As part of our vision, every year we aim to make a difference by taking a step to support the less fortunate people in different communities. Therefore, we have put a plan in place to support the Akropong school of blind in Ghana.

WHY?

Akropong School of blind is the main educational institution for blind and visually impaired in Ghana. The school is situated in the capital of the Akuapim North District; an area in the Eastern Region of South Ghana.

The school has about 385 students and is mainly funded by the government .
The school runs from Kindergarten/reception age up to secondary/Junior High school, where the students write their BECE. In addition, they also have the vocational departments which takes care of those who are in rehabilitation, craftsmanship and Music.

 The education of Akropong school of blind in Ghana was as an important step in the direction of improving the quality of life for many visually impaired children and future prospects. It has enabled students who enrol to become economically and socially independent as well as the confidence to achieve their goals by realising their skills and talents. This is the sole aim of the school.

Unfortunately, the school has had to face a number of trials as a newly developed place of education.
The first issue is accessibility. As the school pupil are all blind or have difficulties regarding their sight, the appropriate equipment is required. However, all of the essential equipment and material that are needed are not produced in Ghana and must be imported - usually from Europe and/or the United States.

Another issue is the cost of said equipment.
The price of general items have become much too high for most of the families of students in the school, due to the low average income in the area. 

There are also frequent sharp falls of the value of the Ghanaian currency (the Cedi) against other currencies. This causes to a rise in the import costs alongside taxes. For example, the price of a simple manual Braille writing frame is £25. This represents one month's wage for the average breadwinner in Ghana. It costs £980 to import a manual Braille writing equipment (the Perkins Braillers) from United Kingdom to Ghana, meaning the equivalent of a 20 month average income of earnings for a typical citizen person in Ghana. Imagine how difficult it must be for families who are trying to support their children for something that costs not much more than a new t-shirt?

The Governments’ annual grants to the schools and training centres for the blind have not been increasing enough to keep up with the rising prices of the stock. This means that unfortunately the help of the government will become less and less adequate for the increasing needs of the school.

It is so disheartening to see that a school with such wholesome intentions are ill-equipped for the special needs of the blind, which makes it difficult for learners to develop to their full potential and achieve at their best. This must be frustrating to both students, staff, and the families affected.

This is what sparked the ROCF charity to embark upon the Project “HELP AKROPONG SCHOOL OF BLIND” to lighten their present burdens and challenges in any way we can. Therefore, our organisation is planning to supply essential equipment and materials to support the school this way.

A donation of £20 can afford a child 2 sets of Schools uniform which will support families from poor backgrounds still able sending their kids to school. 

£100 can provide 3000 Braille Papers which students can use to prepare as their test books and examination materials for Exams.

 £250 can provide an Orbit Reader, this gadget will go a long way to enhance reading among students and support the rehabilitation units  of the school.

£750 can get a Laptops equipped with scanners and assistive reading software to help, less capable children to increase their comprehensive reading speed and also improve their quality of work exponentially.

Please, help us reach out to these aspirational children who haven’t given up despite their disadvantaged circumstances. Your donation could be the difference that gives the school the boost that it needs to create the future with its students and change a life forever.