Ghana SPCA added a new school to their Humane Education Program and has taken 3 schools on a field trip-in just the 1st few months of 2018! (And there's much more!) GSPCA activities are supported by AKI donors.
AKI partner, Ghana Society for the Protection & Care of Animals, added a new Kindness Club to their Humane Education family! The Cheetah Kindness Club of St. Dominic Roman Catholic School is the newest Animal Welfare Club in Ghana, formed thanks to teacher Ruth Kezia and with the support of the Headmistress of the school. Ms. Kezia was GSPCA’s Humane Ed teacher at Kwabenya-Atomic Basic 5 MA school until she was transferred to St. Dominic RC school this term. And she brought along her knowledge and enthusiasm for the GSPCA Humane Ed Program and the concept of GSPCA Kindness Clubs to her new school. The Cheetah Kindness Club has 65 students (some of their pictures are below).
The GSPCA, thanks to AKI donors, has always been able to provide 1 Humane Ed Manual/student, but this time, GSPCA only brought 50 booklets for the new club--they didn't expect to have 65 students in attendance! You can see in the pictures below that some students don't have an HE manual. Each booklet costs about $3 to print—we’re making sure that the GSPCA gets 15 more booklets so that all students have their very own to keep forever.
Thank you to Ms. Kezia and her co-teacher Peter Sampson (both pictured below) at St Dominic RC School, who are inspiring their students to acquire knowledge about animals and to fight animal cruelty.
Besides funding for GSPCA's in-class Humane Ed Program, AKI donors also cover the cost of field trips for HE students. Over the last 4 years, these field trips have taken students to vet clinics, the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary, to the Ministry of Agriculture and government vet offices, a pet boarding facility, and to LIPREC, the Livestock & Poultry Research & Ed Center of the University of Ghana, where good (humane) practices in livestock raising are stressed. The thing about these field trips is they are usually the only chance that students get to see animals treated kindly, with respect and love.
On March 24, GSPCA took 125 students from Trust Academy, Amrahia AdMA, and the newest Humane Ed school, St. Dominic to visit LIPREC. GSPCA hired 3 buses, provided refreshments for the students and the 4 teachers who accompanied the students, and provided a small ($15) stipend for the teachers (since this trip was on Saturday and separate from their teaching responsibilities). GSPCA's Humane Ed Specialist, Aluizah, led the field trip (pictures below).
GSPCA hopes to lead at least 3 more field trips during 2018 for Humane Education students.
On February 3, GSPCA interacted with some of the HE teachers at Amrahia AdMA Basic school in Adenta , Accra to evaluate the progress of HE lessons organized by GSPCA and chart the way for the future (pictures below). Teachers shared experiences on their teaching methods and the HE Program. They exchanged ideas about ways to attract more ambassadors to elevate animal welfare in Ghana. This was such a positive experience for everyone involved and all felt it was very important to continue to gather input from the teachers. GSPCA hopes to hold more of these interactive sessions during 2018.
The new Cheetah Kindness Club at St. Dominic and the Donkey Kindness Club are 2 of the most active GSPCA Kindness Clubs. Below, the President and an assistant of the Donkey Kindness Club at Amrahia AdMA Basic School lead HE lessons. They guided members in discussing donkeys and their welfare.
More pictures from the Donkey Kindness Club below....
Because they are so active and such good role models for animal kindness and welfare, and for hosting Spay-Neuter Day Events, the GSPCA presented the Donkey and Cheetah Kindness Clubs with laminated group photos.
Samuel is one of the new teachers at Kwabenya Atomic Basic 5 M/A School (photos below). There was a mass transfer of teachers in Ga East Municipality and Samuel willingly replaced the two previous teachers handling the HE course. Samuel has proven to be a really effective and committed Humane Ed teacher; he is creative and interactive and you can tell the students really enjoy his HE class! We hope to raise enough money so that Samuel's class at Kwabenya can join in on field trips during 2018.
Thank you for your donations, which GSPCA will use to finance field trips, HE material, and other HE Program needs.