The Schoerke Foundation

The Schoerke Foundation is the brainchild of two individuals who are dedicated to improving the world by supporting the education of children in Ghana. In 2004 Kwesi Koomson and his wife Melissa (both teachers at Westtown School in Westtown, PA), returned to the village where Kwesi grew up in Ghana to start a primary school. They ended up openning two schools (Heritage Academy) that year and founding the Schoerke Foundation to help fund the schools and provide scholarships for students to ensure their ability to attend school. The Schoerke Foundation, and the two schools it now supports, has grown along with the student bodies of these schools (There are currently 900 students enrolled). The number of scholarships to support secondary education has also increased tremendously and now 90% of their graduates go on to pursue a secondary education at other schools. This year 14 classrooms are being added to Heritage Academy, 6 of which will house the new secondary school to be opened in the fall of 2011. Here in the U.S. the foundation also works to educate people about the need for education in Ghana and Africa in general. In the summer they give grants to American students to travel to Ghana to teach alongside Heritage Academy graduates for several weeks. While the foundation is small it is having a tremendous impact on the students it supports. An education can change everything for children, their families, and their country and the Schoerke Foundation is making this education possible.