Dear Contributors,

The Besease Junior High School in the Ashanti region of Ghana is fundraising to build a technology center. Currently, students are learning Information Communication Technology instruction from a blackboard. Students need access to desktop computers, a stable internet connection, textbooks, as well as modern-day desks and chairs. Our goal is to raise awareness of this need through art and the funding to build this technology center.

To read more information please go to - https://www.envisionedfuturesfundraiser.com

The Need-

Right now, there is a digital divide. Not all students have access to critical resources such as the Internet. Digital connectivity through information and communication technologies has been recognized as crucial for development by the International Telecommunication Union. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 9 is to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in developing nations by 2030. Development Goal 4 is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.

Our Work-

Through collaborative art projects, fundraising, and coalition, we seek to mobilize a local and an international community of contributors to make an envisioned space become a reality. Using ART to inspire a vision for the future, students create visions of their future selves to propel action toward this crucial need that impacts their futures.

Creating Art-

Students are currently creating Self-portrait Vision Boards that accompany discussions and an exchange of ideas surrounding integrated art and design solutions for sustainable design through the use of renewable energy such as solar power. How can one integrate a vision for the future through the use of sustainable materials and reusable sources of energy integrated through art and design? How can the concept of a work of art accompany its function? Student artwork serves as a metaphorical catalyst and platform for future creation that supports the building of a technology lab for the students in Besease.

In beginning the artwork students reflect on the questions: What does it mean to move through TIME, MEMORY, PLACE; PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE?

An Exchange-

Students from Bard High School Early College in New York City and the Besease Community School in Ghana are collaborating on an art and social change exchange project under the facilitation of Laurel Richardson, assistant professor of visual arts at Bard High School Early College Manhattan. The project is focused on building visions for students’ futures and fostering cross-cultural exchange. Using ART as a metaphorical vehicle for change, students contemplate the theme of ENVISIONED FUTURES as they create art to realize their future selves and future space that has yet to be realized.

Students discuss the essential role that technology plays in students' lives socially, and academically, and will play a major role in their future professional lives. These discussions have become a catalyst that highlights the need in the Besease school.

Funding will go towards these items:

Construction of Building-$13,000

ICT Lab Equipment and Furniture- $16, 000

Internet Installation-$8,100

Solar Panels back up (renewable energy source used when electricity powers down)

Installation-Estimate pending

*Costs estimates are quoted from local construction, internet service provider, and energy providers in the Ejisu Besease and Kumasi area. All proceeds will go directly to the Besease school for the building of this center with equipment. This initiative is working in conjunction with the Nkosuohemma of Besease- Professor Lynda Day, Professor of Africana Studies at Brooklyn College and the Just a Chance Foundation, a charity based in Besease dedicated to the betterment of families in the community.

ABOUT BESEASE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

The Besease Junior High School is located in the Ashanti region of Ghana. This is a public community school in Ejisu-Besease about 13 miles outside of Kumasi led by Headmistress Madame Angelina Twumasi. There are 310 students in the school ages 11-16. They are divided into three different levels JHS1, JHS2, and the eldest level JHS3. When students finish their studies students are expected to pass a national exam to receive their Basic Education Certificate in order to move on to high school.

Currently, they are not equipped with the adequate resources to provide students with the education they need. They have been provided with 2 laptop computers that are not in good condition. They are also missing textbooks in all subjects for the eldest students in JH2 and JH3. Students' primary Information Communication Technology instruction is demonstrated on a blackboard. They learn programs such as Microsoft Excel Book 1, Word, and PowerPoint at their seats while they draw these instructions on paper. Desks are shared and have been donated by the Rotary Club. There are 40 students per class. Due to parts of the buildings being in disrepair, they need to build the infrastructure which will support desktop computers, internet routers, and UPS backups.

Besease Junior High School's need points to a larger issue which is a disparity between government-funded and private schools in Ghana. A 2016 study conducted from the National Education Assessment by the Ghana Ministry of Education, is administered in both private and public schools in Ghana. The study also examines gender parity, seats and core textbooks per student, and the share of schools needing major repairs. A consistent trend shows that students attending private schools have much better results than students attending public schools. There is a disparity in achievement between government and private schools including low-fee private schools.

To read more information please go to - https://www.envisionedfuturesfundraiser.com