About Friends of Adaklu

Partnership, not handouts — rooted in Adaklu

We are a volunteer-led organization working alongside local leaders, teachers, and families so every child in the Volta Region can learn, grow, and thrive.

Our mission

Fill the basket together

Friends of Adaklu exists to strengthen education, digital access, and youth enrichment in Adaklu and surrounding communities — through practical programs shaped by the people who live there.

We do not impose solutions from afar. We listen, co-design, and resource what local partners identify as most needed: scholarships, school supplies, after-school enrichment, teacher support, and technology skills that open doors for the next generation.

Children learning together in a community setting

“When many hands contribute, the basket fills — and everyone is nourished.”

— Guiding principle of FOA

What we do

A different kind of NGO

FOA is a different kind of NGO. Instead of popping in and popping out — providing a single service (like digging wells or building latrines), FOA stays put to help the people of Adaklu ensure the success of their projects and dreams. Small and tightly focused, we work village-by-village, slowly growing outwards from our home village of Adaklu Dawanu.

Our ambassadors are the people we have helped, encouraged and educated. Because they are proud of their accomplishments they are happy to share what they have learned with other communities. This approach builds confident, strong, proud communities who believe in their own abilities, resilience, and resourcefulness.

How it works

A hand up, not a handout

We want FOA to be a testament to perseverance, ingenuity, and the humanity that binds us all.

Everyone at FOA is a volunteer, so every penny raised goes into the communities of Adaklu. There are no salaries and no administrative costs. Why? Because we are devoted to improving the lives of the people of the Adaklu region of eastern Ghana — one of the poorest and most resource-challenged areas of the world — because our hearts are in it, and because we know that a single person can make a difference. And what a difference we have made!

FOA is proud to help communities build bright futures for themselves. We work with them, and their leaders, to resolve the issues that stop people from arriving at self-reliant, sustainable solutions. We offer a hand up, not a handout. We do that by providing tools, supplies, skills, expertise, information, negotiation, organizational support, and advocacy. We also partner with international aid organizations to share their expertise and resources.

Over the last 12 years, FOA has gained the trust and confidence of the people of Adaklu. They know we will help them achieve their goals and that we have their well-being at heart. They know we will be there to help them work through problems and come up with the resources they need to make their projects successful.

All FOA's projects are social enterprises. That means they are sustainable and foster self-reliance and entrepreneurship.

Our story

From one village to a regional movement

Friends of Adaklu began when volunteers in Ghana and abroad saw the same gap: talented young people in rural Adaklu with limited access to books, computers, and after-school opportunities — while local teachers and parents were already doing extraordinary work with very little.

Rather than starting another top-down charity, founders built FOA as a bridge — connecting diaspora supporters, skilled volunteers, and community leaders around programs that respect Adaklu’s culture and priorities. Early efforts focused on school supplies and scholarships; over time, digital literacy labs and enrichment programs like Dawanu expanded what “education” could mean beyond the classroom.

Today, FOA operates from the Good Life Centre area along the Ho Adidome Road, partnering with schools and community groups across the Volta Region. Every program year adds capacity — more students reached, more teachers equipped, and more families confident that their children’s futures are worth investing in.

Vision & values

A Volta Region where every child belongs

We envision communities where rural youth have the same educational footing as their peers in cities — and where local leadership drives lasting change.

Our vision

Thriving, self-reliant Adaklu communities where children — especially girls and underserved youth — complete school, gain digital skills, and become leaders who reinvest in their hometowns.

Community-led

Programs are designed with local input, not imposed from outside.

Transparency

Supporters see where resources go and what outcomes are achieved.

Equity

We prioritise girls, rural students, and those furthest from opportunity.

Sustainability

We build local capacity so impact continues beyond any single grant.

Our team

People behind the programs

FOA is powered by volunteers, board members, and community coordinators in Ghana and abroad — united by a shared commitment to Adaklu.

Kinglsey Elorm kwaku leh

Kinglsey Elorm kwaku leh

FOA Computer & Coding Instructor, Learning Upgrade

Amazing FOA Computer and Coding Instructor and Adaklu Dawanu Basic School 6th Grade Teacher, Kingsley Elorm Kwaku Leh....

Robert Tornu

Robert Tornu

FOA Director

As FOA's Program and Policy Advisor, Robert embodies true empowerment, measuring success by the impact his efforts have...

Get involved

Join us in filling the basket

Whether you volunteer, donate, or partner with us from abroad — your contribution helps Adaklu youth access education and opportunity.

Call To Action See our programs Questions & email
Community volunteers