Future Leaders School

State Education in Ghana is free of charge, however the costs of the basic equipment needed for a child to attend school – registration fees, uniform, shoes, books and stationery – are not free, meaning that education is out of reach for many families living in poverty.

FUTURE LEADERS SCHOOL – HISTORY

Future Leaders school was originally known as the UCC (Underprivileged Children’s Centre) and was founded 22 years
ago by the late Billa Mahmud.

Billa grew up in Labadi and although he was not from a privileged background, he did get the opportunity to go to school and onto Higher Education, it was here that he noticed how many children he would see each day who were not in school. Every day after work he would gather the children from the streets underneath a Mango tree and teach them basic English and Maths. He would use the money that he earnt each day to make sure they each had an exercise book,
pencil and eraser so they had no excuses not to attend his classes. What started with five children quickly grew and a few years later Billa was a full-time teacher with a school full of children who couldn’t wait to be educated.

As the students outgrew the Mango tree, Billa moved to Teshie where he rented an apartment that could be used as the school building and the school grew to a primary school with 161 students all from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In December 2016 Billa sadly passed away leaving behind the Legacy he had built. The school was evicted from the rented apartment in Teshie in 2017. Akwaaba Volunteers fundraised and built the new wooden structure for the school and 3 toilets so that the students
would not miss out on their education. Construction of the first phase of the new school building was completed in 2019. The new school building has almost doubled the impact the school can have with space for 30 children per classroom and there are currently 300 students enrolled from Nursery to Year 9.

ABOUT FUTURE LEADERS SCHOOL

Children enrolled: 300
Age range: 4 to 18 (many students started school late so Year 6 students can be up to 18)
Classrooms: 16
Children per class: 30
Teachers: 12
Other staff: 3 Cooks and 1 School bus driver

• Future Leaders not only gives the children a free education, they provide books, uniforms, transport to and from school and two meals each day so no child goes hungry.
• The school continues to support every child throughout higher and tertiary education so they can reach their full academic potential and helps prevent young children (particularly girls) from dropping out of school.
• The school is currently supported by Akwaaba Volunteers who provide additional funds and teaching through their established volunteer programme.

VOLUNTEERS

This is one of Akwaaba Volunteers most popular and rewarding volunteering projects. Join us as a teaching volunteer and help provide children from disadvantaged backgrounds with the education they deserve.