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Newmont Ghana Launches Literacy Program in Response to COVID-19 School Closures

December 18, 2020

As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, elementary schools in Ghana have been closed since March 2020, disrupting the education of many children. For some, due to limited access to digital devices and the internet, virtual learning has not been an option.

As part of Newmont’s Global Community Support Fund, and through the Gold-4-Gold Reading Program (an initiative launched in 2019 that drives literacy among children in grades 1–3), Newmont Ghana rolled out a reading program in partnership with United Way Ghana and the Ghana Library Authority. The reading program was designed to minimize the educational impacts of COVID-19 on children in the Ayawaso District of Accra, Ghana.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the education of many children in our communities without alternative learning platforms. We are happy to see that through the Gold-4-Gold Program, children can still learn to read and develop their skills for a brighter future,” says Adiki Ayitevie, Vice President, Sustainability & External Relations at Newmont Corporation.

Newmont launched a six-week home literacy program that benefited 200 children in grades 1–3. Twice a week, volunteers meet with small groups of children from schools in their communities to teach them how to read through fun and educative literacy activities. The program is also piloting the use of the KitKit interactive virtual learning app. Reading assessments to evaluate the program’s impact and students’ progress were conducted at the start of the reading program, and the readers will also be reassessed after the project.

This event is in partnership with Newmont’s Women and Allies Business Resource Group’s Read to Inspire program, which aims to improve literacy in host communities and makes a difference through book donation and reading events like this one.

Newmont is committed to the health, safety and overall wellbeing of our workforce and communities. “As a company dedicated to promoting sustainable development, we believe that education is the cornerstone for progress. By investing in reading, we are also investing in the growth of our communities and nation,” says Ayitevie.

Visit the Newmont Global Community Support Fund to learn about the ways that Newmont is helping host communities, governments and employees combat the COVID-19 pandemic all around the world.