Zongo Girls for Education Ghana keeps girls in Zongo communities, inner cities and rural Ghana learning, healthy and in charge of their own futures.
In many Zongo communities, boys are sent to school and girls are kept at home. Early marriage, teenage pregnancy and the cost of pads push even more girls out of class.
Our founder grew up in Aboabo, a Zongo in Kumasi, and watched it happen to the girls around her. She set up ZONGED GH in 2016 to change that. We started with education, then added sexual and reproductive health, because that's where so many girls were falling out of school.
Today we're a women-led NGO with a volunteer team and local chapters in several regions. We've run more than 125 outreach programmes with schools, parents, imams, chiefs and health workers.
A healthy and empowered Zongo woman, for the betterment of her life and that of her family.Our vision
Five things, done together, keep a girl in school. We run each one inside the community, with people the community already trusts.
We bring parents, chiefs, imams and opinion leaders together to talk about why girls' education matters.
Talks and free screenings on menstrual and reproductive health, HIV, hepatitis and other public health issues.
Girls meet women who've built careers, and learn practical skills for work and small business.
Grants and financial aid for bright girls who can't afford to continue their studies.
One-to-one support so girls can make informed choices about school, careers and their future. We also help teenage mothers return to class.
Most Zongos are Muslim communities, but our programmes are open to Christian and traditionalist families too.
We bring teenage boys into sessions through role play, so they back the girls in their classrooms and homes.
We've run dedicated programmes for visually impaired girls, and we're building an accessible platform for people with disabilities.
We take sexual and reproductive health sessions to kayayei, the young women working as head porters in city markets.
On Menstrual Hygiene Day, we bring schoolgirls together for frank talks on menstrual health, and send each one home with pads.
When girls can't afford pads, many stay home. Some use rags or tissue, which puts them at risk of infection. Our programme tackles both the cost and the silence.
from Accra Girls' Senior High School took part in 2022, with 1,000+ pads handed out.
at Akropong School for the Blind got their own programme in 2021, with 500+ pads.
on Menstrual Hygiene Day since 2018, with partners including P&G (Always) and Faytex.
We started in the Zongos of Accra and Kumasi. Since then we've reached rural communities in the north, with local chapters run by health workers from each region.
In 2020 we planned a door-to-door campaign on COVID-19 prevention. Then the lockdown hit, and our Accra team couldn't travel.
So we recruited doctors, nurses and nutritionists in each region to run the campaign in their own communities, in their own languages. With the Zongo Development Fund, they put up posters, handed out masks and sanitiser, and gave GH₵10,000 in relief items to vulnerable households in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
Those regional teams never left. They're now our local chapters, and they're why we can reach new areas with very little money. Our Executive Director also became a regular voice on TV and radio, sharing safety advice through the pandemic.
Dr Safia Abdallah Raabo grew up in Aboabo, Kumasi, where she saw girls kept at home while their brothers went to school. She was one of the few who stayed in class, and went on to become a medical doctor.
She founded ZONGED GH in 2016 and has led it as Executive Director since. As a doctor and public health specialist, she makes sure every programme rests on sound clinical evidence, and she knows the communities we serve from the inside.
Highlights from more than 125 outreach programmes, newest first. Filter by area.
Sexual and reproductive health education, free pads and mentorship in rural Northern Region communities like Cheyohi, Wala and Dimabi, and in Aboabo, Asawase and Boubai in Ashanti.
Community healthEducationGirls from Zongo schools came together on Menstrual Hygiene Day under the theme "Ending period poverty and stigma".
Menstrual health600 girls taught safe menstrual hygiene, and 1,000+ pads handed out.
Menstrual healthWith Women First Digital, 200 pupils at Mamobi-Alwaleed Islamic School learned about contraception, HIV and teenage pregnancy. We also gave them GH₵5,000 in learning materials.
EducationCommunity healthA dedicated programme for 35 visually impaired girls at Akropong School for the Blind, with menstrual and reproductive health education and 500+ pads.
Menstrual healthHIV screening, 1,000 condoms shared, and a blood drive for the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital blood bank, with the area assembly member.
Community healthDr Safia received a Humanitarian Award from Humanitarian Awards Global for ZONGED GH's work with girls and women.
RecognitionPrevention education in Zongo communities and inner cities in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, plus GH₵10,000 in relief items for vulnerable households.
Community healthWASSCE preparation and help choosing courses.
Education400+ schoolgirls hosted, and 1,000+ pads given to students of the Islamic Research Institute.
Menstrual healthWith the Ghana AIDS Commission in Nima and Mamobi. About 300 people were screened and counselled.
Community healthLearning materials worth over GH₵50,000, plus 1,000+ sanitary towels for adolescent students.
EducationMenstrual healthWith the Ghana AIDS Commission in Kanda, Accra.
Community healthOur first career development programme, in Asawasi, Kumasi. We gave students learning materials worth over GH₵20,000.
EducationWe work where girls and their families live, in community centres, schools and Zongo streets.
On World AIDS Day, our volunteers talked mothers and grandmothers through HIV prevention and offered free HIV testing.
With Women First Digital, 200 girls got straight answers on their sexual and reproductive health, plus books and learning materials.
At the Islamic Education Unit ICT Centre, we talked girls through HIV testing, treatment and prevention on World AIDS Day.
Through our mentorship programme, girls have gone on to senior high school, nursing school and medical school. These three received ZONGED GH scholarships.
Every programme here was possible because someone said yes.
Every partner gets a full picture of what their money did.
Our plan to 2030: more girls enrolled, and a safe place in every region where they can get help. This is what we're raising funds for.
more girls enrolled in school in the communities we serve, by 2030.
youth centres and virtual hubs across Ghana for mentoring, health education and career advice.
first centres in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale.
regions of Ghana reached by our mentorship and volunteer network.
Foundations, companies and individuals fund our work. Pick the part of the plan you want to back, and we'll show you exactly what it delivers.
Help us open our first three centres in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale, where girls get mentoring, health advice and career guidance in one place.
Talk to us about the centresFund a Menstrual Hygiene Day for a school, or a health screening in a Zongo community. We report back with numbers and photos.
Talk to us about sponsoringOur girls need to meet women who've done it. Give a few hours a term to talk about your career and answer their questions.
Sign up to mentorCover fees or books for a bright girl who would otherwise drop out of senior high school or university.
Ask about scholarshipsDonate sanitary pads, books and school supplies, or volunteer at our next event.
Offer supplies or time