Since Araba Amuasi ‘07, was hired as COO of the Village of Hope, 100% of her students have passed the middle school entrance exam with distinction. Not so many years ago, 100% of students failed the same exam.

Araba graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Computer Science from Ashesi and turned down lucrative job offers in the software industry to become Chief Operations Officer of the Village of Hope orphanage. Over the past few years, she has been leading an overhaul of the curriculum at the orphanage’s school which also serves the surrounding communities. Through the efforts of the Village of Hope team, 100% of the school’s students have passed the most recent middle school entrance exam with distinction. This is a big accomplishment in a community where, in past years, a significant number of students failed the same exam. One day she hopes to lead a transformation of the primary education system across Ghana.

At Ashesi, Araba chose the Village of Hope Orphanage for her required community service. Now, she wants to challenge the orphanage children to think critically and to gain solid skills for a strong future. Araba has introduced computer education to the orphanage curriculum, including basic programming to help the children develop logical reasoning skills. She is already recruiting Ashesi
student volunteers to help.

“If this continent is to be salvaged, we must improve our primary education system. I want to be a part of building a new Ghana, where children look for the basic concepts underlying the things they study, and not how to commit procedures and facts to memory only to pass an exam,” says Araba.