Nimatu Abdul-Rahma, a local nurse, founded the Savelugu Spot (near Tamale, northern Ghana) in 2019 through a grant provided by EduSpots as part of its female empowerment work.

This space, an old office within a government school, is too small and cramped for the community's needs and does not provide an environment conducive to learning. Despite this, the quantity and quality of the activities they run is remarkable, with exceptional use of resources provided.

We are looking for your help in supporting the community of Savelugu in building and opening a fully inclusive library-education centre that is accessible to all and owned and led by the community for the community. 

The new Spot will serve as a hub for education and learning, offering a safe and inclusive environment for children and young people to access high quality educational resources, homework support and a spacious study space. The Spot will be overseen by a Spot Management Committee comprising of a range of local stakeholders (including some pictured left), led by the founder, Nimatu.

Ten local community volunteers will continue to lead regular literacy and EcoSTEM clubs, with inspiring programmes in girls’ empowerment and early years literacy.

Note that EduSpots has a structured support programme for these clubs via WhatsApp hubs, in-person training and zoom meet-ups with monthly challenges launched across the network. Catalysts are supported by experienced staff Coordinators and Peer Mentors for each education area. In line with our model, 50% of these are drawn from across our network of change makers.

We are delighted to have already received a grant of £5000 from the Chalk Cliff Trust to support this project, and hope to secure a further £5000 to enable building work to start! Your donation will make a huge difference in the Savelugu community.

The need

Close to 2.6 million people are classed as illiterate in Ghana, which equates to around 25% of the population over the age of 15 (UNESCO, 2023). Almost 20% of primary school students do not complete their education (World Bank, 2017). The number of out-of-school children has increased drastically from 35,432 in 2019 to 265,188 in 2020, largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and this has especially impacted rural regions like Savelugu (UNESCO, 2023).

Access to pre-primary education in rural areas is just 38%, compared to 90% for urban areas. In rural areas, like the community of Savelugu, where farming is the dominant industry, school non-attendance tends to be high as children often miss school in order to help their parents with crucial livelihood tasks.

Community members report a high rate of school dropouts and teenage pregnancy. Although schools exist they offer very limited access to educational resources with no activities offered to students beyond school hours.

Our Spots are therefore vital to enable communities to continue learning during evenings, weekends and holidays, whilst advancing the capacity of community members and teachers in this process.

About EduSpots

EduSpots provides free access to transformative education, resources, and learning spaces for children and young people through our network of 50 community-owned and led library education centres (called Spots). We support more than 250 Ghanaian Spot volunteers, who give 15,000+ learners free access to books, resources, literacy and STEM clubs, homework and specialist subject support.

Our work is led by communities, with a key focus on supporting them in self-sustaining their impact through local fundraising and enterprise. We train and equip our country-wide network of committed local volunteers to lead educational change in their communities, whilst developing as future leaders themselves.