General News of Friday, 1 May 2009

Source: timothy w. kotin

Educational Accessibility for Children in Hardship (EACH)

2008 EACH-PRESEC Annual Report – Summary

EACH-PRESEC Scholar Award Program is the result of a partnership between EACH (Educational Accessibility for Children in Hardship) Foundation and alumni of Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School. The Each-Foundation makes scholarships available to brilliant but underprivileged primary, junior and senior secondary school students in Ghana.

EACH-PRESEC specifically focuses on the exceptional students of Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School, Legon-Accra, Ghana. Scholarship recipients receive an award that helps fund their educational expenses, are assigned mentors and are awarded a book prize.

2008 was an exciting ye ar for EACH-PRESEC. We revamped our PRESEC programs and made considerable progress towards establishing an endowment to fund our scholarships. For example:

• We have secured pledges of more than $10,000 and revamped the endowment and investment committees. They should both be up and running by July 2009

• As part of efforts to develop a reading culture and critical thinking among our scholars, we have initiated a reading program which will see our scholars read and engage in discussions about an assigned book every term.

In continuation of the Scholar Award Program, EACH-PRESEC selected three more students for scholarships that cover between 50 to 75% of their fees. The scholarship recipients were:

• Tutu Kingfard

• Collins Obeng

• Ishmael Aborhey.

In consultation with Paa Kwesi Imbeah, Odadee ’98, of Suuch Solutions (a Ghana based technology consulting firm), we also initiated a paid internship program for our students. This provided an excellent opportunity for our scholars to gain experience in a professional environment. Ishmael Aborhey and Collins Obeng participated in the program and had a great learning experience.

In addition, we have expanded our team of officers to improve the quality and content of our programs and continue to explore new ways in which interested donors (Odadees and others interested in expanding accessibility for the underprivileged) can contribute to the program through endowed scholarships. The endowed scholarships are our way of ensuring the sustainable continuation of our program into perpetuity.

Please access the full report for more information.

Timothy W. Kotin