children. Washing hands and using a toilet are relatively new concepts to the children, but a habit learned early on in life may be kept, which could significantly improve their health.

Please help us to continue to support the Lady Heike Nursery and give the children of Akatektya a brighter future. Make a donation now and you could help make a difference to Africa's future.