The Jack Beu Primary School, in the northern Ghanaian village of Zeemboug, was built by Framework International (FI) in 2020. Zeemboug is the most remote and rural village we’ve built a school in. The village is hemmed in by vast fields and dirt roads, which are filled with deep crevices. It’s a slow and treacherous drive by car to get there, so access to the village is very limited. Zeemboug can get torrential rains and winds, and flash flooding too. This further isolates them. Despite this, the school block has grown to over 300 students. “Nearby” villages send their kids there too – some students are walking as far away as 5 kilometers (3.10 miles)!
Zeemboug’s children are thriving in school, and they don’t want to stop learning. The only thing potentially stopping them, there is no junior high building in their village. Together, we can change that.
Framework International is committed to building a three-room junior high block in Zeemboug. This will allow for more children, who have aged-out of the primary school, the opportunity to continue their education. Right now, their junior high students are being taught in two crudely built mud huts that have inadequate roofing and poor ventilation. Because of the dismal condition of these huts, the children may have to stop their schooling during their rainy season – which is four months long!
Zeemboug’s students deserve a safe and sturdy school building in which to continue their education.
Ghana provides free public schooling through the junior high level, contributing administrators, teachers, and curriculum. But the country’s population growth is outpacing its infrastructure development, especially in rural communities. If there isn’t a school in a child’s village, or the school is taught outdoors or in inadequate structures, parents may not allow their child to attend. This is especially true for girls, who need to be home to help with mid-day chores. We are able to build, renovate, and maintain schools at a fraction of the price it costs the government by using local materials and workers.
The teaching team at Zeemboug.
For many Ghanaian students, the only education they will receive is the free one the government provides, and that stops after junior high. For Zeemboug families who earn less than $2.00 a day, paying the fees for high school, which in this case would be boarding school, is truly unattainable.
Framework International is a US-based volunteer board-led non-profit organization, with very little overhead, allowing nearly 100 percent of donations to go directly to the building or renovating of public schools in Ghana. Once a school project is completed, FI oversees its maintenance and repairs. Board members or in-country team members make on-site assessment visits to our schools, and are in contact with school administrators regarding ongoing building needs.
The cost to bring Zeemboug their brand new three-room junior high school block is $40,000.00.
