CONVERSATIONS EPISODE 1: PART 2

With Elizabeth Patterson, Founder of Girls Education Initiative of Ghana (GEIG)

Part two of this conversation with Elizabeth Patterson, the Founder & ED of Girls Education Initiative of Ghana, concludes our riveting discussion around community development and engagement. Elizabeth shared her candid perspective and experiences on them, drawing from her decade’s experience within the nonprofit sector. From the importance of funding to the importance of education for girls and inclusion of those with disabilities to how culture, race and hierarchy play a role, this nuanced conversation provided powerful insights that are beneficial for both the nonprofit and philanthropic space at large. You can find more details about her work in the bio below. Much like the aim of this series, we hope this meaningful conversation adds to the existing catalog of what it means to do community work that truly makes a difference. We also hope that it’ll drive change within donor communities and enable them to understand the importance of funding and extending resources to those who often don’t get access to the needed resources to fulfill the mission and vision of their work.

To learn more about Girls Education Initiative of Ghana, visit them here: GEIG.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Ophelia Akanjo (OA): I think it's such an interesting concept because everywhere I go, when people find out that I'm Ghanaian, I feel like the first thing that they associate with me is, oh, Ghanaians are so hospitable and very communal. They're so nice. They're so kind. Right. And so that position of like, oh, I would rather support the people that I know, versus the community at large is definitely very interesting to me.

Elizabeth Patterson (EP): The thing is, as Ghanaians, I've been grappling with this lately. Like our literacy program [has] partnered with some libraries in various communities in the Greater Accra region and the Ashanti region. We're trying to transition to become a social enterprise. So, we told the kids and their families to pay a small fee for coming to use the library services. As a partner, at the end of every month, they're going to allocate a bit of their water bill and electricity bill to us being there three times a week. So, we asked these families to pay a little bit so the kids could come in there for the sessions. And it's becoming combative at this point. We had so many kids register for our sessions, but they're not showing up. Why? Because they think the fee is too high. And we, as a people, I was telling the team yesterday in our meeting that I'm sure if there was a funeral this weekend, somehow the mom would find the funds somewhere to buy a funeral cloth. Right. And then once she goes, she'll be able to also give a little bit to the deceased family. It’s like we don't prioritize certain things. We'd rather invest in the deceased than the living. I don't know what it is that we as a people don't understand or don't get. 

OA: Ghanaians have a very interesting sense of priority. It's the same way that I find things like weddings. Big weddings. And it seems like supporting other things like community work is much harder for us.

EP: It's been something else going to corporations here in Ghana if you don't know the right people. I don't know what It is about us that we would rather celebrate somebody who's passed than the living, especially the children.

OA: Do you find this work fulfilling for you? And what are some of the challenges in doing this work?

EP: Yes, I think I mentioned earlier that I'm a public servant and so I live to be of service to people, the community that I'm from, and Ghana, my country of birth. So, it's fulfilling. I like to see the students that we recruited from class sixth or sixth grade go all the way now to university, doing well in university or graduating from university. To me, that's the reason why it's fulfilling. It’s the reason why I've relocated here in Ghana and then in the States. So, it's fulfilling. I don't think I would want to be doing anything else professionally. But when I had kids, everything changed. For the longest time I wasn’t paying myself. I still don't really pay myself. I just take a living wage. It's not enough to pay someone who works as much as I do. But when you have a family It's not just for you. It's also about them. I need to put something away every now and then to make sure that they're fine. So, it's fulfilling in the sense that I'm doing something that I'm really passionate about. Nobody goes into nonprofit work to make money. At least I didn't go to nonprofit work to make money. So financially, no. But feeling like I'm living my purpose, 200% yes. Although it's exhausting and tiring. As for challenges, I already mentioned funding right. In the nearly 10 years that we've been doing this, we've received only two grants. It's not because we haven't been applying. It’s like you mentioned the hierarchy. A hierarchy of folks who are competing for the same resources. We're not new but we're a small organization and we're competing with a lot of other people and other organizations doing this kind of work. So that's the biggest challenge, being a little fish in a big pond. I know that we're making a lot of impact, but we don't have enough. We rely heavily on volunteer support so if they feel like moving onto the next thing, they can move on to the next thing.

EP: I feel like at times the communities that we serve don't really see the value of the work that we're doing. Just earlier today, I was on a call having a meeting with some of our volunteers for our community reading project, and they were talking about how they'll go to the schools or to the community libraries that we partner with, and things that they're facing is, parents are not allowing their kids to stay after school for maybe an hour or two extra just because they feel like the kids will be better off coming at to the house. Especially the females, like coming home to help with the cooking and the household duties. So, participation is kind of low. I mean there are nonprofits everywhere, but folks don't really appreciate the work of a nonprofit. I don't have all the support so it's tough getting people to actually have the buy-in to the work and commit to the work that we're trying to do so they can also see some kind of impact and difference in their lives trickle down to the community.

OA: Following question, what are some of the changes that you would like to make within community development work whether it be in the context of just Ghana or across the world?

EP: So GEIG supports or advocates for inclusive education. And that means that if a person has a special need or disability, that they're also included or mainstreamed into the classroom setting. I would like to see more of that mainstreaming happening because we have a handful of students who with our support, have been able to be diagnosed for dyslexia and dyscalculia, and then like when you take the reports back to the schools, you're being looked at as if you have three heads. They don't have the right support. I know there's a lot of talk of inclusive education now within Ghanaian education systems and that kind of thing, but I remember when our first student got the diagnosis and we went to the school to present the results, the headmaster said to us, oh, or she's dumb. She's just not trying. But it's like, no, not for lack of trying. Here's the medical report. That's like backing. Like the fact that she's trying and still underperforming. Here's medical evidence and the medical reports backing it, and yet there was insistence that she's just not trying. She's not trying. So, I would like to see more of that within the education system here in Ghana. And comparatively, I did some research in South Africa before I moved to Ghana to do this work also on inclusive education. And I don't know if South Africa, I mean, it's not reflective of the entire continent, I haven't been everywhere but in South Africa also, it was like the kids who had learning issues or disabilities were marginalized.

EP: When I taught in the US, I remember that it was me in front of the class and then there was another teacher on the side, like doing the push in and pull out with certain students. And that's when my eyes opened to what a mainstream inclusive educational environment could be. I remember I went to the school’s principal, and I was like, every time I'm teaching third period English, this woman just shows up and I don't know what her purpose is. And she was like she works with, I forget the girl's name, one of my students. When she pulls up a seat next to her and I thought initially she was just feeding her the answers. But she was explaining everything that was going on, she was re-explaining it to her. And that student was an ESL student. She was Spanish speaking, and she needed that additional support. And then there were other students that at times they would pull them out of the classroom. And that also my little brain at that time, I didn’t understand. I thought they interrupted my class. What's going on? So, I went through trainings on special education and how to create a more inclusive environment. So, I would like to see that mirrored here in Ghana.

OA: Thank you for that. Those are some really good points. Absolutely. And I think that oftentimes when you are not faced with that reality of having a  “limitation” within the normal sphere of things, you don't really think about other people in that way, and you don't think about what others are facing. But I think this is really good. This is a good vision and I hope that Ghana is able to be inclusive in this way.

OA: What would you say are some of the qualities or strengths that have helped you in doing this work?

EP: I would say I'm passionate about why I, anyway it's not about me anymore, but I'm really committed to why I started this organization. The fact that it stems from my personal story and the way in which education has been transformational in my personal life and in the lives of students that I've taught, and students who have interacted with people in our community. I think that always grounds me and keeps me passionate to want to see that change and that kind of transformation in a person's life. That and naturally, I don't give up. When I was coming to Ghana, I had a three-year plan of where I wanted this organization to be. And I was like, if it doesn't look like this, I might as well just quit and move back to the States. But three years came and then I was pushed by a board member to give it another three years. It looked almost like what my plan was. We had a board, we had students in school, we had programs, but we didn't have money to keep going. So, I was advised to just keep at it. What's that saying? If you build it, it will come. Right. So just keep at it, keep pushing and then something will happen. Three years, six years and now nine years, almost 10. I'm still here. So, I want to see, I don't want to sound corny, but the dream come full circle. I want to see some of our girls have already graduated from college, but I want to see the first cohort, like the first 15 girls that we started with this year, they'll be all graduating from college with the exception of one who dropped out along the way. But this year all 15 girls ideally should have graduated from college. And then next year our second cohort should all be in university or some sort of higher education.

OA: That's amazing. You're doing marvelous work and you stuck around for the long haul. It's a big deal, you know.

EP: I don’t fully remember, but I think I read something that the lifespan of a nonprofit in Ghana is like two years max.

OA: Funding plays a huge part, I believe. And for me, I think also just starting out with this program, it's kind of a worry of mine. I would love to see this be 10 years like yours, but I think about the funding and I'm like, oh gosh, life is already not so easy you know?

EP: At some Point you realize I need to eat, right? Like I need to pay my rent. Nonprofit salary is not going to do that.

OA: What do you believe are some resources that the organization or work could benefit from? I know you spoke a little about funding, but are there other things maybe volunteers? You did mention that as well.

EP: So, if we could get access to a grant writer or say a researcher or something of the sort, that would be good because right now I'm still doing a lot of that work. It comes down to human capacity. Volunteers. That's the human capacity. And funding because that's what's going to sustain the organization.

OA: For sure. The capacity building aspect of things.

EP: And then I just remembered since we are doing this literacy project we would like to also solicit if people could donate like books or reading materials. Like I use this with my kids, like not an iPad. Any text to speech kind of devices that would help children learn how to read or like reading games or anything.

OA: That's part of what I'm soliciting also for the campaign. Besides funding, like if people could donate used or new learning materials, that would be great. The following question is, would you say, and I mean, we've talked about this so much, but I guess I could hear more about it. Would you say seeking funding has impacted the scope of your work or how you do the work that you do?

EP: Hmm. It's a job in itself to constantly be looking for funding opportunities and applying and all of that. It's a job in itself. I would say that in spite of the limited funds that we have, we are still able to make tangible and good impact. So, it hasn't really impeded our ability to make an impact, even though I know that if we had more funding, we could do a lot more.

OA: I think it's really impressive that the organization has been able to be sustained with such little funding. I think it speaks to y’all’s dedication, so I really admire that. What are some of the complexities that you often encounter doing work within this space that you feel is often not highlighted enough?

EP: I think I mentioned earlier the paradigm around nonprofit work. I and a friend of mine, a couple of years ago were working on a project together and she said, well, we'll just write a few grants and then we'll get the money and then we could work. People think it's so streamlined and it's easy. The way she said it, she's like, oh, we'll apply for grants, we'll get the money and then we'll work. But that's not how easy it is. There are some people or organizations who I think once you are there, you're there. And no matter what you apply for, you'll get the funding. But unfortunately, we're not there. We are maybe the go-to for some things, but we're not the go-to for people to sponsor us or give us funding. Not yet, but we've been blessed enough to have some individuals who are very much invested in the wellbeing of the organization. That's how we keep up what we're doing, That's number one. It's not easy.

OA: And I'm shaking my head vigorously because I so agree.

EP: A lot of people think that that's the nature of the work.

OA: And in my own experience and, doing research on what kinds of grants to apply to, there are stipulations. I find oftentimes that it's such an interesting thing because it's true, they somehow want you to have a track record of making all of this impact and I think that you mentioned this even before in our conversation earlier, is when you're not big enough, it's not even so much about impact. It's somehow about being big enough and having the name. Somehow, they don't want to sponsor you or better yet they don't even want you to reach out to say that you need funding. They want to be the one to reach out to you so that you can be part of their grantee portfolio. And when I do come across the ones that are open call grants, they have all of these criteria that you can't even qualify for. So, I definitely think that this is a real conversation that needs to be had in this space.

EP: Definitely. Totally agree. Definitely. Like as you said, if you're starting out, how are you going to get the traction or the funds? it's like the saying, I'm forgetting, but it's like, are you going to build your network if you don't start somewhere? Right. It's like your network is your net worth, but if you don't know someone... It's who you know. It’s like If you're coming out like a new college graduate. I don't know anybody. Right. How can I get my foot in if somebody doesn't give me an opportunity?

OA: For sure. And last question, do you find that there are any misconceptions about community development work and building around Africans or black people?

EP: As much as Africa's sexy, Africa is trending now. Like all these celebrities coming into Ghana, the continent, to be here. It feels to me like it's new colonialism, more or less like an iteration of the colonial times. And I was having a conversation with a friend the other day. We were talking about how we need to invest. I was saying things are not owned by us. It feels to me like it's almost equivalent to gentrification in New York. Like you're pushing all these people out. Ghana/Africa is trending these days and I fear there may come a time when Ghanaians/Africans no longer have ownership of the continent.

About Elizabeth Patterson:

Elizabeth Akua-Nyarko Patterson is the Founder and Executive Director of the Girls Education Initiative of Ghana, GEIG. GEIG's mission is to provide academic and financial support for girls including applicants with special needs, so they may access secondary, higher education, and professional opportunities. 

Ms. Patterson holds an MPA, master’s in public administration from NYU Wagner School of Public Service where she specialized in non- profit management. She has a bachelor’s from Caldwell University where she majored in Political Science and Business management.

Prior to her work with GEIG Ms. Patterson served as the Director of Communications and Marketing for The Council of Young African Leaders, CYAL and communications and marketing associate at Junior Achievement of New York, JA- New York. 

Ms. Patterson is the 2014 ReconnectGH-Education Entrepreneur, presented in 2015 at Tedex Accra, was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community- Kumasi Hub from 2014-2015, and the 2015 Vlisco Brand Ambassador for Ghana. Ms. Patterson is an alumnus of the Young African Leadership Initiative- Regional Leadership Center- Accra, and the 2017 humanitarian of the year as recognized by the Ecclesiastical Bishops and Leaders Conference of Africa. She is an Acumen 2022 West Africa fellow.