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RURAL TEACHERS - WITNESSES OF NAKED POVERTY



Teaching in rural communities in Ghana comes with its own problems. The common worry of most teachers in rural communities are the lack of electricity, network connectivity, bad roads, hospitals and many more. The sad truth is that most teachers in rural communities have grown thick skin to these challenges and they do not complain as much. It is as though living without these vital social amenities is not that serious.

There is another problem that teachers usually do not talk about but it’s very worrying just as those mentioned earlier.

Most people in rural communities live in abject poverty and it can be very serious to the extent that parents are not able to afford the basic necessities of life.  Parents are mostly not able to afford basic items such as pen, pencils, erasers and books that is needed by their wards. How teachers are able to teach without these basic classroom items remains a miracle. The level of poverty I have seen in some rural communities is one that I never envisaged. In fact I wouldn’t wish such level of poverty to my enemies. It is that bad!!

Some teachers do take the initiative to support some of the pupils they teach but the question is how far can they go? The number of pupils in this economic situation is just overwhelming to think of supporting each and every one. How emotionally draining could that be – willing to support but unable to do so.

In my more than five years of teaching in a rural community, I have come to really understand the sort of emotional pain teachers go through watching these innocent and poor pupils. These kids, due to poverty may not even make it to high school. It appears the future of these kids have been defined from the very day they were born into these rural communities. Poverty has been their “better half”

It is very devastating and emotionally difficult to watch on helpless. Education is a right but for these young ones it has become a privilege.

As a teacher I do not see anything more painful than watching pupils miss out on quality education and not being able to help. It has become very difficult for most teachers watching on whiles the futures of young and innocent kids are seemingly crushing in poverty. Their potentials and talents appears to be going down the drain.

We know exactly what to do to change the fortunes of these rural kids but do we see any light at the end of the tunnel? Your guess may be good as mine…

Teachers in rural communities have become witnesses of naked poverty and things have to change!

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