Africa Visit Highlights
Over the course of 13 days, Coafrica director, Marci Romney, visited Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Zambia. She was hosted by coalition partners at Build A School in Africa, Build a Classroom Ltd, LDS Charities, and Rising Fountain Development Program. Together, they were able to visit 10 Coafrica schools and participate in 3 new school handover ceremonies! On top of that, they visited several schools in each country and identified 6 potential project sites.
Ghana
The first stop on our 2024 Africa visit was Ghana. Our director Marci Romney visited a potential project site at Adwima Koforidua School near Kumasi. The building has four different schools meeting in shifts because of limited classroom space. You can see in the pictures, the school has put up makeshift partitions to divide the space and make room for more classes. After meeting with community leaders and school administration, we were very impressed with their enthusiasm and commitment to supporting education in this area.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, we were able to visit several Coafrica schools, meet with potential coalition partners, and attend the Salawu Abiola Secondary School Grand Opening.
During our site visit to Ebenezer African Church School, the head teacher shared how grateful they are for a place where the children can learn. “We are a modern school now! Kids and the community are proud to call EAC their school.”
Having proactive, energetic, and committed teachers like her is key to the success and impact of our projects.
Lagos is so sprawling and congested, there is evident need in the areas we are building. We were impressed with the community participation and willingness to help all they can. Our project coordinator, Victor, is developing key government relationships that can increase our impact and bring more attention to the needs at these schools.
Malawi
In Southern Africa, in addition to visiting schools and celebrating classroom openings at Katalima Primary School and Nkhuzyeni Primary School, we had the opportunity to network and introduce some of our coalition partners to their counterparts in other countries. Each organization we work with provides a different service. Our hope is that we can extend these partnerships across country borders, bringing even more of the needed resources to our schools. The need in these areas is substantial and we want to help.
Zambia
About the trip, Marci said, “It is always so soul satisfying to physically see these projects that we manage virtually. You can feel the enthusiasm and gratitude when you’re there visiting. My favorite is the kids no matter where we go. They’re the real reason we’re doing what we do. Without a doubt, we’re making a huge impact!”
After a wonderful visit, our key takeaways are these: we are the right solution for communities where lack of infrastructure is the greatest barrier to education access, and, we have a lot more work to do!
