Circle time at Neesim Primary School |
One of the most underdeveloped parts of Ghana is the Gushegu district which is occupied by 400 small villages with a population of around 126,000.
Education in this region is very poor. Only half of children go to primary school and many of these do not finish. Of those who do, 80% cannot read fluently, often due to overcrowded classes and a lack of resources and well-trained teachers. Only 15% of boys and 2% of girls go to secondary school and many finish with results too poor to offer many job or further education opportunities. This then impacts the development of the district.
Around 35% of all children under-5 are malnourished and 10% are severely malnourished although there is no famine. This is mainly due to a lack of knowledge about healthy balanced nutrition and when to introduce normal food to babies in addition to breastmilk.
Providing accessible quality education and tackling malnutrition are therefore the focus of PartnerAid’s local partner, Project Share, through their two projects: Neesim School and Neesim Nutrition Centre.