In October, 1999 we opened our 2-bedroom home of less than 700 square feet to care for the younger children of the village, ages one to six. We soon organized the childcare activities into HOPE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL. To fund the “school” I have continued to work a full time job as a trainer for Habitat for Humanity International. Since the school’s inception, part of my paycheck has paid for the expenses of the school.
My wife, Jarvis Donkor, runs the school full time and has secured the assistance of other eight (8) teachers. The number of children has grown from 50 to over 150 children in September, 2003, with a growing waiting list. Jarvis and I also have five children of our own under the age of fifteen. The school continues to operate out of the Donkor’s modest home. There is no running water or indoor plumbing. The children are fed lunch, and parents are asked to contribute any amount they can. Contributions from the parents are negligible.
In October 2000, I was brought to the United States as an International Fellow by the International Studies Program at Denver University. While in Denver, Colorado I was able to visit several schools and met with Habitat for Humanity counterparts. Over my four month visit to Denver, I was hosted by different families in the area.
On one occasion, I gave an informal talk to friends of my host families about the Hope International School. Many of our friends in Denver found out that, clearly the school is a local initiative, born out of the local value system and morals of the village, set up to directly meet immediate and compelling needs of the community.
As a result of the above, discussions and presentations made, contributions were made by friends of Denver. That enabled us to start a permanent school building as shown in the attached pictures.
