The Savelugu Spot was founded in 2019 by Nimatu Abdul-Rahman, a local nurse with an avid passion for empowering her community through education.
Her journey to establishing the Spot began when she secured a grant from EduSpots as part of our partnership with the African Gifted Foundation’s Science Academy, to create a mini library for the students at the school she once attended.
The previous Savelugu ‘library’ – was an old office within a government school, is too small and cramped for the community’s needs and did not provide an environment conducive to learning. In rural areas, like the community of Savelugu, where farming is the dominant industry, school non-attendance tended to be high as children often missed school in order to help their parents with crucial livelihood tasks. Community members reported a high rate of school dropouts and teenage pregnancy. Although schools exist they offer very limited access to educational resources with no activities offered to students beyond school hours. Our Spots are therefore vital to enable communities to continue learning during evenings, weekends and holidays, whilst advancing the capacity of community members and teachers in this process.
Today, the Savelugu community has an active team of Catalysts, who consistently lead EcoSTEM and Ignite Equity clubs alongside a range of locally-driven events and activities such as STEM camps, mobile library initiatives, and spelling bees, in collaboration with the school on whose land the project is housed.
Nimatu Abdul-Rahman, commented: ‘I’m so excited to commission a new and spacious library with new equipment to support students’ studies in the school and the local community. It’s going to open up more opportunities to the students to progress with their academies. I believe this Spot is going to be a very vibrant centre for people to unite and discuss issues that will add to the development of the Savelugu community, where we can come together and solve problems.”
Commissioning of Savelugu Spot
On Saturday 27th July, the local community in Savelugu commissioned a new Spot in Savelugu – a fully equipped solar-powered library with books, learning resources and digital tools.
The vibrant ceremony included speeches from the Spot’s local founder, Nimatu Abdul-Rahman, the local district education representative, the local Assembly Man, an EduLit club member, and EduSpots’ CEO and Founder, Cat Davison. The event featured cultural displays, and a highly entertaining story told through dance, capturing the importance of parents investing in their children’s future through education.
The library is fully furnished with bookcases, tables, book boxes for younger readers, and a wider range of books donated by Books for Africa and Book Aid International alongside a selection of local storybooks and text books chosen by the local team.
The installation of solar power will serve as a source of sustainable energy for the center, enabling the operation of lights, computers, and other digital educational tools. This setup not only alleviates the burden of ongoing electricity expenses on the community, but also offers a reliable space of learning in an area where power outages are common
One member of the EcoSTEM club, Yaw George Atsu commented: “It has boosted the confidence level of everybody and we have been able to work as a team which has been amazing. The new Spot is amazing and I see it to be something that we help us a lot. I will work hard in order to become a volunteer, so that I will help my community members and educate them on how to use the community library.”
Mrs Okomongye Diana (carpeted middle, below), a teacher and Catalyst said: “It’s a dream come true. When we started we were only using a small space. When we come for our Ignite Equity session, we have to wait for EduLit to finish, but now we have a spacious library where we can all work together, it’s so exciting and awesome. I’ve learnt a lot about teamwork in EduSpots – when you want to do a task, you don’t have to do it alone, you have to bring it together because we all have wonderful ideas to bring together to push the Spot forwards.”
