Pambe Ghana Inc

PAMBE Ghana was founded on the principle that quality primary education is a prerequisite to successful educational outcomes in later years, and to building sustainable communities in the East Mamprusi district and the country at large.

PAMBE Ghana works with local villages to provide quality basic education that is accessible to children in poor, rural and underserved areas. The PAMBE Ghana education model links culture, mother tongue-based bilingual instruction, literacy and experimental learning methods, adapted to the Ghanaian rural context, to achieve better educational outcomes. As PAMBE Ghana progresses in developing this innovative model, the organization intends to support existing public schools interested in adapting and applying this approach.

*Educate the whole child, including academic, social, cultural and emotional development.

*Champion the development of each child as an individual with unique abilities and talents.

*Begin education in the child’s first language and gradually add in English.

*Promote the professional development of local teachers.

*Support sustainability, health and sanitation in the school community with solar energy, rainwater harvesting and
biogas technology.

*Foster local culture, community cooperation and parent involvement.

PAMBE Ghana has invested in teacher training via various resources. La’Angum Learning Center teachers continue to receive training in Montessori methods through visiting trainers and at Ghana Montessori International in Accra. PAMBE Ghana provides teachers with the opportunity to fulfill their university-level basic education degrees, Montessori training and certification. In return, these trained professionals commit to a term of service, which ensures that students receive quality as well as continuity, despite their remote location. In collaboration with the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, PAMBE Ghana published the first primary readers in the Mampruli language, enabling students to begin formal education in their own, familiar tongue.

Just as the La’Angum Learning Center has been integral to the communities it serves, these communities have been important to the school. In 2007-08, when the school was founded, locals took primary responsibility to clear the land and build the initial structures, and in fact chose the name for the school – the phrase ‘La’angum ka toom’ meaning teamwork, or many hands make light work. As the school has grown to its present size of 249 students, 13 teachers, and 3 administrators, the local communities have continued to assist in many ways, including building and maintaining the physical structures, and the collaborative model in support of education continues to flourish.

In 2014, a local School Management Committee (“SMC”) was formed to provide oversight and make recommendations concerning long-term planning, in accordance with the governance practices of the Ghanaian Education Service (“GES”). In addition to Alice, this diverse committee is composed of the PTA chair, the head teacher, the local assembly person, and a representative from the GES, as well as representatives designated by the local chief, the Imam, and the local Catholic group. The SMC includes both male and female representatives. The creation of the SMC reflects the maturation of the school from a seed planted by Alice into an institution whose roots have taken hold.

The La’Angum Learning Center opened in September 2008 with 40 children in a pre-Kindergarten class, and a new grade was added in each succeeding year. The school is a full primary school with class rooms up to grade 6. The school has a state of the art computer lab run on solar power, a vast library, a latrine equipped with biogas digesters to fuel the kitchen. Through the efforts of PAMBE Ghana the Ghana Education Service saw the need for a Junior High School in the area. Now even more students have access to an education. PAMBE Ghana is currently working towards the development of a new pre-k and kindergarten school in a neighboring village, Bantambaari.