United Way Ghana's Second Grade Exchange Project

Eight-year-old Mariam was scared to read in front of others.

She loved stories but kept her hand down when teachers asked for volunteers. “Before the exchange, I didn’t like to read in front of people because I was scared they would laugh,” she says.

That changed when she joined the Second Grade Exchange Project, a United Way Ghana initiative that expands opportunities for and instills confidence in young learners.

The program brings together students from under-resourced public schools like Mariam’s and peers from private international academies like Lincoln Community School. Through shared research projects, storytelling sessions, and cross-school activities, students experience something rare in their early academic lives: belonging across difference.

United Way Ghana doesn’t take a one-size-fits-all approach. Each exchange is adapted to reflect the language, geography, and culture of participating schools. In every setting, the goal is the same: to create spaces where children feel seen and capable.

“When my friend at Lincoln helped me practice, I read in front of everyone,” Mariam says. “Now, when the teacher asks for someone to read in class, I raise my hand.”

“Many of our quiet pupils became more active after the exchange. Mariam, for instance, now volunteers to read in class and even helps her friends pronounce difficult words. The experience really built their confidence,” says Madam Akosua, a Grade 2 Teacher at Kanda AMA Basic School.

That shift from silent observer to confident voice, is what inspires United Way Ghana’s commitment to youth opportunity. Because when students like Mariam raise their hands, they raise expectations for what’s possible in every classroom, and every community.