Education Ghana Project #13688

Helping Young People in Ghana finish High School

by Meet Kate Foundation

Helping Young People in Ghana finish High School

Project Report | Jun 25, 2014
First Meet Kate Alumni

By Naa | President

Looking to the future: Our students with GH board

Dear Meet Kate family,

It’s been a while, but I’m delighted to bring you an update of what is going on with us. I love what I do, and sometimes a never-ending list of things requiring your attention is simply a part of life. Last month, in the middle of a busy time, I got a message from one of our beneficiaries.

“Hi auntie Naa” it reads, “We are all taking our final exams”

“I know you guys are working hard, we are all so proud of you” I reply

“Yes auntie Naa we know it, and we are also proud of you for what you have done for us.”

It was one of those moments that stops you in your tracks. There are a lot of words I can think of, if I consider how I would feel towards an organization sponsoring me through school. Words like gratitude and elation come to mind. That he is proud of us though, I think is quite special.

Cast your mind back to a time when someone was proud of you dear followers. Perhaps the time your teacher praised you for colouring within the lines of a picture. That feeling of being on top of the world, reassured that you are doing something right, filled with zeal anew to continue what you are doing. That feeling came rushing in, in that moment of stillness.

Very soon, we will have our very first Meet Kate goes to school Alumni. We can’t tell you how proud we are of these 7 students! They met with our board in Ghana recently to discuss the way forward. Some of them will start working to save up for university, some of them will start vocational courses and others will start apprenticeships. They are amazing young people and we are so honored to have been part of their journey so far. They are now in a better position to achieve their dreams and change their world. We know that when they look at their world, they don’t just see themselves but they also see the needs of those around them, ready to help when they can. These are the values that are important to us at Meet Kate.

In the UK we have also been busy raising awareness of the work we do in Ghana. Recently, we were at the Respect Festival in Exeter celebrating diversity and the UK board was also excited to welcome the chair of our Dutch board Myrthe, who came to visit us for a few days. The Meet Kate family is international, but we are cut from the same cloth; working together to promote sustainable development, the impact of which we hope will last even when we are gone!

Over the next year, I will bring you updates of our alumni and where they are all heading, as well as updates on our current students.

Till next time!

Naa

p.s Why don’t you like us on Facebook or follow us on twitter for up to date info on what we are up to.

Celebrating diversity at the Respect festival!

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Mar 24, 2014
Nearly There!

By Naa Akle Dromo Okantey | president Meet Kate Foundation UK

A few students with the Meet Kate Ghana board

Dearest friends,

We are very excited at Meet Kate this spring! 7 of our students will be taking their final year exams in a few months and we couldn’t be prouder of them. They are an amazing, inspirational group of young people and we are so humbled that we get the opportunity to be a part of their journey. They have worked hard over the past three years and will be the first set to graduate with “Meet Kate Goes To School” scholarship program.

I want to share with you a day in one of their shoes. We offer them boarding as part of their scholarship because their schools are often too far from home to commute everyday, and often, they would still be expected to contribute financially to their homes. For Ebenezer, a day starts at 4 am when he gets up to study. The morning bell goes at 5 am, but he likes to wake up early to study before the beginning of the day. When the bell goes, he joins the rest of the students in sweeping their rooms and doing their laundry before breakfast is served. Then its time for school: maths, english, science and business buzzes around his head until 2pm, when the bell rings signaling the end of the day. Then its free time to relax and socialize before evening chores as the sun goes down. Dinner is served, then everyone goes back to class for homework and extra study time. Just time to squeeze in some extra socializing if he can before lights out at 10pm. Sometimes, Ebenezer stays up late to read up on a new subject he came across that day, and may buy a snack to keep him going with the pocket money that Meet Kate provides as part of his scholarship.

Chatting with them, its evident that they love what they do and to see the way the scholarship has changed their lives reminds me of how important it is that we keep going. We are constantly looking for ways to improve what we do for them and the students are always eager to help us make things better for new students. They feel privileged to be there and their selfless attitude is one we can all learn from.

We wish them the best of luck with their upcoming exams and with your continued support, look forward to supporting more people like them.

Warm wishes

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Dec 5, 2013
Have a very merry challenge!

By Muriel Koch | Secretary of Meet Kate Foundation

Dear friend,

Last month we presented you with our brand new websites. Unfortunately, a technical error prevented you from actually seeing the websites. For that we apologize. Once again, we would like to invite you to visit our website. A little tip: check our beautiful infographic, which tells the Meet Kate story in a nutshell.

But, there is more! November has been a very productive month in Ghana, The Netherlands and the UK! Read all about our UK-activities in this month's newsletter.

Wishing you warmth and happiness!

Naa Akle Dromo Okantey & Myrthe Oostenbach

Presidents of Meet Kate UK and The Netherlands

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HAVE A VERY MERRY CHALLENGE!

Tis the season to be jolly, and at Meet Kate, we are overflowing with joy this season! This summer, a Global Giving UK representative came to Ghana to evaluate our projects and we embarked on what was to become a beautiful partnership. Global Giving UK is an online fundraising platform that works with small not-for-profit organizations to raise money for their projects. To make sure that the charities they invest in are motivated, they set us a challenge: Raise £2000 in 30 days. Completing the challenge will give us access to one of the biggest online-fundraising platforms out there, training, big corporate partnerships and so much more! This challenge has given our team the new burst of energy we needed to propel us from raising awareness into fundraising.

Our followers have overwhelmed us with their support and it warms my heart to see that we are really beginning to build a Meet Kate family in the UK too! Do you want to help us reach our target of £2000 by the 23^rd of December? Click here!

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LIVING BELOW THE POVERTY LINE

Four medical students did something special for us last month. They decided that they were going to challenge themselves to spend £1 a day on food, for 5 days in solidarity with the 2.4 billion people worldwide who are living in poverty. They have raised £800 and counting for Meet Kate. We are thankful that they are raising awareness of an important global issue as well as the positive message of Africa that Meet Kate wants to show the world.

Have you got any ideas of something fun or challenging that you can do to raise money for us? We would love to hear from you. Get in touch: uk@meetkate.org

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A LITTLE PIECE OF GHANA

Any occasion is an excuse for a party, so it was no surprise when everyone came out in their best Halloween outfit for Meet Kate night! If you look closely, you will see that they are wearing Meet Kate bracelets on their wrists. These were handmade by a craftsman in Ghana and were used as tickets to enter the club. Everyone loved having a little piece of Ghana to keep with them forever and all proceeds from the night, went to Meet Kate! Thank you to Medsoc for organizing it.

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