It was a constant struggle for the Aboelato Primary School pupils, as they had to endure the discomfort of sitting on their bare classroom floors for lessons.

The school located at Nyokorko, a deprived community in the Bolgatanga East District of the Upper East Region, was without furniture and other basic necessities to create a conducive learning environment.

Headmistress of the school, Charity Apasinaba, said the situation made teaching and learning difficult. Teachers often had to go the extra mile to improvise to help the pupils understand lessons.

The situation, she said, also contributed to a lack of interest in school on the part of children in the area, as they constantly absented themselves from school.

Fortunately, the Aboelato Primary School situation has now improved, thanks to help from International Needs Ghana, an NGO working to transform lives in deprived communities in Ghana.

The NGO has donated some furniture and other learning materials to the school.

The donation included; 60 chairs and 10 tables for the kindergarten classrooms, 11 dual desks for the lower primary level, 750 grade-appropriate supplementary readers, and teaching and learning materials.

Also included were play and learn items, toys, footballs and jerseys for the school.

Speaking after the donation, the Education Manager for International Needs Ghana, Rev. Isaac Quarcoo, said the NGO decided to come to the aid of the school after learning of the predicament of the pupils.

“As part of our efforts to ensure inclusive education amongst the vulnerable in society, we thought it wise that we should come to the aid of these children,” he said. 

The donation, Rev Quarcoo indicated, was part of the NGO’s “effort in contributing to SDG Goal 4, specifically; target 4a, and also improving the teaching and learning environment” in deprived schools.

“We are very hopeful this donation will contribute to improved learning outcomes in the school”, he added.

Receiving the donation, the school's headmistress, Charity Apasinaba, assured the organisation that the pupils and teachers will make good use of the items.

“Our education is going to another level, and we promise that the next time you come back, our children’s performance will improve”, she said.

She also appealed to the organisation to continue supporting the pupils of the school. 

Meanwhile, International Needs Ghana has also enrolled 80 pupils of the Aboelato Primary School to benefit from its International Needs Child Assistance programme.

Already, the NGO has been supporting children of the school and the community in various other ways.  

Some years ago, they constructed a borehole for the school and built a pavilion to provide shelter for children at the kindergarten level of the school.