GIRLS EDUCATION ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM (GEEP)

A FREE 16 weekends, "Boot Camp" like, intensive, tutorials for Junior High School girls from rural/village schools in Ghana to prepare and improve their capacity to pass the High School Entrance Examination to gain admissions into, and excel in Senior High Schools in Ghana. The Girls Education Enhancement Program (GEEP) is a special initiative to change and improve the lives of these rural (village) girls.

The Gender Gap: It is an acknowledged fact that fewer girls in Africa get educational opportunities, and the few that do are mostly from the cities and urban areas. The girls in the rural areas and villages are always at a disadvantaged for a variety of reasons: Lack of good schools, good teachers and educational material and resources. In many areas, school classes are held under the shade of trees; Girls are assigned the house and farm chores, of cooking, cleaning washing, baby sitting, fetching water, and planting, etc, and never have time to study Many parents simply don't have the resources, or don't want to spend the money to pay for the extra classes and tutorials that these girls need to do well in school. After all, they will soon leave home to marry.

The Tragedy: The tragedy for these failing girls: Many of them are doomed to lives of hardships on village farms and never get the chance to realize their potentials. Some fall victims to human trafficking and end up on the streets of Accra and other big European cities as child prostitutes; Others end up as child brides and as 2nd/3rd wives to village elders who only use them for sex and child bearing; Still others go to their early graves from dangerous child births, because they themselves, are babies! For many of them who survive into adulthood, the poverty cycle just continues.

Goals And Objectives: Increase the proportion of girls from rural communities getting admission into, and succeeding in Senior High Schools in Ghana. Build the self confidence and self image of these rural girls so as to succeed in school and in life Expose them to opportunities and careers beyond the rural (village) farm life Save them from the doomed lives of hardships on the village farms; child brides as 2nd/3rd wives of village elders and early child births Fulfill the Millennium Development Goals #2: Universal Primary Education and #3: Gender equality and empowerment of women.

Program Description; The Girls Education Enhancement Program (GEEP) will be hosted at the L & A Memorial Academy School complex in Mallam Accra, and managed from the Accra Offices of the Adakum Educational Foundation. It will start on the first Friday of February, each year, and run for 16 weekends. For the 2014 pilot program, 23 girls, in the final year of their Junior High School, grades (8/9), will be selected from rural community schools in the Greater Accra Region, for ease of transportation. The selection will be done in consultation with the Local School Administration, the Community Leaders, Chiefs and elders; and with the consent of the parents. The selected girls will be picked up from an assembled area in the village that Friday afternoon and brought to the L & A Memorial Academy school complex. They will travel with a female chaperon from the village community to provide the girls a comfort level. A couple of the classrooms will be converted into secured sleeping quarters with folding beds, mattresses, blankets, and pillows. They will be provided with assorted toiletries. Specialized volunteer tutors will be recruited to handle the various subjects of Math, English, Reading, Science, ICT and vocational (sewing). The program will concentrate on the critical areas of the examination syllabus. They will stay from Friday afternoon till Sunday afternoon when they will be driven back home. They will be provided FREE healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners.

Program Details: Orientation upon arrival at the L&A Academy School complex; Dinner, get to “know each other” sessions; entertainment. Saturday: a tour of the L&A School compound and facilities; tour of City of Accra; dinner and entertainment. Sunday: campus service; distribution of home works, reading material etc; trip back home 2nd to 15th Weekend Friday upon arrival, light work in the computer lab Saturday: early morning exercise, breakfast and intensive academic work; visit and lecture by a prominent female; dinner and entertainment; Sunday; early campus service; some more work; dismissal and trip back home with reading assignments and home works. In between, tests, quizzes and examinations to determined the level of progress. Parents weekend; parents will be invited to come and visit with their girls. Last Weekend (16th) Farewell party; pep talk; tour of the City; and some tears!

How You Can Help: In the US, tax deductible donations can be made to the Adakum Ed Foundation in the form of a check and mailed to our address, or online by Paypal at our website: www.admef.org In kind donations will also be accepted; educational material and supplies. In Ghana, donations can be made in the local cedi currency to the Adakum Ed Foundation (GH), by contacting the local President Grace Asiam: 0277-889133. Your donation will qualify as charitable contribution under the Ghana Tax Laws and Regulations.