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We believe that a literacy rate of 5% for girls is unacceptable.  We believe that we live in one world, not a first world and a third world.  We believe that pocket change to us can have a significant impact when one community joins together to support another community, and we have shown this to be true.

Tools for Schools Africa Foundation:  The Damongo Project
I, <Marilyn Pottage - Society Director>, have had an interest in Africa since I lived there as a teenager.  In 2003, I helped students in Central Alberta schools ship school supplies to Kenya, Uganda, Morocco and Ghana. In 2006-07 we delivered 66,000 pounds of school books to more than 50 primary schools in Northern Ghana.  We set up three libraries, gave hundreds of kids books and conducted  teacher training sessions reaching 300+ teachers. We have been asked to return to continue supporting education.

The Damongo Project July/August 2008                                   
In summer 2008 our team of five Alberta educators are offering training sessions to a total of 660 African teachers.  These sessions are focused on teaching methodologies as well as basic curriculum content. We will help in whatever ways the teachers find most useful. Each teacher will leave this session with a copy of "How to Teach English" and a manual for either science or math, all written for African classrooms.  We have also ordered world maps, African readers, award winning juvenile African literature and paper products for the schools.  Our long term goal is to improve educational outcomes with a focus on more girls from the Damongo community completing graduation from high school.  Down the road we are looking for a group or individual interested in building a boarding house for 12-15 year old girls of promise who want more than the primary education available in their village.  Please contact us if you know an interested party.

This is year four of a ten year commitment to Damongo.

Time magazine, Oct 28, 2008 says, "Every social and economic index shows that countries with a higher percentage of women with a high school education also have better overall health, a more functional democracy and increased economic performance".  We will put as much money toward  education as we can raise, focusing on girls.  We'll show you exactly how your money was spent, and your dollars can make a huge difference.

Please help our project. 

As Margaret Mead said, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world.  Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

More About:

Tools for Schools Africa Foundation Project
Since the spring of 2004, students and teachers from seven Alberta school districts, including Red Deer Public, Red Deer Separate, Chinook's Edge and Wolf Creek districts have been working on a project called Tools for Schools Africa in which school supplies, textbooks and library books were sent to various African schools. During 2004-2005, shipments went to schools in Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Morocco. 



Background
After the original four shipments, the schools in Northern Ghana continued to request educational supplies. The following information from the Damongo Diocese addresses the educational need in this area of Ghana, especially for girls:

Northern Ghana is noted for its high illiteracy rate.  The illiteracy rates are about 95% for women and approximately 70% for men whilst the national averages are 64.2% and 38.2%.

Although statistics on formal education available at the district level do not yet present a clear view of the actual situation, it is estimated that literacy among the 50 years and above is virtually non-existent, while that of the younger generation (below 30 years) is not above 15%.

The low level of literacy is more rampant among women. The education of girls is at its lowest ebb.  The few that even go to school end up not performing well because of the following factors:

• Girls are seen as investment for their parents and easily withdrawn from school into marriage or commercial sex.
  
  
• Boys in the mixed schools easily over shadow the girls.
  
  
• The boys easily sexually abuse girls in mixed boarding schools.
  
  
• Domestic work at home prevent most of the girls in school from attending extra classes and carrying out their home work given by teachers.
  
  
• Long distances (as some children walk 5-10 km to school) discourage most girls from going to school.
  
  
• Quality senior secondary schools too are far away from the Diocese (nearest one is 130 km).
  
  
• Quality secondary schools are often far from the student's village, and well beyond the financial means of an average family.

It is sad to say that not many girls have gone on to University education from either of the two existing senior secondary schools in the area covered by the Diocese.  Because of the lack of quality education available, the girls are often exploited and cannot make any head way in the acquisition of their (women) strategic gender needs. 

Because of the requests from Ghanaian schools and teachers for more supplies, it was decided in the fall of 2005 to attempt to fill a forty foot container, primarily with school texts and library books.

OLDER   NEWS

July 2006 Update

Thank you one and all for your help in advancing this project! 

The Tools for Schools Africa project is a fine example of one community with resources supporting another community with limited resources, even a half a world away.  Seven Alberta school districts lent their support to this project, giving students the opportunity to learn international citizenship skills first hand by donating books and unused school supplies at the end of the school year.

Alberta Treasury Branch employees donated backpacks with educational and personal items to the girls in the St. Anne Secondary School.

Edmonton South Rotary Club and Edmonton Gateway Rotary Club donated funds toward shipping costs and the purchase of African literature while some Red Deer Rotarians helped with the hauling of books. Universal Aide raised funds to help with shipping costs. 

Local business owners Ingrid and Karsten Nossack generously supplied warehouse space over a six month period and also offered help with unloading.

Andy Buruma of Buruma Enterprises donated one of the containers.

Red Deer College donated used sports equipment and textbooks no longer being used in the adult upgrading program. 

The Red Deer Church of the Latter Day Saints donated family wellness kits for families far from medical services, and Knox Presbyterian Church made a generous financial contribution toward shipping costs. 

Books were received from many sources.  Edmonton and Red Deer Public Libraries generously donated books from their book sales. Many families such as the John Eng family cleaned out their own bookshelves in order to share children’s books with others. A high school student from California, Allison Guhr, sent a box of literacy supplies as part of a school project, and boxes of school textbooks came from all over Alberta and as far away as Cutknife, Saskatchewan. 

A number of local businessmen and community members have given donations of varying amounts. Some senior citizens offered their “Ralph Bucks”. Members of the community, after reading about the project in local papers, donated sets of encyclopedia to help us meet our goal of 50 sets of encyclopedias for 50 schools.  We will be able to get those encyclopedia into schools for about $40 per set, a great resources for students with inquiring minds.

The Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools has agreed to account for all donated funds. (Thank you Bruce, Jo-Anne and Loretta!)

Gord Bontje of Red Deer, who is Chair of the Separate School Board, has donated his yearly honorarium.

Murray Dietrich and his team from the Edmonton Office of CGI donated 15 computers & monitors, and all accessories.

In fact, the project is so successful that we have enough educational resources to fill two containers!  They will be shipped out of Alberta in July 2006, leaving Red Deer by rail to New Jersey where they will be loaded on to sea freighter to Spain, and then to Tema, the port in Ghana. Garry Vastila at Global Cargo Services Ltd. will move the containers from Alberta to Damongo, Ghana.

We had successfully raised enough funds to ship the container, and buy some African literature.  Since we now have enough excellent school resources to ship a second container, another $6,500 is required.  Cash donations are most appreciated, and a tax deductible receipt can be issued if the cheque is made payable to the Red Deer School Foundation, and tagged for Tools for Schools Africa.  
The address is:

The Foundation for Red Deer Public Schools 
4747-53 Street, Red Deer, AB  T4N 2B1 
Attn: Bruce Buruma, Executive Director
Phone (403) 342-3751.  

The Foundation is a Registered Charity with Canada Revenue,
# 119112522 RR 0001

Tool for School Africa became a legally registered Incorporated Society in Alberta as of 2008/04/16. (#5013897987)

Please see the News for more recent updates.

Contact us for more info