Deloitte Ghana, in partnership with SpringUp Global Network, a non-for-profit organisation, has launched an initiative to refurbish eight libraries across the country.
The initiative dubbed: “the WorldClass” initiative will also restock the refurbished libraries of the schools, many of which will be in rural and deprived communities.
The $55,000.00 project will be done in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Eastern, Central, Volta and Oti regions.
The project, which is slated to be completed in 12 months, starting October, will also include an add-on incentive and intervention such as “reading and writing” clubs in the beneficiary primary and junior high schools in the country.
Empower
The Country Managing Partner of Deloitte, Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, said the goal of the initiative in Africa was to empower 20 million people by 2030, by providing them access to the education and skills required to find meaningful work in the new economy.
“A 2022 report by the World Bank has revealed that seven in 10 of all children in low-and-middle-income countries cannot read and understand a simple text by age 10.
“As a result, children without strong foundational literacy skills are less likely to gain the technical skills needed to succeed in society,” he said.
For that reason, Mr Owusu said, Deloitte Ghana, as part of its 75th anniversary celebrations, decided to work with SpringUp Global Network to refurbish and restock eight libraries in deprived communities across the country.
“With the advent of the industry 4.0 wave, the world is poised for a seismic shift, and to survive in it, we must cooperate to ensure that no one is left behind. We see this initiative as a tremendous opportunity to make a meaningful impact and create pathways for our future leaders to fulfil their aspirations,” he added
Poor performance
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Spring-UP Global Network, Akorfa Ama Akoto, said the inadequate resources and poor facilities in rural schools contributed to the poor academic performance of pupils.
That, she said, created an urgent need to improve literacy rates in rural communities in the country.
“From providing schools with modern libraries to nurturing the reading and writing skills of children, at Spring-UP Global Network, we have a dream to make education and mentorship accessible to all children so as not to increase the already existing literacy gap between the rich and poor”.
“This is why we are super excited to receive support from Deloitte’s WorldClass to provide libraries for over 30,000 children,” Ms Akoto emphasised.