Establishment of Resource Centers at Teacher Training Insitutes in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
Project Dates: May 2005-August 2007
Countries: Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
Funders: World Cocoa Foundation and The Hershey Company
Implementer: International Foundation for Education and Self-Help
Overview
The program’s objective is to promote sustainable educational reform in cocoa farming communities of Sub-Saharan Africa through the establishment of teacher 
resource centers, provision of needed equipment, and the provision of improved teaching methodologies.
Activities are based at teacher resource centers established at teacher training colleges. In Côte d’Ivoire, the program is active in Aboisso, Alepé and Yamoussoukro. In Ghana, it is active in Bechem, Berekum, Kumasi and Wiawso.
Program Objectives:
- To train 2,400 pre-service and in-service teachers in improved teaching methodologies
- To indirectly benefit 40,000 school children through improved teaching approaches
- To equip 4 teacher resource centers and provide 2 containers of supplies
- To train 2,000 people from cocoa farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire in functional literacy
Progress to Date:
- 3,461 teachers trained. Pre-service and in-service teachers receive training through classes and workshops at the teacher resource centers. Teachers for Africa volunteers lead the classes and workshops which emphasize development of creative teaching materials and use of interactive teaching methods for primary and secondary level classrooms. To date, 1,858 teachers in Ghana and 1,603 teachers in Côte d’Ivoire have benefited.
- 139,633 primary and secondary children reached indirectly through trained teachers. Based on the number of teachers trained and average class sizes, approximately 75,513 students in Ghana and 64,120 students in Côte d’Ivoire are benefiting from more interactive approaches to teaching and learning.
- 4 Teacher Resource Centers equipped and 2 containers of supplies provided. The centers at Bechem and Kumasi in Ghana, and Aboisso and Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire were each supplied with a laminating machine, a photocopier, two computers and a scanner/printer. Teachers may use the centers to develop learning materials for their classrooms. To support the maintenance of the center, others are welcome to use the center’s resources for a nominal fee.
- 1,080 residents of cocoa farming communities in Côte d’Ivoire are receiving literacy training. IFESH volunteers developed a functional literacy manual and trained 36 tutors to teach adult literacy to residents of 36 communities in Aboisso, Alepé, and Yamoussoukro (12 in each area).
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Success Story: Literacy Classes improve Community Livelihoods
Success Story: Teachers Embrace Interactive Teaching, Fostering Love of Learning