ATC Ghana Donates Science Kits to The Exploratory at Rangoon Camp Schools

Volunteers from ATC Ghana arrived at the Rangoon Camp Junior High School (JHS) for their 2nd Mini CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative for 2016 on 23rd September. This was a special occasion as it coincides with ATC Ghana’s 5th Anniversary year, and employees generously made voluntary cash donation to purchase story books for the school, in addition to the Company’s contributions.

It was an interactive and educational event for the students at the school. First, Mr. Alfred Odamey, principal (head teacher) of Rangoon School welcomed the volunteers from ATC Ghana. Mrs Sheila Adjin-Tettey ATC Ghana’s Project Manager for this CSR programme formally introduced the students to ATC’s business and encouraged them to study hard and actively participate in the activities for the day.

The students then broke into small groups, and with ATC volunteers, read through some of the many story books that were contributed. ATC Ghana staff also showed students how to use dictionaries, an essential literacy tool.

ATC Ghana volunteers reads with students

They then led them through a communication skills clinic, at the end of which students presented information using Microsoft PowerPoint. Through a discussion on social media and its effects on education, students learnt about online resources to aid their study and to search for past questions to prepare for their BECE exams.

“We are happy to complement the exciting and commendable work of The Exploratory by giving students and teachers the learning materials and resources to engage students with STEM in a practical way,” said Letitia Asiedu-Attafuah, Head of Human Resources at ATC Ghana. “ATC takes great pride in our various philanthropic initiatives which are led by our valued employees and this demonstrates our commitment to sustainable initiatives in all our communities”.

“We already have a relationship with the ATC Ghana, where our students visited their offices for a career day in July 2015,” said Head teacher Alfred Odamey. “The Exploratory brings expertise and inspiration to our teachers and students. We look forward to this partnership developing and to creating a well-resourced STEM lab, so even more students can benefit”.

“The Exploratory is so pleased the circle is complete and to have a productive partnership between a school that we have worked with, and a great company that, like us, has roots in Boston and is active in Ghana,” said Dr. Connie Chow, founder and director of the organization.

“Through this collaborative effort, all of us anticipate that the students at Rangoon Camp Junior High School will experience their science lessons in a completely new way this school year and beyond”.

The Rangoon Camp School is a government school situated amongst the well-resourced private schools in the Cantonment area in Accra. This August, four teachers from the Rangoon Camp JHS and Primary Schools joined over 50 teachers from schools in Accra, Pokuase, Nsawam and Berekuso, where The Exploratory’s clubs are held, on a 3-day teacher training.

“I learnt about electronics, about building anatomical models of the body with simple materials, and how to support the girl-child in learning”, said Mrs. Diana Tetteh, a science teacher at the JHS. “It was fun and educative. That’s the spirit that I now want to bring to my students”.

Mrs. Tetteh with a drawing of internal organs she created, and a model the teachers created as a group

As a result of the training and the donations, Mrs. Tetteh and her fellow teachers will be facilitating weekly hands-on explorations in science for over 70 students at the junior high and primary schools.

“Together, we can nurture the scientists, engineering and technologists of tomorrow that are necessary for Ghana’s development”, Mr. Odamey mused.

We can’t agree more!