The Plan to Achieve 100% Sustainability

Create Change is proud to announce its plan to achieve 100% sustainability for our Ghana operation. Create Change is launching ‘Legacy Enterprise’, a collective of businesses who operate to generate dollars to support to support education and water projects.

Create Change feels strongly that its programs have the capacity to create four times the impact, however it is funding that continuously constrains the organization. In Ghana, Create Change’s partner team in Ghana turns away thousands of deserving girls each year from its education program, over fifty rural primary schools are currently on a waiting list for assistance, and dozens of communities that could easily be connected to a nearby pipeline continue to wait for access to clean water.

Currently, Ghana happens to have the second fastest growing economy in the world, benefiting from natural resources such as oil and gold. However, people in Ghana’s northern regions continue to live in extreme poverty, where 50% of people live without access to clean water, only a quarter of the population is literate, and 1 out of 5 children won’t make it to their fifth birthday.

Create Change recognizes the vast growth that Ghana is currently experiencing, and sees tremendous opportunity to capitalize on it. One of the areas where growth is most apparent is in construction, whether it be private homes, commercial buildings, or infrastructure projects.

Create Change plans to launch a series of construction businesses, beginning with the purchase of a tipper truck, which will provide deliveries of the key construction materials in Ghana.

Learn more about Create Change’s first step towards achieving sustainability in Ghana, through the launch of the ‘Tipper Truck for Change’ Legacy Enterprise.

Club Meetings Going Strong!

Create Change continues to hold its ‘Club Meetings’ with sponsored students at the many high schools it supports- and they are increasingly becoming successful.  The students being sponsored can be very shy and have a hard time expressing the challenges they face for fear of feeling ashamed.  The club meetings provide an atmosphere where they can share their ideas in a safe environment.The Club Meetings are held twice a month at each high school, and are most definitely making an impact.  The girls are so hungry for knowledge, and each week as a new topic such as ‘Hygiene’, ‘Equality in the Classroom’, and ‘My Own Self-Identity’.  For some girls, it is the first time they have been ever asked to share their questions and concerns about a topic. 

In addition, Create Change staff have been able to gain further insight to the problems the girls’ face, and have consequently made alterations to its policies and program.  For instance, upon hearing stories at several high schools about hunger causing many students to engage in prostitution, Create Change now prioritizes supplementary food over general academic supplies.

 Support a girl today, and you will not only empower her to continue her education, but you’ll also giver her a chance to have her voice heard.

 

Photo Essay: Lunch at Tua Primary

First Annual Career Summit

Last month, Creating Change Organization in Ghana had its first ever annual Career Summit, and despite a few unforeseen setbacks, the even was a giant success.

Girls’s Education Officer, Eunice Akpeere, had spent several months organizing the event attended by over 500 Create Change sponsored students.  The summit aimed to educate students on the vast number of careers available.   While many girls aim to be teachers and nurses, Creating Change Organization wants to be sure that its supported students aim as high as they can, and this means understanding what options are available.

The morning kicked off with a series of minor disasters, when several of the high schools failed to transport students on their school buses, leaving Creating Change with no choice but to arrange a number of pick-up trucks to collect as many students as possible.  A fire also broke out nearby, causing the power to go out leaving no working fans or audio system for the day, which delayed the event further until a generator was sourced.

Despite the slow start, the event kicked off to a great start, where a number of female leaders including a University Professor, an accomplished Banker, and a PhD graduate told their inspirational stories about how their impoverished upbringings did not stop them from achieving their goals.  Next the Ghana Education Services Career and Guidance Department made a presentation about a number of available career options.

The highlight of the event for many were speeches delivered by Beatrice, Fayudatu, Faiza and Gladys, four girls who had recently traveled to Vancouver on a six week ‘For Our Daughters’ speaking tour.  Creating Change Staff in Ghana had not yet seen the girls’ unbelievable transformation and impressive speaking skills they gained through their time in Canada.  The girls spoke with sincerity and fervor, leaving a lasting impression on the 500 students who were able to attend.

Create Change wants to thank all staff in Ghana for the wonderful job they did organizing and hosting the summit.  We know it will have a great impact on students moving forward, especially as we continue the discussion of careers in club meetings.

Coming Soon to a Theater Near You!

In addition to running both Create Change and Karma Exchange, Shannen has been working on the documentary ‘For Our Daughters’ which tells the story of Beatrice, Faiza, Fayudatu, and Gladys, four girls who traveled from Northern Ghana to Canada for a six week speaking tour about girls’ education.  Upon bringing them from Ghana to Canada, Shannen knew right away that these girls’ transformational journey was a story that needed to be documented for the world to see.

After shooting in Ghana in June 2011, and then in Vancouver the following October, Shannen and Producer and DOP Daniel Pierce recently returned from shooting the last part of the film in Ghana.  During this most recent visit, Shannen noticed a remarkable change in the attitudes of these young girls. Since completing their high school education and undergoing the demands of a busy speaking tour, they have transformed into confident young women whom the rest of the girls in the program look up to.

Shannen, Gladys, and Dan

While Gladys is in her home village teaching English, the other three girls are working as Creating Change Interns where they help with field work and lead girls’ club meetings in high schools throughout Ghana’s Northern Region.

Stay tuned for more news about the For Our Daughters documentary, which is expected to be released in 2013.