students served

teachers trained

total community members engaged

Luminos in Ghana

Since 2021, Luminos has worked with community-based organizations and the government of Ghana to launch and scale our catch-up education program, reaching more than 20,600 vulnerable children.

Meet Sumaya, a Luminos alum in Ghana:

Ghana at a Glance

In the past decade, the government of Ghana has made significant progress towards improving access to education. Nevertheless, UNESCO estimates that over 958,300 primary-school-aged children are still out of school.

Child labor in the cocoa sector is a significant barrier that prevents students from going to school and learning, often driven by the economic hardships facing families. The Ashanti region, where Luminos launched its program in 2022, is one of the leading agricultural regions in Ghana and is particularly impacted by child labor.

Map showing the country of Liberia, located in West Africa.

In class, students use tactile materials like bottle tops, beans, and seeds to practice their math skills. (Photo: Obeng Baah for the Luminos Fund)

Luminos teacher Adams leads a short energizing activity like this one where students sing and dance. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

“I like learning math, especially fractions!” says Luminos alum Ismael. Ismael was thrilled to have the chance to go back to school when the free Luminos catch-up program launched in his community. Ismael successfully transitioned into his local government school upon completing the Luminos program and hopes to become a bank manager in the future. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Suwaida Aziz, Luminos Program Manager, encourages students on a supervision visit. (Photo: Obeng Baah for the Luminos Fund)

Student have fun singing a song identifying parts of the body. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

Students in Ghana practice math outside using a paper number line, allowing them to physically move forward and back to work out addition and subtraction problems. (Photo: Obeng Baah for the Luminos Fund)

Luminos teacher Erica prepares flashcards with one of her students. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

With teacher Ivy looking on, her student completed a math problem on the board, demonstrating in front of the class. (Photo: Mara Chan/Luminos Fund)

What We Do in Ghana

In Ghana, Luminos is building on the country’s national accelerated learning curriculum and program, known as Complementary Basic Education (CBE), while drawing on our extensive experience delivering education programs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Our program is designed to equip vulnerable and out-of-school children with foundational literacy and numeracy skills and then transition them into government schools after one school year.

Following our launch of 60 Luminos classrooms in the Ashanti region in March 2022, we have supported more than 20,600 students to date.

We have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ghana’s Ministry of Education, and we work in partnership with them to ensure that the most vulnerable children get a second chance at education.

The 2025-2026 School Year

classrooms

students

regions

community partners

Reports & Evaluations

2023-24 Ghana Endline Evaluation Report

(EARC)

2023-24 Ghana Endline Evaluation Report

(EARC)

2024-25 Ghana Endline Evaluation Report

(EARC)

2023-24 Ghana Endline Evaluation Report

(EARC)

Meet our Ghana Team

Senior Program Associate, Ghana

Sadick Musa Abubakar
Finance Manager, Ghana

Rexford Agyekum
Program Coordinator, Ghana

Stephen Antwi
Events and Communications Associate, Ghana

Nunya Apetsi
Education Program Manager, Ghana

Lawrencia Asante
Senior Program Associate, Ghana

Edward Kojo Asare
Senior Program Manager, Ghana

Suwaida Abdul Aziz
Administrative assistant, Ghana

Pearl Puopila Kparu 
Program Manager, Ghana

Patrick Nyarko
Country Manager, Ghana

Senyo Tettegah

Senior Program Associate, Ghana

Sadick Musa Abubakar

Sadick Musa Abubakar is a Senior Program Associate with the Luminos Fund in Ghana, where he supports program planning and execution, including classroom monitoring, teacher training, and community partner training. Prior to joining Luminos, Sadick worked as a primary school teacher for over eight years and has extensive experience in curriculum and teacher coaching. Sadick has worked extensively in communities across the Ashanti region in Ghana and strongly believes in Luminos’ student-centered approach to teaching the most marginalized populations. Sadick holds a Diploma in Basic Education with First Class Honors from Akrokerri College of Education. He is passionate about student development and helping students gain the skills to read and learn about the world around them. Sadick also believes that student well-being is crucial to enable learning and enjoys providing creative solutions to enhance teaching and learning.

Finance Manager, Ghana

Rexford Agyekum

Rexford Agyekum is a Finance Manager at the Luminos Fund in Ghana, where he oversees financial operations including budgeting, accounting, compliance, and grant reporting. He works closely with the global finance team to ensure transparent, efficient financial processes and builds the financial capacity of local teams and community partners. Rexford also plays a key role in managing financial audits, maintaining vendor relationships, and ensuring compliance with internal policies and donor requirements.  

Before joining Luminos, Rexford held finance manager positions at Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, Margins ID Systems Applications Ltd., and Merson Capital Ltd., as well as senior roles in audit and compliance at KPMG Ghana and Access Bank Ghana. He is a Chartered Accountant and a member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) and the Institute of Directors Ghana. Rexford holds an MBA in Finance and a BA in Information Studies from the University of Ghana. He has also completed professional training with leading institutions, including KPMG, PwC, Deloitte, and the University of Ghana Business School. 

Program Coordinator, Ghana

Stephen Antwi

Stephen Antwi is a Program Coordinator for the Luminos Fund in Ghana. He is an education professional with over seven years of experience in teaching, instructional coaching, teacher development, and education program implementation. Stephen has worked closely with schools, teachers, and communities across Ghana to improve teaching quality and learning outcomes, particularly in underserved settings. He is passionate about educational equity and believes every child deserves the opportunity to learn and thrive.

Events and Communications Associate, Ghana

Nunya Apetsi

Nunya Apetsi is the Events and Communications Associate with the Luminos Fund in Ghana. She provides critical logistical and communications support across Luminos teams, managing the planning and delivery of meetings, convenings, and events, and supporting internal and external communications to ensure smooth coordination and effective engagement with partners and colleagues. 

Before joining Luminos, Nunya led major communications and event management initiatives at education and child-focused organizations, including the Ghana Commission for UNESCO and Compassion International. Through her community book club, Nunya helps children develop a love for reading and demonstrates her passion for child development. She holds a BA in Communication Studies and Public Relations from the Ghana Institute of Journalism, and an additional certification in Counseling Psychology. 

Education Program Manager, Ghana

Lawrencia Asante

Lawrencia Asante is an Education Program Manager for the Luminos Fund in Ghana, overseeing curriculum development, program capacity building, relationship building, and project management. Prior to joining Luminos, Lawrencia was part of FHI360’s USAID Partnership for Education: Learning initiative, where she was responsible for building teacher capacity and providing support to teachers, supervisors, and other implementing partners. Her experience also includes work with World Vision and serving as a public school teacher in Ghana. Lawrencia holds an MSc in Development Planning and Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and a BA in Rural and Community Development from Presbyterian University College of Ghana.

Senior Program Associate, Ghana

Edward Kojo Asare

Edward Kojo Asare is a Senior Program Associate for the Luminos Fund in Ghana, where he plays a key role in program planning and execution, teacher and community partner training, and classroom monitoring. Prior to joining Luminos, Edward worked with USAID Partnership for Education: Learning project for five years as a Regional Caregiver & Teacher Support Coordinator. During this time, he trained teachers and school supervisors, drafted training plans, distributed materials, monitored project implementation and classroom teachings, and reported on training and field activities in the regions of Ghana in which he worked. Edward holds an M.A. in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Ghana and has 18 years of teaching experience with the Ghana Education Service. He believes that every child must be given an opportunity to be educated, regardless of their social economic background.

Senior Program Manager, Ghana

Suwaida Abdul Aziz

Suwaida Abdul Aziz is a Senior Program Manager for the Luminos Fund in Ghana where she assists with program planning and execution, training teachers and community partners, monitoring Luminos’ classrooms, and analyzing data. An early childhood educator with years of experience in the NGO and education sector, Suwaida previously worked at Plan International, Ghana as a Master Teacher Trainer, providing face-to-face and interactive distance teacher training. She also worked with the Varkey Foundation where she planned and delivered age and developmentally appropriate lessons for children, trained facilitation programs, and engaged the community. She began her career as an Assistant Program Officer with CAMFED where she supported a range of functions including education programs, district and community-level stakeholder partnerships, and student-teacher mentor engagements.

She has a B.Ed in Early Childhood Education from the University of Education Winneba and an MPhil in Educational Innovations and Leadership Science from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Suwaida is a strong advocate for meaningful learning. She loves teaching and believes that all a child needs to develop academically is a positive mentor that instills in them an interest in the world and a belief that they can make something of themselves. Suwaida is a women empowerment enthusiast and believes that women and men should have equal rights and opportunities to reach their full potential.

Administrative assistant, Ghana

Pearl Puopila Kparu 

Pearl Puopila Kparu is an Administrative Assistant for the Luminos Fund in Ghana, where she supports a range of day-to-day operations, including coordinating travel arrangements, managing office logistics, and maintaining relationships with vendors. Prior to joining Luminos, Pearl worked at WaterAid Ghana, supporting administration as well as internal and external communications. Her experience also includes work as a teacher, where she discovered her passion for impacting young lives. Pearl holds a BA in Public Relations from the University of Professional Studies in Accra, Ghana. 

Program Manager, Ghana

Patrick Nyarko

Patrick Nyarko is a Program Manager for the Luminos Fund in Ghana, where he supports program planning, design and implementation, data management and analysis, stakeholder engagement, and teacher training. Patrick is a development practitioner with vast experience in project design, planning, monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning within the international and local NGO sector. Prior to joining Luminos, Patrick worked as Planning and Monitoring Coordinator for Plan International, Ghana, where he was responsible for ensuring quality in project design, planning, and monitoring in line with Country Strategy and Program Quality Policy. Patrick holds a MSc in Planning Monitoring & Evaluation and a BA in Geography & Rural Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology as well as a Certificate in Project Management in Global Health from University of Washington, USA.

Country Manager, Ghana

Senyo Tettegah

Senyo Tettegah is the Ghana Country Manager for the Luminos Fund where he oversees Luminos’ operations in Ghana, including program design and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and stakeholder management.

Senyo is an international education and development professional with over a decade of experience working across Africa. He has led several innovative projects and policies to improve education outcomes for underserved populations. Senyo has a degree in Political Science and English language and a master’s degree in International Education and Development from the University of Sussex where he was a Chevening Scholar.

Prior to joining Luminos, Senyo was a Global Program Manager at the Education Partnerships Group (EPG). In this role, he provided technical assistance and program management support to EPG’s country programs, including the £64m Sierra Leone Secondary Education Improvement Program. He was the first Head of Education and Leadership Development at EduSpots where he led the design, delivery, and evaluation of projects to improve foundational literacy skills among rural school pupils across 52 communities. Senyo has also worked as a teacher in Ghana and Israel, and volunteered as a facilitator for the UK’s first Youth Club of Sanctuary. He has held previous roles as a Strategy and Operations Manager at Lead For Ghana, Grants Manager at Move The World, and Program Manager at Motive8 Global and Charis Touch Foundation, among others.

Senyo is the creator and host of “Let’s Talk Education Africa,” a podcast exploring themes in education practice and research and sharing inspiring stories of educators and innovators making a difference in their schools and communities. Outside of work, Senyo enjoys traveling, spending time with nature, taking photos, cooking, and playing board games.

“I believe every child has the potential to thrive in a supportive environment—creating this environment is where our individual and collective efforts come in.”

Senyo Tettegah, Ghana Country Manager

Our Community Partners

Frontline community-based organizations (CBOs) play a pivotal role in the success of the Luminos program in Ghana. These CBOs are responsible for delivering the program while working closely with parents and teachers to ensure that our efforts are tailored to the unique needs of Ghanaian communities. Moreover, CBOs play a crucial role in the continuous monitoring of the program, contributing to enhanced learning outcomes for students. In Ghana, Luminos works with the Ministry of Education and the following CBOs to deliver our program:

“Luminos knows that we have expertise on many things and they listen to that expertise. When we raise challenges with them, we work together on how best to address those challenges and build upon our knowledge and theirs. They do not treat any situation like it is rigid and can only be fixed in one way.”

Kirk Anderson
Executive Director, Link Community Development

Link Community Development (LCD)

Close-up of Luminos Liberia student writing

School for Life (SfL)

Latest news & stories from Ghana

Why Phonics Can’t Be One-Size-Fits-All

Why Phonics Can’t Be One-Size-Fits-All

by | Jul 21, 2026

In sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of children are taught in a language they might not fully understand. This is one of the most significant barriers to learning to read.

At Luminos, we have long emphasized that effective phonics instruction must be systematic, explicit, and clearly structured. As our programs expand across countries and languages, one thing has become increasingly clear: phonics instruction must also be grounded in language structure and cultural context.

A Curriculum Refresh: Strengthening Ghana’s Complementary Basic Education Program

A Curriculum Refresh: Strengthening Ghana’s Complementary Basic Education Program

by | Apr 10, 2026

In Ghana, Luminos partners with the government’s Complementary Education Agency (CEA) to support Complementary Basic Education (CBE)—the national accelerated learning program for out-of-school children. Over the last two years, this partnership has expanded from supporting CBE in targeted classrooms in the Ashanti region to strengthening the CBE program at a national level through a government-led curriculum redesign.

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The Luminos Fund is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt charitable organization registered in the United States (EIN 36-4817073).

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