In Ghana high school is not free. In fact, each child who enrolls pays roughly $130 per term (three months) to attend school. Contrast that with an average national earned income of about $50 per month.
Isaac, one of Chelsea’s students, weaves kente cloth to pay for his school fees because his parents cannot afford to send him to high school. Kente weaving is a beautiful local tradition that uses cross weaving and vibrant threads to make unique patterns for which the Asante people of Ghana are world renowned (see the slideshow on the sidebar of this blog). Each cloth that Isaac sells usually measures about 6 feet in length and 6 inches in width.
Luckily, thanks to a generous donation, Isaac has received enough seed money to start weaving 10 kente clothes, which when he sells them will easily pay for this school term. The cloths can be used as scarves, graduation leis, or home decorations. Kente is usually wooven with yellow, black, red, and green thread, but special color requests can be made by clicking on "Add special instructions to the seller" after clicking the Buy Now button below.
If you would like to purchase one of Isaac’s cloths please donate a minimum of $10 (Bronze) or a maximum of $50 (Gold) to the PayPal link below. All money will be used to pay for Isaac’s school fees now and in the future (he wants to be a doctor). For Silver and Gold buyers shipping is included in the price; for Bronze Chels and I will deliver it when we return to the States in June. Remember, there are only 10 clothes available for now, so buy as soon as possible.
Depending on how this goes, Chels and I would like to set up LONG TERM kente weaving opportunities for Isaac and other students as a way of facilitating their LONG TERM financial independence.
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