American rapper and singer, Ja Rule has expressed excitement about the contributions of Pencils of Promise, (PoP), a nongovernmental organization to the progress of Ghana’s education sector and Africa.

He was enthused learning about the impacts of the projects undertaken by the organization in infrastructure development, water, sanitation and hygiene, and teacher capacity building.

The rapper made the observations after taking a tour with his wife, Aisha Atkins of schools in the Volta and Eastern Regions that benefited from the intervention programs of PoP. The tour enabled him to have first-hand information on the programs and see the impacts on the beneficiary schools.

Ja Rule appreciated the opportunity offered to him by Pencils of Promise to contribute to shaping the future of the Ghanaian child through education. He sponsored the construction of a 6-unit classroom block with sanitary facilities for the St. John’s Anglican Basic School at Nuaso in the Eastern Region.

“I thank Pencils of Promise for allowing me to be a part of this amazing program. You guys have been doing this for thirteen years and it's paying off in ways that we've probably never seen. 206 schools in Ghana till this day, and I am sure there will be many more”, he said.

He chronicled how it was illegal for a black man to get educated in the 18th century and acknowledged the collaboration of the black and white races to promote education, especially on the African continent.

“I want to say I am inspired by this moment. It made me think about the history of education of black people. There was a time when it was illegal for black people to get an education, for black people to read and do all these amazing things we are being able to do right here in school. So that really really struck me and made me feel hope in a way that I have not felt hope in a long time”, he stressed.

He appealed to the teachers to give their best in grooming the pupils to enable them to achieve academic excellence and in the future, give back to their community by contributing to the development.

“And to you children, you are future men, make us proud”, he said with a broad smile.

The Country Director of Pencils of Promise, Freeman Goba, announced that the future looks exciting as his outfits aims at rolling out more intervention projects to promote education in the country.

The Volta Regional Deputy Director of Education, Mrs. Mariam Adzroe underscored the efforts of Pencils of Promise to enhance education in Ghana, lauding their contribution to proving befitting learning environments for pupils.

Pencils of Promise implements 2 main programs in the education sector in addition to the provision of infrastructure.

The first is Teacher Support Program: which is designed to increase literacy rates in schools through provision of teaching and learning resources, and in-service training for teachers.

The second is the WASH Program, modeled to teach good hygienic practices in schools to instill the habit of healthy living in pupils, to ensure their safety and well-being.