GEC Parent Microgrant Initiative

Dear GEC community,

Thank you for your continued support of our projects- including the Parent Micgrogrant Initiative, which helps enrolled GEC families receive start-up funding or ongoing support in the form of micro-grants, to be used to start or grow a family business and contribute to our whole-family and whole-child approach for creating long-term change.

As part of the initiative, we also offer consistent guidance to parents and families on money management, especially in regard to GEC funding. As valued donors, we want to share some updates on our project!

GEC and Matie Masie’s (our Ghanaian board) June 2022 parent meeting was held on June 19th at University Staff Village Basic School. The meeting included the topics of regular Parent- Teacher engagement, budgeting, and finances/ expenses tracking. Our program manager, Derrick, discussed with the parents the importance of the role of parent-teacher engagement and how it can improve the overall academic and social well-being of their children both at home and in school. We believe that regular face-to-face engagements with teachers inspire parents to spend more time assisting their children and monitoring their school work. Tunde, a Matie Masie board member, also discussed with the parents the topic of money management and budgeting. They went over and reflections and feedback from the last session, and many parents shared that they would love budgeting workshops to be incorporated into programming.

GEC and Matie Masie’s September 2022 parent meeting was held on September 18th at the University Staff Village Basic School. The meeting included topics like  Boundaries in Parent-Child Relationships,  GEC parents grants, and the academic performance of students. Derrick shared with the parents how they can bolster their child's development by setting boundaries in pursuing a better parent-child relationship. We believe parents creating healthy boundaries in parent-child relations can be seen as instilling daily rules and routines. Predictability reduces uncertainty, and that reduces anxiety. One parent shared that while a parent needs to create a secure environment, it is extremely important for children's feelings/emotions to be heard and validated. The second part of the meeting reviewed the purpose of the microgrant initiative and walked parents through the application process. 

We are so grateful to be able to support our kids by also supporting their parents. We can be a source of guidance and community only because of the support from our donors. We could not do it without you!

Have a restful holiday season.

With love from the GEC family.

Links:

• Check out our website for more updates!

Dear GEC community,

Thank you for your continued support of our projects- including the Parent Micgrogrant Initiative, which helps enrolled GEC families receive start-up funding or ongoing support in the form of micro-grants, to be used to start or grow a family busines and contribute to our whole-family and whole-child approach for creating long-term change.

As part of the initiative we also offer consistent guidance to parents and families on money management, especially in regards to GEC funding. As valued donors, we want to share some updates on our project!

In April 2022, GEC and Matie Masie’s parent meeting was held on April 10th at the University Staff Village Basic School. The meeting included the topics of unpacking your child’s goals, money management, and practical ways to manage your money. To start, our team member Derrick discussed with the parents how they can help unpack their children’s goals. Derrick shared that it is helpful to children for parents to be transparent and welcoming with them when discussing financial plans. It is important for parents and students to have honest conversations about their goals and for parents to be able to navigate conversations and reconcile conflict if their students' goals do not align with the goals/dreams that they may have had for their children. Tunde Novieku, a Matie Masie Board member, led the money management session. Tunde is a Nigerian of Ghanaian parentage, a Human Resources professional with 5 years of experience managing small, medium and large teams. He asked the parents: What would you do when given a million cedis?  Parents said they would invest and venture in a business, or use it to relocate their businesses. Tunde applauded all the parents for the magnificent ideas on how to use the money.  He then asked a follow up question: since they don’t have the one million, what do they do with the little they have? This opened the conversation to being that money management, in simple terms, means not using money for things you don’t need.

The next speaker, Simi Olabisi, led the third section on practical ways to manage money. Simi is an accountant with 10 years’ experience in audit and accounting within the nonprofit and public accounting industry. She currently works as the U.S. Controller for Educate!, a U.S. based but Africa focused nonprofit.  Simi shed more light on investment to the parents. She shared that it is of importance to save at specific banks; banks that are not operated by political party leaders. This is because some of the parents had their monies seized in banks due to change in government. She also advised not to use business money for personal expenses, to set monthly goals, and explained how to budget and track your expenses. 

The parents were very happy about the meeting. They were asking when the next meeting would be scheduled so they can share updates and receive updates on their businesses' progress.

We hope sharing our work with families in Ghana can shine some light in a world that feels very dark at the moment. With a devastatig war in Ukraine, a war on bodily autonomy, and a war on gun reform (for many of our loved ones' safety) all happening at once, we understand it is difficult to find time to see and applaud the small successes. Given the fact that so many are in need, and we are still undergoing a global pandemic, we so deeply appreciate your committment to us as a small organization. We would not be able to continue the work we do withour your support, and for that, we are grateful. We hope you can all find small moments of peace and joy this weekend. 

In community,

Nikki

Links:

• See what else we are up to

Greetings GEC extended family!

We hope this update finds you in good health amidst the never-ending pandemic, and that we can provide you with some joyful news. 

As a thank you for supporting our latest project, the Parent Microgrant Initiative, we wanted to share the latest with you all in terms of how we are implementing a whole-family approach and including success for both our parents and students in our programming.  As you may have seen, our Parent Microgrant Initiative is for enrolled GEC families to receive start-up funding or ongoing support in the form of micro-grants to start or grow a family business. 

During the last parent meeting of the year on Nov 27th, 2021, all the parents from our cohort were able to reflect together and the winner of the first micro-grant was announced!

Everyone extended a huge congratulations to one student's mother as she was announced the winner of the first GEC microgrant by the program manager.  Her joy knew no bounds at the announcement as she expressed profusely her profound gratitude for being selected as the winner of the grant. She assured the board that the money ($500 USD) will be used for the purchase of her sewing machine and also to start up her business. Each parent also received an amount of $100 USD to help boost their businesses in the month of December, 2021.

All parents shared stories of how GEC supported their children in school and has helped relieve their financial struggles. One father shared, "GEC has not only helped our kids but also us as the parents", as he joined the other parents in expressing their sincere gratitude to GEC, the board members, and donors like you. Congratulations to all our parents as we look forward to engaging more with them in 2022.

Thank you for being a part of our work, we could not do it without your support!

In community,

The GEC family

Links:

• Check out our website for more updates!