MasterCard Foundation, Camfed Ghana support needy girls
Fatimata (not her real name) is a 24-year-old second year university student in one of the private universities in Accra. She completed her senior high school in the Northern Region with aggregate 12, but had to stay at home for two years before the Campaign for Female Education (Camfed) Ghana established contact with her.
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Through Camfed Ghana and the MasterCard Foundation, she received a scholarship which comprised school and accommodation fees, a laptop, a modem, a laptop bag, stipend, money for textbooks and transportation, to enter a tertiary institution.
The World Bank in 2007 estimated that each additional year of schooling for a girl correlates with a 12 per cent increase in average income. In furtherance of its shared commitment, Camfed Ghana, in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation, provides academically talented young girls such as Fatimata, who have demonstrated commitment to their communities, yet are economically disadvantaged, with access to quality and relevant education.
The Scholars Programme
The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Programme at Camfed Ghana is a 10-year partnership between the MasterCard Foundation and Camfed Ghana, which seeks to provide comprehensive support to academically gifted young girls and women in rural communities within Camfed’s operational regions.
Camfed’s operational areas include the Northern, Upper West, Upper East and Central regions.
A key objective of the programme is to unlock the potential of a critical mass of academically bright, yet disadvantaged girls and young women from rural Ghana, through secondary and tertiary education, as well as enrichment and service leadership opportunities.
The Scholars Programme delivers holistic financial, social and academic support throughout the scholars’ secondary and tertiary education, and creates pathways for their transitions to jobs, entrepreneurial activities or further education. The scholars gain skills, values and competencies needed to succeed in the economy and make positive social impacts in their communities.
The first set of secondary and tertiary scholars under the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Programme, comprising of 686 secondary scholars and 12 tertiary scholars, is graduating in 2016.
Launched officially in October 2013, the Scholars Programme at the end of 10 years is expected to benefit 4,000 secondary scholars throughout their three-year secondary education and is to take 2,000 tertiary scholars through tertiary education.
Support
The programme has so far supported girls from 29 senior high schools in the programme area to access 12 different tertiary institutions across the country. The comprehensive nature of the scholarship under the programme means that each secondary scholar gets items such as notebooks, exercise books, school uniforms, pens, schoolbag, sandals, mathematical set, sanitary towels and dry food rations.
A tertiary scholar receives a laptop, a modem, a laptop bag, stipend, money for textbooks and transportation. In addition to these, their tuition fees and accommodation or boarding fees are also paid.
Also, as part of the Scholars Programme, Camfed Ghana organises leadership and personality development fora and workshops to equip scholars with the critical skills for success.
Dubbed the ‘Scholars Congress’, the workshop is organised to provide tertiary scholars with the knowledge and skills to appreciate Africa’s emerging problems and to discuss solutions to them.
The congress also provides an opportunity to equip the scholars with relevant 21st Century skills that will enable them to maximise their potential and to succeed in their various endeavours.
In 2015, part of the third batch of 230 tertiary scholars attended a five-day camp in Cape Coast that was aimed at helping in their smooth transition into tertiary institutions.
Similarly, the second cohort of secondary scholars was taken to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for a week’s leadership and enrichment camp. Through a series of leadership activities, role model sessions and community give-back presentations, this camp provided a platform for networking, learning and mentoring from Ghanaian female role models.
Annual learning summit
Also, as part of the Scholars Programme, Camfed Ghana organises an annual learning summit where it provides a platform for representatives of the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), donor partners, employers, researchers, parents, teachers, education administrators and key stakeholders in education, to critically examine the issues of quality education.
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