What is AKOSIA?
Akosia is small charity (Registered Chairty Number 1136140) that creates and facilitates summer projects for underprivileged children. This summer we are going to Accra, Ghana with a five-week programme that will take 45 children on a creative filmmaking journey. From writing to set-design, costume making to acting, the summer will culminate in a mini film festival for the children and their communities. We aim to let the children produce the films as independently as possible, providing them with tools and technical skills where necessary. In this way, we hope that the children will get the chance to see themselves in a different light and that this will inspire them be become more confident in their creative abilities and in general. During the four weeks we will also be providing the children with two meals a day and organized afternoon sporting and art activities.
Our Philosophy
Akosia firmly believes that all children are creative, resourceful and passionate, and providing a cultural learning environment is an integral step in a child’s development. Our cultural projects encourage underprivileged children to explore their creativity and imagination through experiential learning rather than being ‘taught’ in a conventional manner. This creates a tremendous sense of accomplishment and inner confidence that we hope the children will carry in the future. Akosia believes that cultivating a cultural learning environment is an integral step in a child’s development; it gives them confidence. Like food or water, experiential learning is an opportunity all children deserve, and allows them to reach their full potential. It is our goal to broaden a child’s horizon, to open their eyes to the possibilities of their own creativity and collective efforts, and aid them in giving back to their communities.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide an engaging and safe environment where underprivileged children’s natural abilities can be expressed and nurtured. We intend to provide a structured platform from which the children can develop their creativity and enable them to produce something that they can be proud of. It is our fundamental goal to broaden a child’s horizon, open their eyes to the possibilities of their own creativity and collective efforts, and to aid them in giving back to their communities.
Our Role (the WHAT, in what we do)
Akosia facilitates cultural projects for underprivileged children who have had little exposure to the limitless possibilities of their own creativity. We believe that children have all the answers, and that it is our job to ask the right questions and provide the tools that will help them create something they can be proud of. We involve artistic professionals – filmmakers, musicians, writers, artists – and teachers in our projects to build an environment in which the children are guided through a creative process while being encouraged to respond to their own initiatives and ideas. The children learn a variety of communication and management skills, which enable them to express themselves, build self-confidence and explore their imagination.
Our History
In October 2008, Quinn and Maria developed a programme for Ghanaian street children that would inspire them to stay in school and that would engage their creativity. Maria had first gone to Accra, Ghana in 2003 to work for Street Academy and during her time there she wrote and directed a play with the students. She then set up a charity to continue this process annually and returned in 2006 to see the progress of her drama project. When she saw how positive the project had been for the children, she decided it was important for her to go back and do even more. With Quinn’s youth coaching background and Maria’s passion to work creatively with young people, the pair created Akosia.
In the early stages, their intention was simply to provide an experience that the children would always remember. They wanted to strengthen the children’s creativity, imagination and drive, whilst helping them gain confidence in their own abilities. Quinn and Maria felt it was necessary to bring in more people with a variety of experiences so they brought in elementary school teacher, Lisa Grassa, whose vision was perfectly aligned with those of the project. As the Akosia project grew, so did the team, which now includes a musician, a writer, and two filmmakers.
What is Street Academy?
Street Academy is a non-governmental, charitable initiative that provides basic education for street children. In 1986 it was founded by Ataa Lartey, a local social worker, and registered as an NGO in 1993. The students are fed, clothed and attend daily lessons at the school. Once children have fulfilled Street Academy’s curriculum they are sponsored to go to an ‘official’ or state run school by the Street Academy Charitable Trust. Street Academy is a highly successful venture that currently has 80 pupils attending the school and sponsors a further 400.
Facts about Ghana
Population: 18.1 million
Economy: Classified by the World Bank as a ‘low income’ developing country.
Street Children in Accra:
There are over 20,000 street children living in Accra, most of which are between the ages of 7-15 years old.
There are two categories of street children in Ghana:
1. The ‘typical’ Ghanaian street child who lives and works on the street.
2. The urban poor child, who survives daily on the street but, still has some family ties.
Some of the major factors that cause the consistent increase of street children in Accra include: poverty, rural-urban migration, dysfunctional families, peer influence, and child abuse. Many children come to Accra from rural areas to help with the family income, lured to the city by promises of wealth and success. When they get to Accra and reality sets it, the children struggle to survive, sleeping on the street on a thin piece of cardboard and work where they can to make a living.
Over the last 30 years there has been an increase in Ghanaian children migrating from various rural regions into the cities with the intention of finding jobs, training or education. However, they often end up working in low income or menial jobs.
The boys often earn money by shining shoes, pushing trucks and gathering refuse and carrying it to the dumpsite.
The girls often sell water, oranges and bread. Many street children work as ‘hawkers’ trying to sell their wares – often small items like chewing gum – at traffic lights and busy junctions.
Whilst the government is attempting to tackle the issue of street children throughout the country, it remains a huge problem that is difficult to solve. Organizations like Street Academy are making a difference to the lives of many children but your help is needed to make the problem history!
