Child Protection

As part of tackling the root causes of child trafficking, child labor, and modern-day slavery, we seek the realization of every child’s right through education. That is why we have the Challenging Heights School, Odobirba Academy. Odobirba Academy which was initially known as Challenging Heights International School (CHIS) was founded in September 2007. The aim for setting up the school was to provide quality affordable access to basic education for illiterate parents who could not afford the high private school fees within Winneba and to provide a safe schooling environment for vulnerable children. It was also to provide formal education to the people of Sankor, Winneba, especially for those who were outside the school system. According to James Kofi Annan, the founder of Challenging Heights, it was his aim to use the school as a tool to mobilize the community to promote education and to rise against child trafficking, child labour, and other forms of violence against children.

The current population of the school is 1,014 children, who are between the ages of two years, and 17 years, with four departments: The Nursery Department, KG Department, Primary Department, and the Junior High School Departments. The school has graduated several batches of BECE graduates, with some competitive results. The school has a well-stocked library which is accessible to the Sankor community after school and during weekends. The school also has an ICT centre with a capacity of 50 seat, which is used to facilitate the teaching and learning of ICT in the school. Challenging Heights continues to work against poverty-related violations of children´s rights. As such, empowering children and women, and the establishment of the Odobirba Academy plays a significant role in the development of the community. By establishing Odobirba Academy, Challenging Heights enabled the enrolment of the children in the community in education.