CDA–Ghana support 93 children to go back to school

Ninety-three out-of-school children and school dropouts from two districts in the Upper West Region have received support from the Community Development Alliance-Ghana (CDA-Ghana), a non-governmental organisation based in Wa, to enable them to return to the classrooms.

The beneficiaries were part of an initial 217 children who were identified from 10 communities in the two districts to have dropped out of school.

The support was under the Bridging Fund: Girls Rights and Empowerment Project (G-REP), being implemented by CDA-Ghana with funding from Plan International Ghana.

It was in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders, including community leaders and School Management Committees (SMCs) of the schools in the participating communities.

Objective

The main objective of the project was to improve the school environment and reintegrate out-of-school children, particularly vulnerable groups, such as the minority Fulbe girls and young women, into the formal school system. It ran from October 2025 to January 2026.

Communities

The beneficiary communities were Nyemati, Buoti, Kandia, Dasima and Kusali, Busa, Chansa, Sing, Chere and Danku from the Sissala West District and Wa Municipality.

Speaking at the close-out ceremony where the project distributed the items to the beneficiaries, the Programme Manager of CDA-Ghana, Sulemani Bipuah, said the project identified 217 out-of-school children, made up of 149 boys and 68 girls.

He said during engagements with stakeholders and the community leaders, the project observed that “the lack of a uniform is often a major barrier to entry and providing these uniforms acts as a social equaliser, removing the visible markers of poverty and reducing ‘uniform anxiety’ among learners.”

The items distributed included sets of school uniforms, learning materials and learning aids from pupils from Kindergarten to Junior High Secondary School levels.

Sustainability

Mr Bipuah called on the parents and the community to own the project and ensure that the children remained in school.

He said the support from the project was to give the beneficiaries a head start and that “the long-term success of these 93 students now rests in the hands of the community”.

“As the project draws to a close, the legacy of G-REP remains a trained network of Change Agents, a supportive community leadership and nearly 100 children who now have the tools to carve their own futures,” he said.

Appreciation

The Sissala West District GES Girl Child Officer, Fati Banamole, on behalf of the parents and districts, thanked CDA-Ghana for the donations and pledged their support to ensure that the beneficiaries complete their course of study.