College is a critical junction in the transition from child to adult. It’s a time when students learn to manage their own budgets and begin to understand what “cost of living” is all about. In Ghana, few students work during the school year. The job market is competitive, and much of the labor market remains informal. As a result, parents scrimp and save to get their kids through school. Sometimes, it’s just not possible to pull the fees together according to the timeline a school puts in place. But just like anywhere else, parents here feel invested in their child’s education – wanting to ensure their kids maximize opportunities by attending the best schools possible.
Recently, Stephanie and I held a focus group with a group of business clients from one of our Ghanaian partners, Opportunity International. Leaving the confines of our modern office we walked a short way to a local church where about 25 people had gathered. As we began to discuss the possibility of how Vittana might work for this community, the church began to fill with traders from throughout the community. Over the next two hours we heard over and over about the dreams these parents had for their children – visions of future doctors and politicians, lawyers and accountants. After a question that drew a number of responses, our translator turned to us and said simply, “None of them want their children to do what they do.”
During the meeting
How many parents have felt this sentiment – this almost palpable desire that one’s offspring should benefit from the blood, sweat and tears of the only work they had the option to do? That the backbreaking mornings and nights of carrying goods sold for pennies will be worth it if their offspring can get the education they didn’t have access to? We know from many stories (and research) that microfinance has helped countless people move beyond earning just enough to get through the day. Standing in front of these microfinance participants and seeing how quickly they understood its potential for their children was an incredible testament to this model. These are people whose livelihoods continue to grow because they’ve been offered affordable credit and capital to build upon. How might their children use the same tools in their education? The opportunities feel almost endless.
As we move forward in our planning to create student loans in Ghana, I will keep the faces of these parents firmly in my mind. Each student we serve holds the potential to make their family proud by taking advantage of their education – whatever they choose to study. It’s easy to see how these students will eventually reinvest their incomes into the education of other family members and children – continuing the cycle of opportunity so often rooted first and foremost in gaining access to higher education.
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