The lack of adequate classrooms continues to hinder effective academic work at the African Faith school at Yawhima near Sunyani in the Bono Region.
A visit to the school recently revealed how a lot of students struggle to cope with academic work in a wooden structure serving as a make-shift classroom while some students literally study under trees.
This means that academic activities are disrupted whenever it rains.
Every morning, over one hundred pupils gather beneath the shade of a wooden structure, their voices rising above the rustling roof as they recite lessons from tattered textbooks. Without a proper classroom, the school has become a symbol of resilience, but also of a deep-rooted crisis in education infrastructure.
“We are not asking for much,” says Miss Deborah, a teacher at the school. “Just one decent classroom where our children can learn without worrying about the rain or the scorching sun.”
Founded in 2010 by a local church, the African Faith School began with hope and determination. Despite having dedicated teachers and willing learners, the school still lacks basic facilities—no permanent classrooms, and staff room for teachers, not to even talk about a computer laboratory and other education-friendly facilities.
During the rainy season, learning often comes to a halt. “Sometimes the children come, but we have to send them home because we cannot teach in the rain,” adds the headmaster whose voice drained with emotion.
Parents, most of whom are small-scale farmers, have tried to contribute, making mud bricks and raising funds for iron sheets, but the resources are not enough. The school relies heavily on well-wishers and local community support.
For now, the pupils continue to show up with smiles and determination, dreaming of a future shaped by education.
Fourteen-year-old Grace, a JHS Two pupil, says she wants to be a doctor. “I want to help people,” she says shyly, clutching her exercise book.
But without urgent intervention, Grace and her classmates may see their dreams washed away—quite literally—with the next rainstorm.
The call is simple but urgent: build a classroom, give them a future.
Story by Ishaq Umar Rahima, Adolescent Journalist based in Yawhima near Sunyani
