About Friends of Adaklu

Partnership, not handouts, rooted in Adaklu

We work alongside local leaders, teachers, and families in the Volta Region—volunteer-led, with no paid staff.

Our mission

Fill the basket together

Friends of Adaklu backs education, digital access, and youth programs in Adaklu—shaped by the people who live there, not by outsiders with a fixed plan.

We listen first. Then we help with what villages ask for: scholarships, school supplies, after-school programs, teacher support, and computer skills that open doors.

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

Started in one village, growing outward

FOA started when volunteers in Ghana and abroad noticed the same thing: bright kids in rural Adaklu with too few books, computers, or after-school options—while teachers and parents were already doing a lot with very little.

Instead of another top-down charity, they built a bridge between diaspora supporters, skilled volunteers, and community leaders. Early work was scholarships and supplies; later came computer classes and programs like Dawanu.

Today we work from the Good Life Centre area on the Ho Adidome Road, with schools and groups across the Volta Region. Each year we reach more students and equip more teachers—and more families trust that their children's futures are worth backing.

Vision & values

A Volta Region where every child belongs

Rural kids deserve the same shot at school and skills as kids in the cities—and local leaders should be the ones steering that work.

Our vision

Adaklu communities that can stand on their own—where children, especially girls and kids who are often left behind, finish school, pick up digital skills, and come back to invest 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.

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Community volunteers