Tertiary School Scholars
Osei Emmanuel
Osei Emmanuel is attending Mampong Technical College of Education with the ultimate goal of becoming a teacher in a junior high school. At college, he is learning to teach painting, art, woodwork, and carpentry to students. Before receiving the scholarship money from the Yonso Project, Osei often had to skip school to work order to pay his fees. He is extremely grateful for the opportunity that donors have given him, as he says “If it wasn’t for you (the donors), I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Sonanze Kwame Yeboah
Sonanze’s mother, Felicia Arko-Yeboah, never could have imagined such a bright future for her disabled son. Felicia was a teacher and was able to afford his school fees until medical issues prevented her from working. However, despite his disability and the financial obstacles his family faced, Sonanze is now studying accounting at Kumasi Polytechnic thanks to the scholarship provided by the Yonso Project, and he dreams of using his education to become an economist or an entrepreneur. Sonanze says that he “smiles everyday” because of everything the Yonso Project has given him and he is so grateful for the opportunity to receive such a great education.
George Amofa
Focusing on your studies at university is hard enough, but when you are under constant financial stress, preforming well in your academics is nearly impossible. George struggled with the stress of having to work several jobs in order to pay his fees at the University of Education at Winneba. However, once he received a scholarship from the Yonso Project, he was finally able to have peace of mind. With most of his tuition covered, he was able to focus on what was important- his major in social studies and his goal to become a teacher.
Ampah Godlove
Ampah’s older sisters were the ones who raised her while her parents worked as farmers back in her home in northern Ghana. In senior high school, Ampah experienced many financial difficulties and college seemed impossibly expensive. However, her headmaster at senior high school recommended that she to apply to the Yonso Project. With her scholarship, college became possible, and now she is attending Premier Nursing School. She hopes that after she graduates and becomes a nurse she will be able to help improve the health of the Ghanaian people.
Secondary School Scholars
Charity Antwiwaa
Charity is ranked first in her class at Effduase Senior High School and is a naturally brilliant girl. However, just a few years ago, it had seemed that Charity’s school career had come to end. Charity lives with her grandmother and her parents provided her and her three siblings with financial support. However, when Charity’s father passed away, her mother could no longer afford to pay for her education. For two years, all hoped seemed lost for Charity’s academic future, and then she discovered the Yonso Project. With her scholarship, she was able to return to school and now she has ambitions to attend medical school and become a doctor. Charity would not be where she is today without her scholarship and, if her outstanding grades are any indication, she is going to become a great doctor one day!
Antwi Gifty
Antwi attends Agona Senior High School Technical where her favorite subject is home economics. She hopes to one day become a nurse because she loves to help people. However, school fees posed a formidable challenge to Antwi since her mother was her only source of financial support and works as a street sweeper. Now, with the scholarship, Antwi is able to continue her education and, with continued donor support, will be able to go on to college to become a nurse.
Oduro Frimpong Louis
The fees for Dompoase Senior High School are very difficult to afford when your parents are subsistence farmer. However, with a scholarship from the Yonso Project, Oduro was able to continue attending high school. He enjoys business classes and hopes to one day become an accountant. His father, Kwame Badu Kaakyire, feels fulfilled getting to see his very bright son continue his education. Kwame knows that if Oduro continued his schooling, he will be able to achieve his aspirations.
Debrah Sampson
Debrah has just started his first year of high school and so far he really enjoys Twi and Christian Studies. Last year, his family was not able to afford his school fees and he had to take a year off from school. Now that he was able to return to school, his future is looking bright. He plans to become a journalist or a teacher. His mother, Ruth Frimpong, is a subsistence farmer and a widow making school fees very difficult for her to afford. However, Ruth says she would do anything she can to support her son. Ruth thought that without her husband, it would be impossible for Debrah to go to school, but now she feels extremely delighted that her son will be able to get an education.
Kodua Grace
Grace, like many children in rural Ghana, comes from a big family; she has five siblings. However, Grace is the only one out of her siblings to attend senior high school. She is a student at Tweneboah Kodua Senior High School where her favorite subject is Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). One day, she hopes to be a computer technician. Her parents are farmers and, before receiving the scholarship, she could not even afford basic school materials like her uniform or shoes. Thanks to her scholarship, Grace will be able to continue to go to school and have peace of mind knowing that her school fees will continue to get paid.
Primary School Scholars
Ayibo Kwadwo
Ayibo’s family lives in a very small one-room house a little removed from town. Both of his parents are subsistence farmers and cannot afford to pay for the school supplies for their six children in primary school. The scholarship Ayibo received made it possible for him to continue to attend Kyekyewere Junior High School. At school, math is Ayibo’s favorite subject. He hopes to one day become a soldier because he wants to bring peace to the world.
Alberta Serwah Bonso
For a time, Alberta’s father was very sick and Alberta’s mother, Comfort Odam, was no longer able to work because she had to take care of him. Already, Comfort and her husband were farmers who had a tough time supporting their family of seven. With neither parent able to work, sometimes Comfort had to send her children to school without food. After Alberta’s father passed away, her mother continued to face many struggles in raising her children on her own. Without the scholarship, it would not have been possible for Alberta to get all the materials that she needed so that she could concentrate in school. Comfort expresses how much of a joy it has been to have her daughter attend school, something she never thought possible after her husband passed away. Comfort herself never attended any school and her six older children all stopped their education after junior high school. Alberta plans to go to senior high school and then college to become a nurse so she can look after her mother who has done so much for her.
Joshua Anane
Joshua has a natural knack for science and hopes to one day use that to become a medical doctor. He says that he wants to help people maintain good health. His mother has a similar dream for her son- she hopes one day he will become a doctor or engineer. However, since she and her husband are farmers, she has had a hard time supporting her son’s education. Joshua has six other siblings who are all in school and the financial burden of all the school supplies and uniforms weighs on his parents. With the scholarship, Joshua is able to continue on his quest toward becoming a doctor and his parents do not have to worry about paying for his supplies and uniform. Abena Afrakoma, Joshua’s mother, is overjoyed that she gets to see her son continue his education and pursue his dreams.
Ellen White Yeaboah
Before Ellen received her scholarship from the Yonso Project for junior high school, she could not afford to pay for the necessary materials to be successful in school. Her parents are both farmers and she resides with her grandmother because there is no school near where her parents live. Once the Yonso Project was able to provide her with the necessary school supplies, Ellen was able to share some of the materials with her two siblings. With the provisions she needs, Ellen has been able to focus on her favorite subject, social studies, and get the most out of her education. She hopes to one day become a nurse, and with access to school materials she will be able to learn everything she needs to in order to make this dream a reality.
Ruth Acheampongmaa
Sophia, Ruth’s mother, is raising her three children completely on her own and, on top of that, she is unable to work due to medical issues. She recalls, in sadness, days when she could not even afford to feed her children lunch. Once Ruth was able to receive the scholarship to pay for her school materials for junior high school, her mother was able to use the money she had been spending on school supplies on food for her children instead. Sophia is so happy Ruth is able have a quality education and hopes that one day Ruth can become a positive contributor to her community and country. Ruth’s aspirations line up perfectly, as she one day hopes to become a nurse so she can help people in need.