About Us

Philomena Goodman Foundation is a Ghana-registered charity, run entirely by volunteers. We’ve been educating the world’s poorest children since 2002 and in that time we have developed a process that creates genuine and sustainable impact.

"We make a real difference to the lives of the world's poorest children"

Philomena

How are we different to other charities?

We are run entirely by volunteers

We don’t have any salaries or office costs to pay which means everything we raise goes directly towards the projects we support. Nothing is marked up. A small donation can go a very long way in Ghana.

We are fully transparent

We know where every single penny goes.

Everyone who donates to Philomena Goodman Foundation can choose how to spend their donation and see the real difference they are making.

We work in close partnership with our schools in Ghana

We don’t dictate from afar what our schools need or should do. Since 2002, we’ve developed very close relationships with our schools. Working in partnership is by the far the best way to create genuine and sustainable impact.

What schools do we support?

Philomena Goodman Foundation supports vocational schools – called ICCES centres – throughout the Ashanti region, Ghana.

ICCES stands for Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills. There are 75 ICCES centres throughout Ghana and 12 that Philomena Goodman Foundation works with in the Ashanti region.

ICCES centres were established by the Ghanaian Government to help combat youth unemployment, rural-urban drift and contribute to the development of micro and small-scale enterprise amongst young people. Unfortunately the schools remain largely underfunded.

Students at ICCES centres learn vocational skills such as masonry, electricals and dressmaking. They also study maths, English and health. Students study towards their NVTI (National Vocational and Technical Institute) qualification, which after three years will enable them to enter a polytechnic after graduating from ICCES, find employment, or start their own business.

ICCES centres are open to anyone, typically between the ages of 14 and 24 and often attract young people who have not been able to afford traditional academic education or those who prefer to develop a vocational trade.

ICCES provides an essential role helping young Ghanaians step up out of the cycle of poverty they find themselves in.