The Baobab Children Foundation was founded in Ghana by Edith de Vos in 2001. In the same year, the German organization was registered in Freiburg. The aim was to raise funds in order to carry out work to uphold the rights of children in Ghana. At first Edith worked alone but then with the support of fellow workers, the project has grown and expanded from year to year. Today 54 people earn their living working for Baobab in Ghana.
Initially, Edith worked with the Oxford Preparatory School, a private school in Kissi. The school caters for many needy children. The owner told Edith that if he could give children from illiterate families, who lived far away in the hinterland, a good education then he could prove they would do well. So began a search for sponsors, for bicycles to be collected to make the journey to school easier, for clothes and school materials to be sent in a container. At the same time Edith, an experienced teacher herself, worked with the teachers to stop the practice of caning in Ghana and to introduce more creativity and art into the school curriculum.
It was from this work that the idea for the Baobab School for Trades and Traditional Arts began. The school began in a small way at the end of 2004 and addressed the needs of street children, school drop-outs and physically disabled young people. Edith saw that these young people were not going to school and invited them to come to Baobab. The school has grown bigger each year and is now officially an inclusive school.
Also, since 2004 the Baobab Culture Troupe, training young people in drumming and dancing, has steadily developed. In 2008 the Baobab House was established in Cape Coast as a shop and later in 2011 we added the restaurant and guest house in order to generate funds in Ghana for the work of the Baobab Children Foundation.
