The Brightlingsea-based Porridge and Pens charity was founded by Jemma Williams after a trip to Ghana at the age of 18. While volunteering as a teacher, Jemma learnt of the many challenges facing young women, girls and children in the Kumasi region – only 3% of girls in Ghana complete higher education and around 30% of children do not have access to basic education at all. Jemma went on to found the Brightlingsea Academy in Ghana and the Girl Power project.  After a recent trip to Ghana, Jemma explains more about the charity’s work.

It was a time to experience the incredible joy and deep impact of our work in Ghana again. So much has changed since I first set Porridge and Pens up in 2016, and the journey we have embarked on to grow this little charity together is truly remarkable.

My latest trip made me incredibly proud of our work and so very thankful to our supporters who continue to keep nearly 500 children and young people safe and nurtured daily. I wish I could bottle up the pure happiness felt at Brightlingsea Academy and the energy the school pours out each day and mix it with the joy in each student’s smile at the Girl Power Project. Only then can you really understand the true value of every pound ever donated to the children across Porridge and Pens-supported projects.

Let me tell you about two of the students I had conversations with on my trip. Through these small and chance conversations, it is strikingly clear that the young people we work with – like Rhoda and Paulina –  would have had entirely different circumstances without our intervention.

I met Rhoda, who is in Primary Class 4 at the Brightlingsea Academy, walking to school one day. She was yawning and seemed tired but with an edge of eagerness and excitement about her steps. She said she was looking forward to school today because we were visiting one of the tallest peaks in Kumasi. She yawned again, and I asked her why she was so tired. She went on to tell me she sells bunches of bananas after school each night for her mother.

Her large tin bowl, which she carries on her head, is heavy. She aches each evening, making it hard to fall asleep. She makes about 80 pence each evening. When I asked her why she did it, she said, “If I don’t do it, we won’t get any money for eating dinner”. She went on to say she sells every Saturday and Sunday between the hours of 6:30 am and 5 pm, as well as most school nights. No wonder she was so exhausted!

The sad truth is that 13% of our school children are in Rhoda’s situation. Their parents need them to help feed the family on weekends and after school. Without the free food and free education provided by the Brightlingsea Academy, it is almost certain this would be a full-time existence for 9-year-old Rhoda.

Safety Net

Our school offers a safety net for the poorest families to fall on. No doubt, with Rhoda’s fierce determination to do well at school, she will fight the odds against her and make full use of her free place as she progresses from class to class. Hopefully, when the funding is there, we can do more to help our families who feel they have no choice but to engage their young children in work.

Let me also tell you about Paulina, an exceptional young woman who is now one of our Girl Power Graduates. Paulina spent most of her life at our partner orphanage. Growing up, she supported workers feeding abandoned babies and looking after messy toddlers. Although she lived there herself, she described her time at the orphanage more like she was a staff member, although she was only a small girl herself when she first moved into the orphanage. She is probably the most caring person I have ever met, and her love for the children who remain at the orphanage is clear to see.

Newly qualified – Paulina is a product of the Girl Power project

Paulina was granted a place on the Girl Power Scheme some years ago after the orphanage referred her. They had no means of sending her to university but were her biggest advocates. Her dream was to become a midwife. When we met in April, it was tremendous seeing her proudly present her framed midwifery qualification and show it to our Girl Power Director, Claudia. The pure joy seen within Paulina’s smile and the pride coming from Claudia (and me) was something I will never, ever forget. Against all odds, Paulina had been able to change the course of her future through the Girl Power Project.

Girl Power currently has a waiting list of 25 girls like Paulina, and we will continue striving to create more spaces in the months and years ahead.

I said it to myself over 16years ago and again now alongside the incredible team that makes up Porridge and Pens in the UK and Ghana: we will always be here for as many children as we possibly can because every young person deserves a bed to sleep in, two meals a day, and a place at school.

• For more information about Porridge and Pens, and how you can support its work, click here.