“The students really didn’t know how to read, They have standard textbooks, and that’s the only thing they have. The children just memorize everything in the book: Songs, stories, everything is memorized."
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| Emily Simpson with students of the T.I. Ahmadiyya Basic School near Tema, Ghana |
Source/Credit: Laramie Boomerang
By Peter Baumann | April 29, 2013
Laramie High School [Laramie, WY] senior Emily Simpson poses for a photograph with students of the T.I. Ahmadiyya Basic School near Tema, Ghana. Simpson has been living in Ghana for about eight months. Courtesy photo
Their answers were unexpectedly perfect.
Emily Simpson was beginning her first day teaching at T.I. Ahmadiyya Basic School near Tema, Ghana.
When she started quizzing students on English-language songs and stories in their textbooks, she figured they would struggle. English is the country’s official language, but there are nearly a dozen regional languages recognized by the government.
But instead of having difficulty reciting lessons from the book, the students answered in unison with word-for-word answers straight from the text.
“When I first started teaching, I was really impressed by the kids and their skills reading in unison,” Simpson said during a Skype conversation from her home in Ghana on Thursday afternoon.
Afterward, Simpson talked with the school’s headmistress about it: How were these students doing so well with their English lessons? The headmistress’ answer was a stark reminder of the conditions the Muslim school faces in Ghana, a country with a centralized Christian government.
The students know the text so well because it’s the only book they have.
“The students really didn’t know how to read,” Simpson said. “They have standard textbooks, and that’s the only thing they have. The children just memorize everything in the book: Songs, stories, everything is memorized.
“They don’t have any books for the kids to read,” she added. “Inside or outside of school, they don’t have any.”
As a Laramie High School senior on a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange Scholarship (YES), Simpson has spent eight months as both a student and teacher in Ghana.
The scholarship program sends U.S. youth around the globe to areas with significant Muslim populations in an effort to foster positive relationships between cultures, Simpson said.
“The YES scholarship is about building relationships between American youth and Muslim youth around the world,” she said. “There are not going to be any international problems that are solved through bullying each other. There has to be mutual connections, mutual relationships, mutual understanding between individuals.
“That can be the best weapon for killing all of the things we’re trying to get rid of,” she said. “It’s the best weapon for peace.”
Creating a library for TI Ahmadiyya was the perfect opportunity to do that, Simpson said.
“We got everyone mobilized and now have more than 300 books,” she said.
She’s had a lot of help along the way, Simpson said: Friends from Laramie, Ghanaians who’ve come to the United States, The Friends of the Albany County Public Library and U.S. Embassy workers have all pitched in to help provide books to the school.
It’s an aid network that Simpson said she hopes to continue when she returns to Laramie later this year. To do that, she’s founded “Our Forgotten Families.”
“There are these schools that first, really need volunteers and second, they really need more supplies,” Simpson said. “I’m trying to build basic connections with those schools so when I leave, we will have the people in America still motivated to help.”
Working directly with the schools means supplies and books make the biggest positive impact they can, Simpson said.
“Some nonprofits are creating a situation where they almost perpetuate poverty,” Simpson said. “So many organizations that provide a lot of the country with supplies and money — they don’t take the time to figure out where the money is going or if it’s actually needed.”
What starts out as charitable donations may actually damage the local economy by flooding the market with goods, causing prices to plummet, Simpson added.
“I’m trying to work around those problems we see happening with some other nonprofit organizations by going directly to the school,” Simpson said.
If Simpson’s system works as planned, the next set of YES scholars will have ample opportunities to work with and help Muslim schools in Ghana.
“Ghana is a country that is mostly dominated by Christians, actually. We’re all living with Christian host families, so we don’t have immediate means of making those relationships (with Muslims),” Simpson said.
“Hopefully, the kids who come next year on my scholarship will have not only a volunteer job set up for them, working with Muslims, but also ways to help these schools get the supplies that they need.”
Book donations still needed
Emily Simpson’s mission to create a library for T.I. Ahmadiyya Basic School near Tema, Ghana, has received help along the way from several people.
The Friends of the Albany County Public Library donated books.
Simpson’s friends, Laramie High School senior Hannah Stansberry and University of Wyoming sophomore Qian Yang, have helped her collect books around Laramie.
Members of the United States Consulate in Ghana have also helped get the books to the school.
And, if you want to, you can help.
Our Forgotten Families is still seeking book donations for children ages 5-15 to send to Ghana, Stansberry said.
“They could just swing by the high school and drop them off, and they would probably find their way to me,” she said.
When Simpson first told her about the project, Stansberry said she immediately saw an opportunity to further educational opportunities for students thousands of miles away.
“We have her on the ground to see what we need and address those needs,” she said. “This was a really great idea. I think education is really important to build the infrastructure and just build up what’s there.”
To donate books, email ourforgottenfamilies@gmail.com or drop them off at the Laramie High School main office.
Read original post here: LHS student helps Ghana school create its own library
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