Clap for Jesus, Inc. was organized by a small group of Atlanta folks in 2006 to help Monsignor Simon Assamoah and his associates construct a 500 student residential high school for boys and girls in the Western Region of Ghana. The mission of this school is to educate future leaders of this region, grounded in Christian principals, who will pursue careers as teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers, priests and religious, farmers and government leaders. Monsignor Simon is the visionary and has inspired supporters in both the US and Ghana.

A little history

Ghana is located on the coast of West Africa and is about the size of the state of Oregon. It was the first nation in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain its independence from Great Britain in 1957. The Western Region is among the poorest in terms of infrastructure. The Diocese of Wiawso is located in the Western Region and was established in 2001 with the Most Reverend Joseph Francis Essien as the Bishop.

The Diocese covers six administrative districts, Wiawso, Bibiani-Anhwiawso, Bekwai, Bia, Juaboso and Aowin-Suaman, with a total land area of 9644 square km. The population is about 620,000, with over 80% Christian. Commercial establishments proudly display faith based names. The name “Clap for Jesus” came from a general merchandise store seen by some Atlanta visitors on the first trip to Ghana.

The Diocese lies within the semi-deciduous belt of Ghana, an area with abundant forest and mineral resources. Average annual rainfall is 125 cm. The high rate of timber logging, gold and bauxite mining, and occasional brush fires pose major environmental threats. The major economic activity is subsistence level agriculture; the main cash crop is cocoa. Trading and transport businesses are relatively small. Craftsman and artisan trades are limited.

Formal education is well registered with significant enrollment in both pre-school and second cycle, however, teacher:pupil ratios and dropout delinquency rates are very high. Social services in the area are underdeveloped. The road network is very poor; about 3% of the roads are paved and roadside facilities are inadequate. The electrical network is significantly improving

Why build a high school?

There are a number of primary and middle schools in the diocese, but only nine high schools. These schools are overcrowded with up to 80 students in a classroom. One has boarding facilities; the rest are community day schools. The quality of basic education is very poor due to inadequate teaching and learning materials, poor management and general education infrastructure.

Thus, the goal of Saint Joseph’s High School is to provide a quality education for the young people of the Diocese so that some students may qualify to attend colleges. These graduates can then come home to help in the development of this region. Young people would like to be agents of change who can bring enormous energy and enthusiasm to the business of nation building. Without a quality education, many feel that they have little to contribute.

A 2007 World Bank Report stated, “One is to provide more school places at secondary and even the tertiary level. But also important is to make certain that the quality is high enough to enable the graduates to be able to compete in the global labor market.” This is our vision for Saint Joseph’s High School.