Introduction
Education is the root of, and a route to liberty. It is the mighty tool of self -empowerment and nation building. It is said that; “without knowledge the people perish “. Education that is both structured and vicarious, opens the door to enlightenment and growth; thus, creating more dynamic civilisations, individuals and groups who may reach their self-actualization at their highest potential and peak of readiness. During this process of give and take of sharing and collaborating, we plan to; express our humanitarian intentions through addressing the physical and material, the emotional and expressive, the mental and intellectual, the spiritual and intuitive aspects of expression in the most dynamic ways possible.
“the practice of the French language is Ghana’s best regional integration tool and it’s also one of the best ways for economic development as a facilitator of dialogue, negotiations, and harmonization with its neighbours.”
Executive Summary
Les Passerelles Globale seeks to make the French culture and language easily accessible within English speaking countries and communities in West Africa, starting in Ghana, by bringing the Anglophone and Francophone communities together, and by providing resources and support for volunteers running French language programs.
Les Passerelles is a non-profit organisation founded by professional educator and champion for education equality, Marion Lowe McLean. Marion has been a fervent and dedicated advocate for community development and finding solutions to language as a barrier to cultural inclusiveness for many years. She saw a distinct similarity between her home in Quebec, Canada (a French-speaking province surrounded by English speakers) and Ghana, a country where she has family ties. The call to action came in the form of an impromptu meeting in Ottawa with H.E. Joseph Ayikoi Otoothe, Ghana High Commissioner to Canada. Initially, the conversation was about the History of Blacks in Canada. Then the conversation shifted to French in Quebec and Ghana; the ambassador shared his concern then that many Ghanaians learned French to advanced levels but could not competently communicate in French. This was the catalyst that eventually led to the creation of Les Passerelles to transfer considerable knowledge and expertise in language education from Quebec to West Africa.
Les Passerelles Globale is a non-profit organisation seeking to bridge the gap between Anglophone and Francophone communities in West Africa by bringing educational resources, human resources and practical support to local communities, from the grassroots up, to quickly and effectively spread the French language in Ghana and to bridge the gap between cultures.
In a very short period of time, sound management and leadership practices have allowed the Les Passerelles team to start five diverse and ambitious community-based pilot projects in Accra including Competency in French for Medical Professionals, French/English association, TV E-learning program, The integration of migrants from French-speaking countries into Ghanaian society, and, Street School (teaching French to kids on the street). The organisation has a professional website (www.lespasserelles.org) and social media visibility to attract funding and to allow individuals to donate directly online.
Ghana is one of the seven members of zone B of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Five out of the seven-member states have French as their official language. Also, Ghana has borders with Togo, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire; all French-speaking countries. Therefore, there is a pressing need for Ghana to adopt French as a second language. This has recently been highlighted by some of the highest-ranking officials in Ghana including President Nana Akufo-Addo, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, and, Professor Kwesi Yankah, Minister of State for Tertiary education. Also, as the French Ambassador in Ghana, HE François Pujolas said, “the practice of the French language is Ghana’s best regional integration tool and it’s also one of the best ways for economic development as a facilitator of dialogue, negotiations, and harmonization with its neighbours.
Our History
Since 1963 Marion Lowe McLean, founder of Les Passerelles Globale, has been a professional educator and a champion for education equality, community development and finding solutions to language as a barrier to cultural inclusiveness. Among her many achievements Marion started a breakfast and lunch programme which became the model for schools in Montreal; was a founding member of The Quebec Board of Black Educators (QBBE), and won the prestigious Woman of Distinction for Community Services award from the Circle de Femme (under the auspices of the then Governor-General of Quebec) in 2003.
Originally from Jamaica, West Indies, with family ties in Ghana, West Africa, Marion emigrated to Montreal, Quebec in her 20’s. She has witnessed Quebec become “a nation within a nation” and the heart of French-speaking Canada; Quebec is in a similar situation to Ghana being a French province surrounded on all sides by English speaking provinces and the USA.
Marion’s instinctive and personal interest in Ghanaian culture led her to see what no-one else has seen; a tangible opportunity to help Ghana’s regional integration and economic prosperity by becoming bilingual. Using extensive knowledge and experience gained in Quebec, practical and effective French language programmes can be introduced in Ghana without extensive design and development delays.
This idea was formed after a conversation with the High Commissioner of the Republic of Ghana, The Honourable H.E. Joseph Ayikoi Otoo, at the Ghana High Commission in Ottawa. After further talks with staff at the High Commission, a group was formed to discuss the possibility of working on a project called French in Ghana and to brainstorm ideas. The group presented to the High Commissioner on 30 January 2020. As a result, the High Commissioner referred the group to the department of Educational Services. At a subsequent meeting in Ghana with Assistant Director of Educational Services, Pat Assan, the proposal was well received and a formal proposal to the Director of Educational Services was requested and submitted.
Since the meeting with the Director of Educational Services, a great deal of progress has been made. Les Passerelles Globale has been formally registered in Ghana and several pilot projects are underway in Accra. This demonstrates the wealth of opportunities available to build and develop as an organisation dedicated to socio-cultural equality, charity and education. The pilot projects described in the Products and Services section below.
Products & Services
The primary purpose of starting-up Les Passerelles as a non-profit organisation is to provide the following services:
a. Practical and effective spoken French-language education readily accessible to all levels of Ghanaian society
b. Provide assistance to help French-speaking immigrants to Ghana ensuring they quickly integrate into Ghanaian society and make a positive impact on Ghana’s economy.
In the future, Les Passerelles will expand as a service provider through West Africa providing support for education, socio-cultural and charitable initiatives.
To demonstrate Les Passerelles’ commitment and determination to start a successful and sustainable non-profit organisation five pilot projects are currently underway. A summary of the pilot projects is below.
1. Educational program – Competency in French for the Medical Professionals and Medical students in Accra, Ghana.
Lead: Zahra Belo
Idea: to teach functional spoken French, using a fast and effective method (The Assimil method and the latest communication apps), to ensure Medical staff can communicate with French-speaking patients.
Target: Private Hospitals, teaching hospitals, clinics, medical educational institutions
2. Community Project – French Community
Lead: Abraham Mawuvi
Idea: Form a community of French/English speakers; Each member will pay a small monthly fee towards events and to support other people in situations such as birthdays, weddings or Funerals. Events will be recreational and will mix different people from Francophone and Anglophone countries. By forming an association, and bringing francophones together with Ghanaian and Nigerian anglophones, anglophones will receive free help with French-speaking and conversation.
Target: Ghanaian French community & Ghanaian anglophones.
3. Community Project – TV E-learning program
Lead: Zahra Belo/ Abraham Mawuvi
Idea: Les Passerelles have noticed a lack of French lessons on the TV E-learning program, we want to seize that opportunity to fill that lack and build our visibility. The following initial steps will be taken to develop the project:
Developing a program for daycare, primary one and two;
Demonstration of the program; and
Contact TV station and Funders
Target: TV viewers in Ghana.
4. Socio-cultural Community Project – The integration of migrants
Lead: Abraham Mawuvi
Idea: Help French-speaking immigrants by providing English tuition and introducing them to Anglophone Ghanaians interested in learning French.
Target: Children and youth
5. Educational Community Project – Street School
Lead: Marion Lowe McLean
Idea: Walk the streets of community and approach groups of children with games and play to start to develop an affinity with the French language. At the same time promote Les Passerelles to the children and their parents.
Target: Children and youth
Our Vision
We envision that by 2025 the services of Les Passerelles will be an integral and indispensable part of the grassroots language education and the immigrant integration policies of the Government of Ghana. Creating positive, sustainable change and prosperity for the people of West Africa.
Our Values
Les Passerelles commit to uphold and promote all human rights; peace through inclusive, compassionate, informal and formal education; and intercultural understanding through communication and sustainable support that will allow society to evolve peacefully and prosperously
Our Board
Canada Executives
Ivory Coast / Canada
Somalia / Canada
West Africa
Ghana
Ghana / Togo
Benin
OF
ENTERTAINMENT
Ghana
Odum – Ewuakye
Ghana
Ghana
Ghana / Canada
Ghana
OF
Entrepreneurship
Ghana
Executives
President
Marion Lowe McLean
Secretary & Treasurer
Augustina Larbi
Stakeholders
A stakeholder is an individual, group or organisation who is impacted by the outcome of a project. They have an interest in the success of the project. Les Passerelles has identified the following stakeholders:
Les Passerelles internal stakeholders:
The Executive committee
Board members
Volunteer staff
Les Passerelles external stakeholders:
The Ghana High Commission in Ottawa
Government of Ghana
Maison D’Haiti
La Francophonie
West African Society
The Canadian High Commission in Ghana
The Government of Canada
Canadians
Objectives and Priorities Year One
1. Fundraising
a. Create a “business pitch” style presentation with lots of images of our successful pilot projects and be ready to give the presentation at any time (have the presentation on the website, social media accounts, ready to email and on our YouTube channel);
b. Research and create a database of all known sources of funding;
c. Contact all sources of funding to find out how to apply;
d. Connect with all high profile stakeholders in government and local community leadership. Arrange as many meetings as possible and offer to give presentations to their team at their convenience;
e. Start a social media campaign to drive traffic to our website to maximise individual donations;
f. Contact all local media outlets and bloggers with the aim of getting interviews, articles and photographs published;
g. At every opportunity ask for funding or a donation and direct traffic to the website;
h. Develop a branded signature block for all staff members and volunteers with all relevant information and links to drive traffic to social media sites and web site; and
i. Dynamically manage all social media sites and the web site to make sure they are up to date at all time and present a very professional image
Target date: End of 2nd quarter after the official launch date
Target amount: $1,000,000 CAD
Measure of success: Actual amount raised versus target amount.