Together, through our grassroots and sustainable approach, we transform the educational opportunities of over 10,000 children and young adults in 50 underserved and hard-to-reach communities.
EduSpots exists to connect, train, and equip over 250 local ‘Catalysts’ – a mix of teachers, students and community members – who create and sustain transformative literacy and STEM opportunities through a network of 50 education spaces named ‘Spots’ in Ghana and Kenya, with a focus on female empowerment and environmental sustainability
EduSpots as a concept has sprung from the grassroots with volunteers in Spot communities and beyond playing a central role in decision-making and the strategic development of EduSpots, with local leaders constantly inviting new volunteers to join our growing movement of community educators.
In the process of our work, we are ultimately creating a network of active citizens, engaged in developing their home communities through education; students observe the volunteerism they benefit from, and become future community changemakers.
Please find our 2021 annual report here.
Recognition
EduSpots won the Tes International Award in 2018, sponsored by the British Council, and was shortlisted for the EDUCOM NGO or Business Contribution to Education in Ghana award. In 2021, our Founder, Cat Davison, was selected as a Finalist for the Varkey Foundation’s $1million Global Teacher Prize in partnership with UNESCO, partly for her role in developing EduSpots. In 2023, we were selected as a finalist for the Their World Education Innovation Prize.
We are a Ghana national registered NGO and a UK registered charity. You can download all the most recent financial statements and annual reports on the charity commission website.
Watch the most recent news report on our Ignite Programme here:
More detail…
In Ghana, 29% of children do not complete primary education (65% in rural areas, where we work); 53% do not complete Junior High School and 65% do not complete Senior High School (UNESCO, 2020). In rural areas, access to pre-primary education is just 38%, compared to 90% for urban areas, with teaching standards and access to resources extremely variable. This situation has been exacerbated by Covid-19 school closures, with the number of out of school children leaping from 35,432 in 2019 to 265,188 in 2020 (UNESCO, 2018).
EduSpots is a small yet innovative organization working with young people across 50 underserved communities in rural Ghana, working with a range of local stakeholders in this process including youth organizations, school headteachers, traditional leaders, district assemblies, religious organizations, the Ghana Library Authority and other organizational partners.
Our network of over 250 voluntary community educators, including 39% young people under 25, create quality, creative and community-centered learning opportunities for over 10,000 children through our 50 community-led and owned library education centres named ‘Spots’. These Spots are overseen by local Spot management committees, with ongoing costs sustained by the communities themselves and educational and mentoring support provided by our experienced Ghana-based staff team, 50% of whom are also Spot volunteers.
After receiving training through our core training programme – the Ignite Programme – EduSpots’ voluntary community educators lead education clubs for JHS students in collaboration with local science and literacy partners, believing in the power of collaboration. Our EduLit and EcoSTEM clubs, which aim to improve students’ skills in creativity and critical thinking, enable them to see the applications of their learning to their community, whilst advancing their basic skills and exam performance in core curriculum subjects. Simultaneously local teachers and wider volunteers grow their abilities in student-centered pedagogy, exposing them to effective teaching strategies that will be implemented in their wider classroom teaching, driving exam performance and school engagement.
EduSpots has always had a strong gender equity focus, working with many talented young female students through our partnership with African Gifted’s African Science Academy to give small grants to enable talented young female science and engineering students to create Spots in their communities, disrupting local gender power hierarchies in the process. In 2023, EduSpots is launching the Ignite Girls programme, which will lead to over 200 JHS girls joining locally-led girls’ empowerment clubs, equipping girls with local female mentors in the process.
Over 1.74 million people are unemployed in Ghana with many young people looking for work opportunities. Through our volunteer training, we are equipping young people with the skills they need to enter the workplace. Our 12-month Community Leadership in Education (CLEd) programme enables committed volunteers to gain skills in project management, social entrepreneurship and education, equipped with grant funding, resources and a mentor. Each year, half of our CLEd Catalysts progress into paid part-time Peer Mentor roles for the next cohort, enabling them to have a stepping stone into employment, with several joining our staff team.
A news report on our CLEd Academy:
