Tricycles help beat the long walk to school in Ghana

Tricycles are helping children from villages miles away to arrive at school on time and ready to learn.

A Plan tricycle project is helping children from southern Ghana get back on the road to education after they struggled with the 9 mile round-trip walk to school each day.

Many children in the communities of Kodzeto and Dzenyena, particularly those in kindergarten, were simply not able to attend due to the long journey to their school in Hohoe town. Those who did walk often arrived late and were too tired to concentrate on their lessons.

The project, which was planned and implemented with input from the children and their communities, has provided 10 tricycles sponsored by telecom company Zain, giving free transport to 60 children each day.

Boosting attendance

School attendance is now 98 per cent for those children who use the tricycles, and children arrive safely at school, on time and ready to learn. The scheme also provides regular employment for the tricycle riders, who have been given training in child protection and how to drive safely on the road.

One mother, whose daughter uses the scheme, said: "There is no way my 4-year-old child could walk that long distance from Kodzeto to school in Hohoe. I had to take her by paying for transport and this was too expensive. So she did not go to school most days. But now she goes to school every day and I also get time to go to my farm."

On time and alert

A teacher at the school in Hohoe said: “With the kindergarten, when they had no tricycles bringing them, they always came to school very late and some even stopped coming because of the distance.

"The older ones also used to come late because they had to walk at the slow pace of their younger siblings. Some even slept in class during lessons. But now they come to school on time, and they look very alert and active in class."

Find out more about Plan’s work in Ghana.