PROJECTS
Teaching Children Valuable Skills:
Naa PaulAisha Eco-Village Vocational School
Our mission is to provide local children with a practical education in literacy, language, and trade skills in a creative and encouraging environment. Education, designed with a deep understanding of the contexts within which our village children live, will help them gain the skills they need to break the cycle of poverty. With the help of our donors and volunteers, we can provide a safe and healthy environment for them to grow and learn, feeling empowered to create a better life for themselves and their families with practical skills and tools. Our goal is for the school to not have turn any child away.
We want the school to teach children reading, writing, math, and English as well as sewing and hand crafts, for ages 12-18. These skills will help give the students the tools for them to be able to access opportunities and help themselves.
Also, the children will learn how to garden so that they can grow food to eat or sell. We have plenty of land and it can serve as a way to teach more valuable lessons in nutrition, horticulture, and science. The garden will provide healthy nutritious food to combat the present food insecurity that contributes to suffering. Lack of food leads to health problems as well as interpersonal and community conflicts, so this school garden can help. Working in the garden can also empower the students and provide them with future vocational options, while increasing their feeling of belonging and ownership at the school for their education and life.
Due to responsibilities concerning cooking and caring for younger siblings while their mothers work, it is challenging for older children in the area, especially girls, to attend and complete secondary school. By providing an opportunity to learn valuable skills and to do so in a way that their families see the potential short- and long-term benefits of learning trade skills and growing much-needed food, we can increase motivation to attend classes and decrease drop-outs.
We plan to integrate after school recreation activities to provide the children with a space to play music, dance, sing and listen to stories to help them feel inspired and happy to be at the school. We believe it is very important to keep these creative and important cultural traditions alive and growing. We want the children to be able to feel safe to be children and enjoy themselves.
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Support
Educate
Empower
Long-Standing Projects
Supporting
Working Mothers:
Handcrafted, Fair-Trade, Organic Shea Butter
A source of income and revenue for Princess Aisha and her humanitarian activities in Ghana is her Shea butter products. Shea trees grow wild locally near her home village and around Tamale. These have been an integral part of daily life in the area for countless generations and dating back to ancient Egypt.
Women are traditionally the agricultural workers in the area and the Shea fruit pickers are mainly working mothers. They travel far by foot and work long hours picking Shea fruit and nuts in the harsh bush land. Princess Aisha knows these women personally and works to bring donations of clothing and supplies to them and their children when she can, while paying fairly for the organic Shea fruit and nuts that they harvest.
These intensely hardworking mothers usually must leave their children behind while they go to the bush. They were part of our inspiration for wanting to build a school to provide education, childcare, and support for these families. Her customers' purchases of Princess Aisha's products have been contributing to the community and livelihoods of these women for decades.
Princess Aisha uses her ancestral training and knowledge to keep the tradition of healing Shea butter alive and helping people in the USA as well.
A portion of the profits goes to the school in addition to its contribution to the local economy and working mothers' incomes. You can find Princess Aisha at many San Francisco and North Bay Farmers' Markets, or you can buy her handcrafted, organic and traditionally made Shea butter at her online shop or at Paul's shop.
Princess Aisha's Online Shop:
www.princessaishasheabutter.com
Some limited supplies are available for local pick-up at Paul's repair shop:
Heynneman European
3155 Kerner Blvd
San Rafael, CA 94901
415-499-1234
Supporting Traditional Artisans
Drums, Basket Weaving, and Textiles
Princess Aisha sells high quality, fair-trade handcrafted drums, baskets, and textiles from Northern Ghanaian artisans. This both helps support local artisans as well as keeping the ancient traditions alive and growing. Simultaneously, a portion of profits go right back into building the school.
Due to the sensitive nature of the instruments, Princess Aisha prefers to sell her drums in person at her local farmers' markets and at her studio in San Rafael, CA by appointment.
You can follow her schedule on her Facebook Business Page or contact her by email at asibri@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/princessaishasheabutter
CleanWater
We are working to build a well on our land close to the school site so that even before the school is built, there can be a source of clean drinking water accessible to the local community. Water scarcity is a serious issue in the area and access to clean water is a huge challenge. Women and girls often walk for miles carrying large buckets of water to bring home. We are excited for this project because of the impact that just having clean water can have on health and well-being as well as freeing up time and energy for other important activities beyond basic survival needs.
