Chance for Children : A Swiss-Ghanaian partnership to improve access to education
It is hot in Accra these days. Wiltrud Weidinger, Eliane Burri, and Corinne Pernet’s taxi even needs to stop briefly due to an overheated engine. The three women are visiting the Ghanaian capital as part of the project “Chance for Children”. Since 2013, the Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zurich) has partnered with the Swiss-Ghanaian NPO of the same name to train teachers and social workers who support street-connected children and their families in Ghana.
For Eliane Burri, this is her fourth visit to Accra. As the Head of Centre for Media Education and Computer Science at PH Zurich, she supports and accompanies Chance for Children (CfC) on its digital journey. Together with the management team, she facilitates workshops exploring how to better reach young people and improve their access to information and digital resources. “What impresses me personally is CfC’s continuous development over time. The organization’s openness and motivation, combined with a pragmatic, solution-oriented approach to digital transformation, is evident in my work with them”.
Wiltrud Weidinger is returning to CfC for the third time after starting the first workshops and trainings in 2013. “It’s amazing to see how CfC’s work has evolved and had such a great impact in recent years”. She has worked with learning coaches who guide street-connected children in different regions of the country, teaching them key principles of inclusion, participation, and motivation. For Corinne Pernet, however, it is her first time in Accra. “I am impressed by the work of the social workers who care for street-connected children in these difficult circumstances. Seeing their stamina and the team’s motivation and engagement was one of the highlights of my first visit to Ghana”.
Poverty, family breakdown, rapid urbanisation and a very young population are root causes of the prevalence of street children in Ghana. In response, CfC has expanded from two to eight locations across the country. The organization takes a holistic approach, combining street work, family and community strengthening, and youth employment preparation while collaborating with various stakeholders to promote local ownership and sustainability. Daniela Rüdisüli Sodjah, the co-founder of Chance for Children, emphasizes the significant benefits of the organization’s long-term collaboration with PH Zurich. Providing street-connected children with access to education is central to CfC’s work. This includes reintegration into school, pathways to apprenticeships, ongoing educational support, and preparation for lifelong learning.
With 272 million children and youth still out of school worldwide, there remains a lot of work to be done for NPOs, schools and governments alike. But the example of CfC shows that in order to provide children with an education, collaboration is vital. Between families and children as well as between educational institutions from Switzerland to Ghana.
