Pen Pals
The YP’s pen pal program was one of our great successes. We partnered with schools in the US and Ghana and Kiwanis clubs in the Boston area to link grade school children in classrooms in New England with children of the same age in Ghanaian schools. The children on both sides of the Atlantic were thrilled with the project, and almost 500 pen pal partnerships were eventually established! Unfortunately, due to the amount of time and resources its administration required — and the fact that all Yonso Project members in the US are unpaid volunteers — we found it unfeasible to continue operating the program. We are still seeking a way to reinstate it.
Student pen pals in Vermont
Teach for Rural Ghana
This program idea was conceived by Tony Caccavo, an American volunteer with the Yonso Project. It helped prospective teachers pay for their education and then provided teachers with stipends to work in rural communities. However, since Tony was an unpaid volunteer, it became difficult for him to continuing heading this program and the staff in Ghana was unable to maintain it as they were occupied with all the other projects the Yonso Project has underway. However, we continue to support university students with our scholarships, many of which go on to become teachers.