JAKCINT

 Today we visited a school that would be perfect for our grandsons who asked about a possible Eagle Scout Project.  

Original home built to accommodate the school

It has been built by John and Cynthia Koranteng and administered by Cynthia.  She taught at a government school then they bought a home and made it into a private school which draws from several villages.  

Cynthia Koranteng, Owner and Operator of Jakcint School

Cynthia laughed when she realized that these village children had probably never seen a white person before.  She said they will have a lot to talk about today.

First look at a white person!

The school is very modest but beautifully run and at a very low cost per student.  They have started an expansion which will make it possible for them to change their classroom size from 50 to 30.  It will also create more jobs, which is one of our main goals with the Ghana E-center.  

Part of a 1st grade class - Couldn't get them all in one picture

I have great faith in this school.  They have done everything themselves on a pay-as-you-go basis, no donations.  The only debt they have is for two school buses which are necessary to get the children to the school.  I asked them besides getting help to finish their classrooms, what kind of supplies could we gather as an eagle project.  Together we identified the following:  Used toys for the young children, blankets, books, teaching aids, puzzles, crayons, and pencils.

I know that any assistance will be greatly appreciated. I'm especially impressed with the fact that it has been completely self financed to this size.

                                                                        

                                                                                     The rest of the class and their teachers.  We couldn't leave them out!

Addition that is in progress as it can be paid for
This is the extent of their playground

They don't have a library or a science lab and would love to stock two of the rooms for those purposes.  These are their plans as they can expand.  They have not asked for donations but are excited about the possibilities of moving ahead.  That's the kind of people we love to help!

One added structure that accommodates more classrooms

The government schools are terrible in comparison especially to this school.  Cynthia has done no advertising but the school has grown through word of mouth to about 450 children.  It services a very poor area and they keep the prices amazingly low.  Pre school - 3rd 105 cedis ($35) per term, etc. They break even because the children pay 1.5 cedis for their lunch and the little children don't eat as much so it supplements the larger appetites of the older children.  They now have their first group of jr. high. students.

I was so impressed with the discipline and attention of the children.  They have so many children in each classroom but they are all engaged.  The teachers are lovely people.  It's the best experience I have had so far! 

First level teacher
50 PreSchoolers

They keep perfect books all by hand. One ledger book for each classroom. A summary book at the end of the month, etc.

The stack on the desk are the individual class ledgers

How we would LOVE to help this school!  It will be a perfect Eagle Project for our grandsons but also a very worthy  project for others who would like to see their money put to excellent and meaningful use by financing the addition.

If you are interested in participating in the structure addition be sure to mark your donation and envelope: "Jakcint School". Information on donating is found here. Or email us at rfpothier@gmail.com.