Ride to Learn, Adaklu, Ghana
This project is written for kids and families to explore together. Read it out loud, look at the images, ask questions, and let it lead to a conversation about the world — and what your family can do to help!
Where in the world is Adaklu?
Adaklu is a small community in the country of Ghana, on the continent of Africa. If you live near San Francisco, you’d have to fly for almost 16 hours to get there — crossing the entire United States and then the whole Atlantic Ocean! Ghana is so far away that when you’re eating breakfast, kids in Adaklu are already getting ready for bed. They are 8 hours ahead of California time.
What time is it now where you are, and what times is it in Adaklu?
What Does Adaklu Look Like?
Adaklu isn’t a city — it’s a group of 107 small villages built around the Adaklu Mountains. There are red dirt roads connecting the villages, rivers winding through the land, and farms everywhere you look. It’s warm and green all year long.
Is the weather the same all year long where you live? Or, does the weather change with the seasons?
How Do Families Make Money?
Almost every family in Adaklu is a farming family. They grow yams, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, and cassava (which is what the woman in the picture is harvesting). Some families also raise goats, sheep, and cows, and some keep bees to make honey. Many moms sell food and handmade crafts at local markets to help support their families.
What do your parents do to make money for your family?
What Do Kids Eat?
Breakfast in Adaklu is usually a warm bowl of koko — a creamy hot cereal made from corn, a little bit like oatmeal. For lunch and dinner, kids often eat akple, which is a soft ball of cornflour that you dip into soup. They also eat okra soup (like in this picture), sometimes with fish or crab in it. A favorite snack is nkatie cake — a sweet, crunchy peanut candy bar similar to peanut brittle.
What do you usually eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? What is your favorite snack?
What About Water?
Families walk for 30 minutes, sometimes two or three times a day, to collect water from nearby streams. The water is used for everything - washing clothes, bathing, cooking, and drinking. Children learn to balance large bowls and containers filled with water on their heads. This is how they carry the water home - it is very hard work!
How do you get water for bathing and drinking? Do you have clean water in your home?
What is School Like?
Kids in Adaklu go to school to learn reading, writing, and math — just like you. The school that the kids in this project travel to is called the Friends of Adaklu Good Life Centre. It’s run by the Friends of Adaklu, a group of volunteers who work very hard to make life better for families in the area.
Kids in this part of Ghana speak a language called Ewe (say it like “EH-veh”). Ghana has over 80 different languages spoken across the country!
What language do you speak? Do you know anyone who speaks a different language?
The Trek to School
In Adaklu, most families cannot afford to have a car. Many students who attend the Good Life Centre wake up early and walk for an hour all the way down the mountain.
Then, they have to walk along a busy road with cars, trucks, and motorbikes passing by. It is a long and hard voyage!
By the time they finally arrive at school, they are tired, sometimes sweaty, and have to sit down and start learning right away.
This is a journey that bikes and helmets can make so much easier! With a bicycle and a helmet, these kids can have a much faster and safer trip to and from school. But bikes and helmets cost money, and most children in Adaklu cannot afford them.
How do you get to and from school every day?
How You Can Help
While some children in Adaklu (like those in these photos) have already received their bikes and helmets, many kids still need them. You and your family can donate any amount of money — big or small — to help buy bikes and helmets for these children. Every dollar goes directly toward making their journey to school easier, faster, and safer.
When you’re ready, tap the button below to donate!
Talk about it together!
Giving is just the beginning. Here are some questions to explore together after you read — and after you give.
- How do you think the kids in Adaklu feel when they start their journey to school each day?
- How do you think a child in Adaklu will feel when they receive a brand new bike and helmet?
- How does it feel to know that we helped make that happen by donating some money?
- Is there anything that we read about life in Adaklu that surprised you?
- How do you think your life is different from the lives of the kids in Adaklu?
- Why do you think it’s important to give? What does giving to others mean to you?
