When we first heard about the Steemit platform from one of our current volunteers, we were very excited about the potential benefits it could bring to our organization and help to spread the message of our work.
While Mawulolo Youth Network is involved in many different projects and programs, one of the main programs we offer is an after school program, which occurs 3 days a week. During this after school program the children we serve are able to get additional help with their schoolwork from that day, and are able to learn new subjects such as English, science, math, and ICT that they may not learned to the same degree otherwise. We rely on both local and international volunteers for the teaching of these courses, and believe that giving children a productive and scheduled after school activity can be extremely beneficial in terms of keeping the children interested and focused on their education. In addition to the after school programs we offer we also work very hard to help many families and children with paying their school fees, and currently have over 25 children on scholarship for this school year, with 10 of those students being sponsered by a donor for the rest of their acedemic career.
Our Mission At Mawulolo Youth Network
Mawulolo Youth Network (MYN) seeks to give opportunities to children and families so that they have an achievable method of breaking the cycle of poverty as it exists in many of the communities within our country. Emphasizing the importance of education to the children and people of the community is one of the best ways of ensuring that the children may have more opportunities than their parents and others in the community had. The importance of education is not fully understood by many of the families within the community, which is one of the main contributing factors to many children not finishing their education.
We also believe that it is important for children to enjoy learning and education, which is why we choose to incorporate interactive teaching styles and art into many of our teaching lessons. The children who attend the after school program have much more direct interaction with instructors and are much more likely to ask for help and explanation than they would be during school, which enables them to get clarity on any subjects or topics that they may not be grasping.
What We Do at Mawulolo Youth Network
While our main focuses are on providing financial support for some of the students school fees and running the after school program, we also try to provide other services to the community and children whenever possible. Every December we have what we like to call "Kid's Day Out", where the kids come and play games, eat meals and snacks, drink, get their faces painted, and other fun activities. This is a great way for the children to get to experience types of activities that they wouldn't be able to otherwise, and it shows the children that MYN really does want the very best for them.
Another one of our very big projects here at MYN is our Back to School Drive, which has taken place over the last 3 Septembers. We accept donations from all around the world leading up to our back to school drive, where we provide stationary, books, pencils, and other learning supplies that many of the children and their families have a hard time independently financing. Even with all of the support we get from both international and local donors, it is often still very hard to provide all of the supplies for each of the 137 children that we serve. While we try to make sure that every child gets as many supplies as they need, this often proves difficult and usually most children wind up receiving about 2/3rds of the school stationary and supplies needed for the upcoming year. Even if the children only get 2/3rds of the school supplies needed for the upcoming year, they still have a much better chance of being much more prepared than they otherwise would.
Every December MYN also does a giveaway of clothes, where we request clothing donations from all around the world for the children. The children and their families are beyond grateful to MYN for providing this service because many of the children may only have a select few pairs of clothes and purchasing new clothes every year can be a significant financial strain on many of the families. Without this clothing distribution many of the children would continue to wear the old and often worn out or torn clothes for years, which makes the children and their families extremely thankful to MYN and its donors.
Many of the boys in the after school program also join one of the volunteers at the soccer field once a week for practice and to play, as we are trying to get a formal team established so we are able to play against other organizations in the local area. Soccer is a very big sport in Ghana, and many of the boys in the organization are very talented. We hope that by giving them the means to play on a formal level it may increase their chances of improving their skills and being noticed. This also helps the boys in the program become closer to one another, and gives them something to look forward to every week.
We have done a medical day once before as well, where we had doctors and medical professionals come and provide free screenings and evaluations to the children of the organization, but it is very hard to set up logistically. We are trying our best to set up another day for the near future, and we believe that it is very important. Many families in the community still practice traditional healing methods if their children get ill or sick, which are not effective against many of the real world diseases that many of these children may be at risk of. By providing free and easy access to health care, many of the children will have the ability to become aware to whether or not they are currently sick or are at risk of any diseases.
Another very important thing that we teach the children is information regarding Ghanaian culture. These topics include traditional cultural dance, music and other traditional activities. Many of the children enjoy these types of activities a lot, and we believe that it is very important to help the children learn as much as they can about the culture of Ghana.
Why do we believe that providing these services to the children is so important?
Mawulolo Youth Network was founded by brothers Romeo and Selorm, and their cousin Michael back in 2012. The founders of the organization saw what was happening in the community and decided to do something about it to change the future. They saw one of the major factors that was contributing to the cycle of poverty in the area was the lack of education and the lack of importance that is given to education by many of the families within the community. The costs associated with the continuation of education is a major stress for many families in the village, and the founders determined that being able to take the financial stress off of many of the families would have a positive benefit in terms of the children continuing their education.
We believe that a lot of the time, people just need a small push in order for them to have the best chance of success. The children having the feeling that their is someone who cares about them and really wants them to succeed can be extremely beneficial and have a lasting impact for far beyond the duration of the program. By cultivating the belief that education is very important within the children's minds at a young age, we believe that we may be able to have an impact on their formation of the ideas surrounding the importance of education throughout their educational careers. In order for the future generations to have more opportunities, they must have a greater focus on education. Every child deserves a chance at a high quality education, and we cannot just stand idly by children in our community don't have all of the opportunities that they deserve.
We at Mawulolo Youth Network would like to thank you very much for reading our introduction post, and we encourage you to follow us, and upvote or re-steem this post if you enjoyed it as we are brand new to the platform. All proceeds from any posy made by this account will be used to support Mawulolo Youth Network directly, and any donations made in Steem or SBD would be graciously accepted, Proof of where the funds go will be provided in the future. We look forward to providing more content in the near future, and seeing what we can do for the platform.