Open Schools, meet MDRS

Before flying home from Ghana back to South Africa, World Development & Relief (WDR) partner, Angie Pape sent me an email. “I leave humbled, touched and excited. Sixteen new volunteers have been trained and resources issued to ten new projects. We have already consulted with a printer for the student workbooks and await his quote.” 

Angie, Joseph and Gladys in front of a plaque marking a previous WDR-supported venture

Angie is the Director of Open Schools Worldwide (OSWW). For 20 years, OSWW have been delivering a literacy, numeracy and life skills programme to vulnerable out-of-school children in order to help them return to school to complete their education. Classes may happen under trees, at the side of a rubbish dump, in someone’s home, wherever the children are. What brought Angie to Mankessim, a town 75 km west of the capital Accra?

In April 2021, WDR held one of its ‘In Conversation With’ events, online opportunities for supporters to meet their partners ‘face-to-face’, hear about their work and ask questions. Attending that evening were Gladys Donkoh and her husband Joseph, sitting in their home in Mankessim. Joseph is another of WDR’s partners with Methodist Development and Relief Services (MDRS). Gladys is a teacher approaching retirement and has a huge belief in the power of education in a child’s life. The idea of being able to continue to use her teaching skills with children who are missing out on schooling was exciting to her. After the online meeting Joseph and Gladys had an idea. Could Gladys be a rep for OSWW in Ghana? WDR put them in touch.  

Before Angie arrived in Ghana ten months later, Gladys had already received her training as Open Schools Co-ordinator for Ghana. Angie was now there to train sixteen new volunteer teachers. The model is one of local people being trained in the methods of OSWW and then delivering the programme to groups of children which brings them up to Grade 3 level. In Joseph’s words, “Participants were mostly young, energetic and zealous teachers from four regions of Ghana”. Amongst them were professional teachers, student teachers, an education department official, a nurse and community church members who work with children. Angie said, “When you hear that an attendee travelled for two days, crossing rivers and travelling by ferry and that another rode in a bus for 6 hours, you are left in awe of the sacrifices. Ebenezer, the education official, couldn’t take his teaching blackboard home as it wouldn’t fit in the canoe he needed to use”. 

Volunteers being trained in the teaching methods of Open Schools 

Gladys and Joseph opened their home as the classroom. All trainees are concerned about poor primary school results and wish to play their part in improving this. The nurse is particularly keen to use her new skills with children who are in hospital for prolonged periods. Ebenezer will run the programme on Saturdays as he has recognised that many children in his rural area cannot read or write. Samuel, a retired accountant, will also be working with children in his home area. Gladys will co-ordinate and monitor so that standards and methods are maintained. OSWW only works through partner organisations and, in Ghana,  that will be Methodist Development and Relief Services (MDRS); that’s right, the department of the church that Joseph works for. 

It is hard to over-emphasise just how significant this is. A dream for development agencies is that they can play a part in connecting their partners for collaborative learning and action. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time this has happened in WDR’s 52 year history: two partners coming together to work in this way. Some call this South-South co-operation. Partner-Partner is probably better. The Methodist Church in Ireland is very blessed that all its WDR partners are expert in what they do and also open to learn and work with others. WDR hopes to see more of this cross-pollination amongst its partners.
It makes sense, is good practice and can lead to greater impact upon poverty and injustice. WDR will be helping to fund this Open Schools Ghanaian work in a funding new cycle. 

I end with Angie’s own words from her email, “Welcome to the Open Schools family Ghana!  We have no clue what God is going to do, but we turn our eyes to Jesus and wait for His answer. With much love and gratitude to our Heavenly Father God, to Joseph and Gladys and to the many supporters who made it possible for us to trust God to begin!” 

If you would like to invest in people like Gladys, Angie and Joseph, enable partners to work together more and see people build their futures, please contact the office to set up regular giving. 

All participants, trainer and students, at Mankessim