Young at Heart (YAH) Ghana, since September has engaged two students from Hogeschool van Amsterdam namely Orlando Koomen and Jimmy Ketelaar. Jimmy and Orlando will be in Ghana for 5- and 10-months internship program, respectively. They are third year Social Work students who aim to learn, build experience and impact society. With their background and experience as social workers, they hope to contribute to our goal of creating engaging and accessible learning opportunities through ed-tech resources.

During the first week, interns were introduced to YAH, its vision, goals, and objectives. Because of their desire to work with children, Jimmy and Orlando could more easily relate to the organization’s vision. They were also given an overview of the organization’s projects and activities. They found the projects to be interactive, engaging, and goal oriented.

Our initiatives, which are listed under “Ananse Suite,” were introduced at the beginning of the orientation.

1. Ananse Cart – a Lab & Library on Wheels,

2. Ananse Hub – a learning management and content-delivery platform,

3. Ananse at Home – specially curated teaching and learning modules, based on our Ananse The Teacher App, that makes the teaching and studying of Science, Technology, Arts and Maths, (STEAM) practical, engaging and fun.

4. Ananse the Teacher App – a gamified learning app that uses folklore (set on the hero of African folklore – Ananse, the African Spiderman) and games for knowledge and skills Transfer

Young at Heart Ghana has since added Recreation to its quest in promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) to Science, Recreation, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STREAM), as part of its mission to bridge gaps in teaching and learning through dynamic recreational spaces. This is to improve students’ physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being. Furthermore, recreation aids in the relaxation and stimulation of the brain, resulting in increased productivity at work.

Jimmy and Orlando will work with John Bosco Basic School and Koforidua School for the Deaf and Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the Eastern Region throughout their internship. This is to ensure that no one, particularly students with disabilities or special needs, is left behind in the promotion of STREAM.

In order to implement the STREAM project, the interns were shown how modules are created in the organization and how they are linked to folklore stories from Ananse the Teacher App. These modules infused recreation into all of the reading and practical experiments. Also, with a background in social work, Jimmy and Orlando designed modules that would allow students to actively participate in class activities as well as share with them other issues that are important to them. So far, the experience has been amazing.

Working abroad, according to Jimmy and Orlando, will allow them to broaden their perspective beyond what they are used to in the Netherlands. This is to assist them in solving problems in the Ghanaian context from a broader perspective. They hope to make a difference in the lives of the students they work with through this internship.

Jimmy and Orlando are both excited to work with Young at Heart Ghana and believe the experience will be worthwhile.