Ghanaian women defy odds to get Cambridge degrees

Three women from Ghana who were at risk of dropping out of secondary school due to poverty will finish their master's degrees at the University of Cambridge this week.

Francisca Arhinful, Fadila Issah and Jemimah Mensah studied for the postgraduate qualifications at the university's Faculty of Education.

Issah, 26, said she was the first person in her north Ghanaian community to go to Cambridge and now hoped to "help girls in similar situations realise their dreams".

The trio, who will all receive an MPhil in Education, were supported by Camfed, an education charity for African girls and young women, while their qualifications were funded by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars' Program.

Issah had excellent grades but grew up in Savelugu in northern Ghana, which has one of the country's lowest female school completion rates.

Until 2017, most of the country's high schools were fee-paying, while students from rural areas would have to board, pushing costs up further.

Issah's family could often barely afford food, but her father was determined to send her to school until an accident left him unable to work.

She took on two jobs while at school and her efforts were noticed by a Camfed teacher-mentor, who stepped in to cover fees and costs of books and clothing.

"I felt like I was dreaming. I could stop working and dedicate my time to study," said Issah.

UK-registered Camfed, which was founded in Cambridge and Zimbabwe, tackles poverty and inequality in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi and Ghana through girls' education.

According to Unesco data, four out of every 10 girls in Africa, and less than one tenth of the poorest children, complete secondary school.

Arhinful, 25, grew up in the Ajumako District in Ghana's central region.

When her family could not afford to send her to high school, they arranged for her to be "adopted" by an aunt who could sponsor her education.

Instead, Camfed offered her a scholarship, as well as connecting her to a network of young women from similar backgrounds, known as the Camfed Association.

"It really improved my self-esteem and encouraged me to keep going," she said.

Meanwhile, Mensah, 29, dropped out of school aged 14 to help her mother run the family's only source of income - a catering business.

"I dreamed of going back [to education], but I didn't know when it would happen," she said.

"For people like me, that was normal."

She was able to resume her studies when a free high school opened nearby.

Eventually Mensah, Arhinful and Issah all secured funding for university in Ghana through the charity.

It later guided the women to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars' Program, which covered the full costs of their Cambridge education.

The trio now wish to help girls and women in similar situations, so have trained as Camfed learner guides - peer mentors who deliver a life skills and wellbeing curriculum to girls and boys, with the aim of helping marginalised girls in particular stay in school.

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