Greta D. Shepherd COMMUNITY SchoOL
 Severe overcrowding of schools is a major problem in Ghana, a nation on the west coast of Africa home to over 20 million people. Statistical Services reports that there are often 70 to 150 students in one small classroom. In addition, throughout the country, there are severe shortages of textbooks, furniture, and teachers. In many schools, there is no electricity, running water or toilets, and libraries are virtually non-existent.
This is the case in the Anyaa village, located near Ghana’s capitol Accra, where hundreds of students gather for school each day in a small partially constructed building, missing walls, roofing and floors with no electricity, running water or even bathrooms. The school consists of 6 small classrooms with over eighty children crammed in each classroom with one teacher – an 80:1 student to teacher ratio. There is very little furniture and a shortage of basic school supplies.
In 2002, ESI’s leadership and volunteers toured this school and witnessed firsthand the deplorable conditions that existed. They also had the opportunity to meet the remarkable, vibrant children filled with an eagerness to learn that attend this facility.
ESI’s leadership and volunteers saw the critical need for a new facility. ESI embraced this project and made a commitment to the children and the community of Anyaa to build a new school – ESI’s largest project to date.
 The new facility, scheduled for completion in May 2009, will provide the children in the Anyaa village with a clean, safe, caring environment conducive to learning. The new school will feature:
- 12 large classrooms complete with desks, chairs and supplies
- A library and health room
- State-of-the-art computer lab
- 2 large restrooms
- 2 offices and a supply room
- Electricity and air conditioning
The new school will be named the Greta D. Shepherd Community School in honor of a remarkable, life-long educator who created thousands of positive futures for both children and adults throughout the District of Columbia and New Jersey for nearly five decades.
 In addition to providing the new building, ESI will provide ongoing support and training for teachers, school supplies for students, and other tools needed to guarantee that the children of Anyaa have access to a quality education and the skills needed to rise out of poverty and create positive futures for themselves, their community and for future generations.
If you would like to make a significant difference in the lives of children in the Anyaa village, please click here for a list of Greta D. Shepherd Community School Giving Opportunities.
For more information on the Greta D. Shepherd Community School Project, please contact Reverend Ernest Lyles at EDLyles@CreateAPostiveFuture.org or call 202.562.1874. Create a positive future today! Click here to make your gift. 
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