Girls on the Edge — Education and Resilience in Ghana

In the outskirts of Accra, the promise of education often fades too soon. For many girls, the path to school is as fragile as their families’ stability.

TANF Ghana, a small locally run NGO based in Accra, works to support children at risk in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions. By covering school fees, uniforms, and health insurance, the organisation gives children — and especially girls — a chance to remain in school when poverty would otherwise decide their fate.

On assignment for NGO Photographers Alliance, travelling through villages and neighbourhoods, I witnessed how quickly this fragile balance can collapse. As so often, girls are the first to leave school. When income falls short, when a parent dies, when illness strikes, it is the daughters who must step away from the classroom to care for others or to earn what they can.

The journey to school can also be perilous — long walks along deserted roads, public transport too expensive, the constant fear of harassment or violence. For some, the risk outweighs the promise of learning.

Early pregnancies, sometimes at fifteen, close the door to education for good. Once left behind, few find their way back.

In this landscape of obstacles, TANF continues its quiet struggle, one girl at a time — a daily act of faith in education as the first, fragile step toward dignity and independence.