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Original Post From 11/23/2019 Updated 8/31/2020 Students at Graceland International School and in the various Kafanchan schools are encouraged to think about their futures. What interests do they have? What opportunities do they have for going on to college or university? How should they best prepare to fulfill their goals? 
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Africa Education Partnership (AEP) is committed to building and renovating schools in order to offer a quality education without regard to gender, religion, or ethnic origin. Our schools in Nigeria reflect the diversity of their society. Girls are educated on an equal basis as boys. All students come from different backgrounds.  Under the leadership of Mrs. Nana Dogo, a Women’s Center has been built. The focus of the center is to empower women by providing them with the skills needed to earn money for themselves and their families. The region is rural with subsistence farming as the main source of income. Poverty is most evident and acute among 2500 widows in this community.  Mrs. Nana Dogo is a very engaging and informative speaker. On Tuesday, October 15, she spoke at a special luncheon on the vital work she is doing in Kafanchan with women and girls.  Recent news from Graceland International School, Gusau, Nigeria Recent news from Graceland has been very encouraging, with enrollment up in all grades. There is a healthy balance between the numbers of boys and girls, as well as Christian and Muslim students. The aim of Graceland International School (GIS) is to ensure that both boys and girls have equal opportunities for the quality education that is offered there. The aim of the school is “reconciliation through education”. Therefore GIS enrolls both Christian and Muslim students without discrimination. Learning together encourages understanding and acceptance between those from different backgrounds.  On Saturday, October 5, the board of Africa Education Partnership met for a full day retreat with guests and partners, Bishop Markus and Nana Dogo. The meeting took place in Shelton, Connecticut, with board members from Akron, Ohio, making the tip north. One board member joined via phone from Virginia Beach.  “Some people don’t think it’s cool to help others; personally I think it’s the coolest thing in the world” - Prince Harry. Handmade feminine hygiene kits help girls stay in school. Jolly, a friend of board member Elaine Chagnon, does work in Uganda and shared several feminine hygiene kits with Elaine before she left for Nigeria. Jolly has helped train young girls to sew their own kits. The kits include soft, flannel pads that fit inside a "holder" that wraps around the underwear. There is a bar of soap, a washcloth, and an additional plastic bag where soiled pads can be placed with some water to soak them. Everything fits inside a cloth bag which can be discreetly carried. The kit is brilliant. The board of Africa Education Partnership recently decided to fund the drilling of a well at each of the school sites, where there is no access to clean drinking water. We have discovered that there is a direct link between clean water and student health/education. Having access to clean, safe water for drinking and sanitation can make a difference between life and death.  Lack of clean water a health hazard that affects school attendance. Clean water, toilets and good hygiene practices are essential for the survival and development of children. Poor access to clean water and sanitation in Nigeria remains a major contributing factor to high morbidity and mortality rates among children under five. The use of contaminated drinking water and poor sanitary conditions result in increased vulnerability to water-borne diseases, including diarrhea which leads to deaths of more than 70,000 children under five annually.  |
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