About us
Bringing the gift of reading to Ghana’s villages
The Badoe Family Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds children's libraries in the villages of Ghana.
Who we are
Why reading, and why libraries
The foundation was created to support children with low literacy skills. Formal education in the rural areas of Ghana is substandard at best, and we believe access to reading, as a supplemental resource and support, is key to helping children succeed in school.
That is why we build libraries. Each library is a community center offering free access to books, materials, programs and other services that meet the community’s educational and enrichment needs, while children develop a lifelong love of books, reading and learning.
Our story
From a dream to a library
More than 25 years ago
A dream takes root
Matriarch and founder Mary Badoe dreamed of opening a children’s library in her village in Ghana, and collected hundreds of children’s books for it. Life happened, as they say. After a few years of storing the books she gave them away, but the dream did not die.
2015
A mission trip to Ghana
Mary’s husband and co-founder, Joseph Badoe, led a small team of four on a mission trip to Ghana. They visited two villages, giving children much-needed school uniforms, school supplies and shoes. Being around the village children made a deep impression, and the team wanted to help in a way that would last. One of those villages was Mankoadze, Mary’s ancestral village.
A family legacy
Honoring Mary’s parents
Her parents’ love and devotion for Mankoadze and its people left a lasting impression on Mary. Her father, Robert K. Ocran, grew up in the village and became a very wealthy industrialist and businessman who at one time employed more than two thousand people. He nurtured the village’s young people, training them and giving them jobs in his company. Mary wanted to establish something in her parents’ memory, believing every child deserves a fair chance at a good education.
The foundation
The Badoe Family Foundation begins
Joseph and Mary Badoe started the Badoe Family Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, to build libraries in villages in Ghana, starting with Mankoadze. They began collecting books from schools that were ready to throw out or replace them, and the rest, as they say, is history.
December 20, 2017
The Mankoadze Children’s Library opens
The foundation's first library opens its doors in Mankoadze.
Visit the library
What drives us
How many more children have the potential for greatness?
Mary has long asked how many children running around the village have the same potential for greatness as her father. Given similar opportunities, she believes many more could grow up to be very successful in whatever field they choose.
Children are the heartbeat of every nation. They are our future. Giving them the chance to read at an early age, and setting them up for success in school, is where we start.
Be part of the story
Your support sustains the Mankoadze Library and its programs while we work toward building more libraries.