Our Support for Children Left Behind

In rural northern Ghana, classrooms are full, but learning often isn’t happening.

At first glance, school days look orderly: teachers at chalkboards, children repeating words in chorus. But beneath the routine is a harder truth. Many of these children will leave primary school unable to read or write even simple sentences.

It’s not because they don’t want to learn. It’s because the system is stacked against them.

Teachers in these communities work under impossible conditions. Many were trained years ago with outdated methods and told they need costly materials to teach effectively. When they arrive in rural postings, they find schools without electricity, toilets, running water, and reading and writing materials. They receive no supervision, no coaching, and little motivation. Some live hours away from the school and simply stop showing up.

When a teacher loses motivation, children pay the price. Parents see little reason to send their children to school when learning barely happens, and so the cycle continues... children left behind before they’ve even begun.

This is the problem our new Teacher Training Program was built to face. Unlike other NGOs, our approach is not to offer quick fixes or handouts. We’re showing teachers that they matter... that their role is vital, and that effective teaching doesn’t depend on fancy materials. Through activity-based learning, we show how to turn stones, sticks, stories, and everyday surroundings into lessons that make sense to children.

We coach teachers to rediscover the purpose behind their work, to feel proud, to see the difference they make, and to understand that every child’s future starts in their classroom.

It’s not glamorous work. It’s slow, demanding, and often humbling. But it’s where real change begins.

Because when teachers are supported, children start learning. And when children start learning, everything changes.

Students at Fazhini Methodist Primary School practicing reading activities after their teacher attended a Create Change training.