Young At Heart Ghana
Commonwealth Point of Light 179. Josephine Marie Godwyll
Commonwealth Point of Light 179. Martin Bruce
Josephine Marie Godwyll and Martin Bruce, representing Ghana, are co-founders of ‘Young At Heart Ghana’, an initiative improving access to digital education for over 8,000 children and young people in rural and disadvantaged communities.
Through the initiative, they have developed their own mobile phone app and learning platform, called ‘Ananse Hub’, to help children learn digital skills through specially designed games and engaging learning experiences featuring folklore stories. This hub has been particularly vital throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in proving remote learning opportunities for children. Josephine and Martin have also created a ‘Lab and Library on Wheels’ project, a portable tech-lab which brings basic computer equipment and solar-powered devices to classrooms in remote areas and has enabled hundreds of students to have practical lessons in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics subjects.
Josephine and Martin said:
“Technology has great potential in filling the gaps of knowledge and skills transfer. We are excited to lead a team of young innovators who are committed to creating solutions that unleash this potential. We are grateful to Her Majesty The Queen and the British High Commission Ghana for this award – which further strengthens us on our journey as ‘Points of Light’ in our communities and beyond.”
Ian Murray, British High Commissioner to Ghana, said:
“As schools across Ghana were forced to close last year the ‘Young at Heart’ team supported the work of the Ministry of Education to make sure that children continued to receive quality and vital education despite the restrictions and difficulties caused by COVID-19.
“I will never fail to be inspired by the stories of the men, women and organisations who at the height of the global pandemic, pivoted away from their normal work and provided a life-line to some of the world’s most vulnerable. It is an honour to meet the team in person to congratulate them on their success.”