Announcing PAMBE Ghana’s Teach 2 Teach Campaign

Partner with our Teach 2 Teach Campaign to support the continued training and growth of our La’Angum Learning Center (LLC) teachers and quality education for LLC students. Donations will provide a year’s worth of tuition, lodging and living expenses for 2 current LLC teachers while they attend a Montessori Elementary Course in Houston Montessori Center, TX.

As Ghana lacks an accredited training program in elementary level Montessori instruction, our goal is to bring 2 LLC teachers to the U.S. for additional training. Upon their return to LLC, these teachers will help build local capacity and impart expertise in Montessori education both to other teachers at LLC and in nearby schools in northern Ghana.

You can contribute to this campaign using our DONATE button or by joining our GoFundMe campaign. Any donation will be matched, dollar for dollar up to US $5,000. This challenge grant for the Montessori teacher training is provided by “the learning tree” in Oklahoma City!

Make your donation count double! Thank you for your support.

PAMBE Ghana’s second annual 5K run/walk fundraiser to be held on April 28th, 2023

Last year's event was a big success with children at the La'Angum Learning Center (LLC) in Northern Ghana and Albrook Montessori School in New Jersey walking to honor their founders and raise money to help PAMBE Ghana fund teacher salaries.

2nd grade Mustafa Abdul-Rahaman

Our fundraising goal of $5,000 is enough to cover the average annual salary of two LLC teachers. These dedicated educators are our greatest resource, many of whom have been teaching at LLC since our first class in 2008. This initial class of students has just now graduated high school, and we are so proud! None of it would have been possible without the staff and teachers at LLC.

1st grade Ernestina TA

To put our $5,000 goal in perspective, we need to raise just $625 for each of the 8 classes at LLC or just over $20 per student. A small donation can have an outsized impact in Ghana where US dollars go far to provide quality education to hundreds of children. Listen to the words of our most senior teacher, Mary Azure. Please join us in supporting our LLC teachers as they create a model of education in Ghana!

We also will expand participation this year with an event in Bluff Creek Park in Oklahoma City at 9am on Saturday April 29 for our local volunteers and supporters.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/pambe-ghana-2023-5k-fundraiser

Florida Students Help Their New Friends at La’Angum Learning Center

One tenet of the Montessori methodology of education - that working together fosters independence – was vividly demonstrated when more than 200 bicycles were delivered to the La’Angum Learning Center (LLC) in remote northern Ghana.

The project grew out of a pen pal relationship between the students at LLC and those of the community Montessori by the Sea in Saint Pete Beach, Florida. The Florida-based students learned that the 250 LLC children in Kindergarten through 6th grade have to walk long distances from their homes in scattered villages to attend school every day, and that having access to bicycles could make a big impact on the daily lives of these new friends. The students of Montessori by the Sea were inspired to help, and together with one of their teachers, Ellen Selvidge, began planning to purchase bicycles for their pen pals.

In Spring 2022 Ellen and her husband Logan Gelsie, on behalf of the Montessori by the Sea community, started raising funds via the GoFundMe platform to purchase bicycles, resulting in over $6,600 generated by the Florida school community and friends.

Armed with the funds, Ellen and Logan travelled to LLC this summer to support LLC teachers and to facilitate purchase of the bicycles, their distribution to the community, and training children and teachers in their use and maintenance.

The arrival of Ellen, Logan and the bicycles was met with great fanfare by LLC students and parents because access to a bicycle is transformative in the lives of the LLC students. Children with access to bicycles greatly reduce their commute time and spend more time on their education. Many of these children aspire to go on to high school and potentially, a university program. The commute time particularly impacts the girls attending LLC, who are expected to help with domestic chores, which often involve collecting and hauling water from local wells. Having transportation creates time for learning and opportunity.

One local student, who has great difficulty walking independently, persuaded the team distributing bicycles that he should receive one – and quickly learned to ride, gaining a new measure of control over his day-to-day activities and greatly increasing his ability to travel to and from LLC. Working together truly does foster independence.

On behalf of LLC, please join us in thanking all those who participated in the fundraiser, and Ellen and Logan. If you are inspired to join the bicycle project, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-pambe-bike-project 

 


A big thank you to our supporters for a successful fundraiser in honor of our founder, Alice Azumi Iddi-Gubbels

La'Angum Learning Center (LLC) students in Northern Ghana participated in a 5k relay run on April 14th, 2022, alongside students at the Albrook School in New Jersey. The "Better Together" theme for the event was appropriate as it united the students at these two schools in a common goal while honoring their respective founders.

The gofundme campaign of PAMBE Ghana raised over $4000! This amount will nearly cover the equivalent of two teacher salaries for an entire year. Each donation helps continue the high quality Montessori education that Alice brought to her home area in Northern Ghana back in 2008 with an initial pre-K class of just 35 students. Today, LLC has blossomed into a school with 8 classrooms, 13 teachers, and 3 administrators operating with deep community support to maintain a current enrollment of over 249 students (pre-K through Grade 6).

You can continue to donate until April 30 at this Go Fund Me Link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/pambe-ghana-5k-fundraiser.

Florida Students Help Their New Friends at La’Angum Learning Center

A New Jersey Montessori student’s GoFundMe campaign leads to a virtual connection with LLC students

A confident New Jersey Montessori student named Sebastian dedicated his tenth birthday to raising funds to support La’Angum Learning Center (LLC) located in northern Ghana and founded by PAMBE Ghana. Setting an initial goal of $1,000 via the GoFundMe platform, Sebastian quickly exceeded it, and raised $2,765! This astonishing sum will pay the salary of an LLC fourth grade teacher for an entire year. In the course of the fundraising, Sebastian met virtually via Zoom with LLC students, which all the children enjoyed very much as they were able to see one another and learn how much they had in common. The fundraising project also provided Sebastian a hands-on education in communication and fundraising skills.

Sebastian (r) and LLC students engage in the everyday classroom work of
a Montessori student.

LLC teachers and support staff provide a safe and nurturing learning experience to each and every student, and further, maintain a healthy, dynamic relationship with the parents, extended families and communities that LLC serves. Sebastian’s initiative and the incredible gift resulting from it affirmed the importance of their work, and it was encouraging to them to learn that a young student - just like those they teach at LLC – had spread the news of their work to friends and family, and dedicated his own birthday to supporting LLC.

Continued education support for La’Angum Learning Center graduates provided by the Milburn Gift Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation

Yapoa began pre-K at LLC in 2008, and is now in senior high school.

It takes a village to raise a child, and often that village is global. The OKC based board of PAMBE Ghana works to find revenue sources to support the students at La’Angum Learning Center (LLC) – both during their younger years at LLC and after they move on to the next stage. With funding from the Paul Milburn Gift Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, graduates of LLC who enter junior high school (grades 7-9) and senior high school (grades 10-12) are offered support to help continue their education. Students are provided uniforms and school supplies including notebooks and pens, a set of math instruments and a scientific calculator. Nearly all LLC graduates go on to junior and senior high school, with the inaugural pre-K class of 2008 set to graduate from high school next year. Yapoa, who began pre-K at LLC in 2008 as a shy youngster, is now a confident high school student. “La’Angum Ka Toom” – “Many hands make light work”!

Junior and senior high school students receive school supplies from Head Teacher Majeed Salifu.

Holiday market offers consumers a chance to shop locally and give globally

Offers consumers a chance to shop locally and give globally

The annual Global Market - opening this year October 17 through December 24 - offers shoppers an opportunity to purchase beautifully crafted meaningful gifts made by artisans who have been paid a fair wage.

Additionally, as Sara Braden, market manager noted, “Best of all, every purchase also benefits the school kids at La’Angum Learning Center in rural northern Ghana; it’s a win-win-win: for the artisans, for the school kids, and for the customers!”

La’Angum Learning Center (LLC) has taught hundreds of village children in northern Ghana. The teachers use a student-based teaching model, starting them out in their own language and gradually teaching English.  LLC was born out of a dream of Oklahoma City University Graduate Alice Iddi-Gubbels to return to her home in Ghana and create a school of high quality for the elementary-level children in the area.

“PAMBE Ghana appreciates all our partners from the village families and teachers to our Global Market volunteers and customers in Oklahoma City, said Jane Wheeler, Board President.

We invite you to visit us at the Sailor and the Dock marketplace, 617 W. Sheridan, Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10am-6pm. https://sailorandthedock.com/pambe-ghana/

For more information on PAMBE Ghana and Global Market merchandise, go to pambeghana.org or view us on Instagram and Facebook.

The location of the 2023 Global Market: “Sailor & The Dock617 W. Sheridan, Oklahoma City.

 

 

PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market at Scissortail Park: A Fun Way To Shop For Mother’s Day

Catch PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market on Friday, May 7, at The Night Market at Scissortail Park.

This is a great chance to shop in person at OKC’s beloved fair-trade market – just in time for Mother’s Day and summer birthdays. The Night Market will be open from 5:30 to 9:30. Celebrate spring, explore the park and shop the Global Market’s unusual, colorful and fun selection of fair-trade items.

Your Global Market purchases do a world of good, all over the world. Every item is certified fair-trade, from the stunning handmade copper bells and wind chimes from India to the felted wool birdhouses from Nepal. Global Market proceeds support PAMBE Ghana’s grade school in underserved northern Ghana, enabling almost 300 children to attend school each year and opening doors to their futures.

This will be the Global Market’s first in-person market in more than a year. Seasonal specialties include a three-piece garden tool set and terra cotta animal pots planted with locally-grown herbs, which make lovely gifts for all gardeners. Other gifts for friends and family include hand-woven ties from Guatemala; wooden toys, puzzles, and musical instruments; baskets of all shapes, sizes, and colors from around the world; kitchen tools, towels and bowls.

Make May 7 your night to explore PAMBE Ghana’s Global Market at The Night Market at Scissortail Park!

A New Tax Deduction for You!

Yes, you can get a new tax deduction for making a contribution to a charity.  You can make a contribution up $300 and still write it off - without itemizing deductions.  You can still take your standard deduction AND get a $300 deduction under the CARES ACT for COVID relief.

Even better, if you are 70.5 or older, you can make a contribution directly out of your IRA for any amount (up to $100,000) without paying any taxes on it. 

Yes, you can do both! You could donate $1,000 from your IRA (70.5 and older) and $300 (no age limits) from your checking account and get the tax savings from both.

The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Project at LLC Is Complete – Funded by Rotary International in partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Wainwright and Revelstoke, Canada and Tamale, Ghana


Through a partnership with the Rotary Clubs of Wainwright, Alberta; Revelstoke, British Columbia; and Tamale, Ghana; PAMBE Ghana received a $49,000 USD grant from Rotary International to fund significant water and sanitation work at La’Angum Learning Center (LLC). The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project has been largely completed, and LLC now has a functional latrine system!

This milestone achievement for PAMBE Ghana fulfills Executive Director Alice Iddi-Gubbel’s long term dream to implement biogas generation at LLC, and it is among the largest single grants that PAMBE Ghana has received. This is a significant step toward our goals of increasing health and sanitation and reducing deforestation around LLC.

The project involved:

Construction of two environmentally-friendly 4-cubicle low-flush bio toilets with a bio digester, hand-washing points and grey water recycling system.

—A new 4-cubicle toilet building for girls and female adults.

—A remodel of the existing pit latrine for boys and male adults.

—A biogas digester to digest human and other waste materials.

—A system to capture and use the biogas in the kitchen for the school lunches.

—A rainwater harvesting system for the toilet building roofs, including collection, storage, and distribution.

—A grey water recycling system for flushing the toilet, including a solar-run water pump.

—A solar energy system for pumping the water and lighting the buildings.

An increase in the supply of clean drinking water.

—A rainwater harvesting system is on the roof of a nearby buildings, including collection, storage and distribution.

The significant benefits to the community include: more water capture and storage, increased sanitation with functional toilets and hand washing, biogas generation, reduced deforestation, and reduced burden on women and girls to carry water and collect wood for cooking.

Thank you for your continued support 
Update from Alice Iddi-Gubbels

Donate Today

Your Donation Today Will Help PAMBE Ghana Provide:
-- Teacher's salary
-- Children’s health insurance
-- Montessori materials
-- Teacher education

PAMBE Ghana is a 501(c)(3) registered charitable organization.


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