The only way I know to share this information is to include it as part of the blog. If anyone can teach me a better way to attach it I'm open to suggestions. Is there a way to attach articles that are not on the web? It is well written and worth the read. In order to understand the importance of our current project this story needs to be understood. The compassion and dedication of the Opare family has lead to this system of schools The Golden Sunbeam Schools are now educating many children and can bless so many lives. It is important that this school succeed.
THE GOLDEN SUNBEAM'S
story of selflessness and transformation
THE GOLDEN SUNBEAM'S
story of selflessness and transformation
In 1985, Emmanuel and Monica Ohene Opare Snr
(Founders, Golden Sunbeam Schools) went to Essam to visit some distant relatives and to purchase a piece
of land for farming. They were shown around the village
by one of their relatives. They were shocked by many of
the things they saw. One common phenomenon in Essam
was early teen pregnancy: it was a case of a child
parenting another child. These teenage parents and
their children looked malnourished and sickly. There
were no meaningful source of income for them and they
had no education or job skills to improve their situation.
Essam is a remote village in the eastern part of Ghana.
The Opares found it difficult accessing the village, as the road was crooked, muddy and swampy at the same time. Local bus transportation only came to the village once a week. It had no electricity, sanitation, health clinic or any meaningful development, but, surprisingly, pornography had found its way into the village and x- rated movies were shown for a fee.
GOLDEN SUNBEAM TO THE RESCUE
'We could not ignore the gross deprivation and vulnerability experienced by these wonderful people. We felt the nudge to help the residents of Essam out of poverty and give them access to education, hoping their increased knowledge would lead to a healthier happier and more fulfilled life.' Mr. Emmanuel Ohene Opare intimated.
Several years after their first visit, they embarked on a mission to use education as the medium to transform the Essam village. In 1989, Mr. Opare saved his per-diem of $2,500 during a 3-month work related trip to the United States and they used the money to buy a plot of land in
The Opares found it difficult accessing the village, as the road was crooked, muddy and swampy at the same time. Local bus transportation only came to the village once a week. It had no electricity, sanitation, health clinic or any meaningful development, but, surprisingly, pornography had found its way into the village and x- rated movies were shown for a fee.
GOLDEN SUNBEAM TO THE RESCUE
'We could not ignore the gross deprivation and vulnerability experienced by these wonderful people. We felt the nudge to help the residents of Essam out of poverty and give them access to education, hoping their increased knowledge would lead to a healthier happier and more fulfilled life.' Mr. Emmanuel Ohene Opare intimated.
Several years after their first visit, they embarked on a mission to use education as the medium to transform the Essam village. In 1989, Mr. Opare saved his per-diem of $2,500 during a 3-month work related trip to the United States and they used the money to buy a plot of land in
Accra, put up wooden classroom structures and enrolled
11 street children on charity in Accra, whose situation
was similar to those in Essam village. Golden Sunbean
School was born. A year later in 1990, they enrolled their
four children into the school and that action, increased
their motivation to provide the very best for all the
students who attended the school. Mr. Opare's
government salary provided a small but steady flow of
funding to buffer any shortfalls in Golden Sunbeam's
operating expenses in Accra. When the school was a
little stronger with enough fee-paying students, they
revisited their plan to help Essam.
GOLDEN SUNBEAM CHARITY SCHOOL
So in 1999, the Opares returned to Essam to meet village leaders and express their desire to assist in improving the lives of youth (especially young girls) through vocational training. Interestingly, the village rejected the idea of focussing on youth. They insisted: 'Why wait until our children become teenagers before we intervene. Start with the children.' We re-aligned our initial plans to include kindergarten-ninth grade education and through to vocational training in the village.
The Opares persuaded some teachers from the Accra school to move to the village to teach: it was a great sacrifice for their families. So in 1999, converting a goat and sheep pen on an acre land into classrooms, Golden Sunbeam Charity School started in Essam, enrolling 7, 8 and 11-year olds into kindergarten.
The school grew to 320 children and the Opares soon realised the financial needs of the Charity school were beyond the ability of Golden Sunbeam School in Accra.
GOLDEN SUNBEAM CHARITY SCHOOL
So in 1999, the Opares returned to Essam to meet village leaders and express their desire to assist in improving the lives of youth (especially young girls) through vocational training. Interestingly, the village rejected the idea of focussing on youth. They insisted: 'Why wait until our children become teenagers before we intervene. Start with the children.' We re-aligned our initial plans to include kindergarten-ninth grade education and through to vocational training in the village.
The Opares persuaded some teachers from the Accra school to move to the village to teach: it was a great sacrifice for their families. So in 1999, converting a goat and sheep pen on an acre land into classrooms, Golden Sunbeam Charity School started in Essam, enrolling 7, 8 and 11-year olds into kindergarten.
The school grew to 320 children and the Opares soon realised the financial needs of the Charity school were beyond the ability of Golden Sunbeam School in Accra.
Rather than backing out from the project, they tried
to raise funds. They received funds and learning
materials from LDS Charities in addition to their own
salaries to acquire additional materials for the
Charity and Vocational schools in Essam.
SUNBEAM EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL FOUNDATION (S.E.E.O.F.A.F)
In June 2000, S.E.E.O.F.A.F was born as an NGO to act as the channel to receiving funding in support of Golden Sunbeam humanitarian work. Under this non-profit foundation, contributions from donors were received. The Opares managed to receive funds and support between 1999 and 2008. Through funds raised, they carefully ensured the co- existence of both schools and thereby allowed them to work towards fulfilling their missions. They kept a healthy balance between those who could pay for tuition in the Primary School (75%-80% could pay) and those who could not pay anything in the Charity school. Today, Golden Sunbeam Schools still maintain this balance at 23%-25% charity and 75%- 77% fee-paying students.
'Now, because of friends and donors, Golden Sunbeam Montessori in Accra and Golden Sunbeam Charity School in Essam have undergone serious transformations in infrastructure. We owe much of our growth to support from Reach the Children, the Forever Young Foundation, David and Mike Hemingway, LDS Charities and several others in addition to funds generated through tuition fees.' The Opares said thankfully.
'Sadly, much of the funding stopped in 2008 when the American economy changed, placing the burden of these costs directly on the Primary School. To overcome the challenge, we expanded our customer-base to include more middle-income families. We increased our advertisements and rebranded ourselves to appeal to this population. The difficult years that followed the recession taught us how to stand on our own feet and helped us attain self-sufficiency.’
GOLDEN SUNBEAM INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
'When we thought our work was done, we discovered that the students we had worked so hard to rescue and empower, who had graduated from our K-9 schools and had been enrolled into the government
SUNBEAM EQUAL EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL FOUNDATION (S.E.E.O.F.A.F)
In June 2000, S.E.E.O.F.A.F was born as an NGO to act as the channel to receiving funding in support of Golden Sunbeam humanitarian work. Under this non-profit foundation, contributions from donors were received. The Opares managed to receive funds and support between 1999 and 2008. Through funds raised, they carefully ensured the co- existence of both schools and thereby allowed them to work towards fulfilling their missions. They kept a healthy balance between those who could pay for tuition in the Primary School (75%-80% could pay) and those who could not pay anything in the Charity school. Today, Golden Sunbeam Schools still maintain this balance at 23%-25% charity and 75%- 77% fee-paying students.
'Now, because of friends and donors, Golden Sunbeam Montessori in Accra and Golden Sunbeam Charity School in Essam have undergone serious transformations in infrastructure. We owe much of our growth to support from Reach the Children, the Forever Young Foundation, David and Mike Hemingway, LDS Charities and several others in addition to funds generated through tuition fees.' The Opares said thankfully.
'Sadly, much of the funding stopped in 2008 when the American economy changed, placing the burden of these costs directly on the Primary School. To overcome the challenge, we expanded our customer-base to include more middle-income families. We increased our advertisements and rebranded ourselves to appeal to this population. The difficult years that followed the recession taught us how to stand on our own feet and helped us attain self-sufficiency.’
GOLDEN SUNBEAM INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
'When we thought our work was done, we discovered that the students we had worked so hard to rescue and empower, who had graduated from our K-9 schools and had been enrolled into the government
senior high schools, were mostly unemployed even
after completing university courses, while those
who had no parental financial support from the
Charity school beyond JHS were returning to the
same circumstances we tried to rescue them from.
So, in 2011, we ventured into senior high education and made a jump without foreign philanthropy, we secured a loan from a local bank. Although, Ghanaian banks have high and variable interest rates, it was the only resource available to us at the time. We took a loan of GHC 2 million ($1 million) at 24% interest in 2011. We bought 21 acres, emptied our personal retirement account and build Golden Sunbeam International College of Science and Technology (Senior High School) in Ayikumah, outside Accra. Within nine months, the buildings were complete. The project was well calculated and closely managed to reduce costs.' The Opares revealed.
SUCCESS STORIES
Today, 75% of our students from the Golden Sunbeam College of Science & Technology are enrolled in local and international universities and some with academic scholarships due to excellent grades. Those from Essam who graduated from Golden Sunbeam College have returned to strengthen their community and are employed by the Charity school as teacher aids. Their goal is to save up for their university education. Some of them have managed to gain admission into higher institutions of learning, while a few have graduated. The Essam village has been transformed by the Charity School and generally, more children in the village have access to free and qualitative education and teenage pregnancy and social vices among youths have significantlyreduced.
CHALLENGES
Despite the high quality of education we provide, growth in the population at the high school level has been slower than anticipated. Due to the loan we procured to establish the SHS, all Golden Sunbeam Schools are in financial distress and each year rising interest rates increases it. Currently, the loan amount is GHC 3,778,680 (USD$1.8 million) and for both schools to survive, revenue would have to increase by 30% annually to avoid imminent collapse.
So, in 2011, we ventured into senior high education and made a jump without foreign philanthropy, we secured a loan from a local bank. Although, Ghanaian banks have high and variable interest rates, it was the only resource available to us at the time. We took a loan of GHC 2 million ($1 million) at 24% interest in 2011. We bought 21 acres, emptied our personal retirement account and build Golden Sunbeam International College of Science and Technology (Senior High School) in Ayikumah, outside Accra. Within nine months, the buildings were complete. The project was well calculated and closely managed to reduce costs.' The Opares revealed.
SUCCESS STORIES
Today, 75% of our students from the Golden Sunbeam College of Science & Technology are enrolled in local and international universities and some with academic scholarships due to excellent grades. Those from Essam who graduated from Golden Sunbeam College have returned to strengthen their community and are employed by the Charity school as teacher aids. Their goal is to save up for their university education. Some of them have managed to gain admission into higher institutions of learning, while a few have graduated. The Essam village has been transformed by the Charity School and generally, more children in the village have access to free and qualitative education and teenage pregnancy and social vices among youths have significantlyreduced.
CHALLENGES
Despite the high quality of education we provide, growth in the population at the high school level has been slower than anticipated. Due to the loan we procured to establish the SHS, all Golden Sunbeam Schools are in financial distress and each year rising interest rates increases it. Currently, the loan amount is GHC 3,778,680 (USD$1.8 million) and for both schools to survive, revenue would have to increase by 30% annually to avoid imminent collapse.
Golden Sunbeam Charity School in Essam... transforming a community and
helping raise responsible future leaders free of charge
No comments:
Post a Comment