Our Story
One rural village in Ghana needed what every community deserves: a nursery, an elementary school, and a daily hot lunch for their children.
Upon returning to the US after adopting children in Africa, having seen the effects of poverty firsthand, we partnered with one rural village to provide the support they needed most: a nursery and elementary school with hot lunch.
The Jack Academy origin story, told by the founders.
Most families live on less than $3 per day as subsistence farmers. The village lacks running water, electricity, and health care.
Many children cannot afford school fees. Those who do attend are often still illiterate at 12 years old. Education alone cannot solve these conditions, but it gives families a foundation to build on.
Poverty leads some to desperate decisions when parents cannot afford to feed their children. Some parents put their children in orphanages to ensure their survival, but they are overcrowded with little chance for adoption.
Or, believing their children will be fed and educated, parents naively give their children into slavery which drives the fishing industry in the Volta region. Keeping children with their families requires more than charity. It requires stable schools, meals, and community support.
Life and learning at Jack Academy in Ghana.
The village donated land and construction began in May of 2013. In a remote village, it was a manually intensive process.
The village donated land. Manual labor built the first five-room schoolhouse with electricity, latrine, well, and a new water collection system.
A small house for teachers was added so staff could live on campus and support students daily.
When completed it was a five-room school house. Over time it would grow further into the tuition-free program serving 150 students today.
Tuition-free education, daily hot lunches, and basic medical care depend on sponsors like you. Help us sustain what the village and our founders built together.