Singer, dancer and TV personality Kimberly Wyatt recently had an inspiring visit to Ghana, to see how some of the money raised by schools and the public from this year’s Red Nose Day, £10million of which was match funded by the UK Government, is building brighter futures for children across Africa.
Following her recent Celebrity Masterchef win, Kimberly visited schools and families that are benefiting from the work of the Sabre Trust, a project that is training kindergarten teachers to use interactive activities in class, transforming the way children are taught. In Ghana, almost half of all kindergarten teachers have not had formal training, and more than 355,000 four and five year olds are not in school.
Kimberly, who hadn’t been away from 10 month old daughter Willow for longer than a few days, said: “This was truly a life changing experience. Seeing the excitement and joy on the children’s faces as they answered questions was so inspiring and made me think about my own baby girl’s learning and development. Meeting the children’s parents and hearing about the difference teaching has made in their home lives also shows how it doesn’t just enable these kids to read and write, but helps give them the best possible start in life so they can make a positive difference in their communities for years to come.”
International Development Secretary Justine Greening, said: "The way children are taught in their early years provides a foundation for the rest of their lives. A positive school environment engages young children, helping give them the skills and knowledge they need to get the most from their education.
“By matching £10 million of public donations to this year’s Red Nose Day, including all of the money raised by children in UK schools, we will support Sabre Trust’s fast-track teacher training work so thousands more school children across Ghana can benefit from this high-energy, innovative approach.”
Red Nose Day 2015 raised over £95 million, which will be spent to help vulnerable and disadvantaged people in some of the poorest communities around the world. This includes £10 million provided by the UK government, which included doubling all of the money raised by schools across the UK, so that twice as many children could gain access to essential learning. The Sabre Trust project is one of many putting that cash to work, improving the quality of education across Africa and building brighter futures for thousands of children.
