The official commissioning ceremony of the Cheerful Hearts Foundation – Fieldhouse Project came off today at 10am at the Gomoa Nyanyano community. The Chief of Gomoa Nyanyano Dr. Nana Obeng Wiabo V, the Sub-chiefs of the Traditional Council and some key Elders of the community were present today to make the ceremony a memorable one.

The Chief of Gomoa Nyanyano Dr. Nana Obeng Wiabo before commissioning the facility expressed his appreciation, interest and support for the FieldHouse project and also congratulated Cheerful Hearts Foundation and the FIELDHOUSE, USA for all the good works in the Nyanyano community. He also encouraged the team to ensure that the facility is well utilized to ensure achievement of its goal. After talking briefly about how important the fieldhouse project is to the children, youth and the entire community, Dr. Nana Wiabo V commissioned the facility and made an official declaration for its usage.

Olivia Rogers, Director of Branding at the Fieldhouse Seattle, Washington in her speech showed appreciation to the chief’s, elders, heads of schools, teachers and the entire community for their support and welcoming the fieldhouse team into the community. She stressed on the fact that this project has been made possible through the wonderful partnership and open communication between the Fieldhouse USA and the Cheerful Hearts Foundation. She added that the real work has just begun and we are looking for any way possible to provide activities such as sports,

tutoring, mentoring, etc so that the community can blossom to the potential that we all see it has.
Mr. Eric Opoku Agyemang, Executive Director of the Cheerful Hearts Foundation also thanked the chief and all the elders of the Nyanyano community for their support and contribution to the fieldhouse project especially providing a free piece of land for the construction of the facility. He added that the team would ensure that the facility is used for its intended purpose and for the betterment of the whole society.

THE FIELDHOUSE?

The Fieldhouse is a community center funded by the FieldHouse Project based in Washington, USA to support Cheerful Hearts Foundation’s efforts to reduce Child labor and trafficking in the Nyanyano fishing community. A modular, two-room center for sport and community. A classroom will be home to seminars on education, financial literacy workshops for community members, and a reintegration program for child laborers and school dropouts re-entering the school system. The facility has an attached storage unit which will house athletic gear to be used by six local schools to start extracurricular athletic programs and hold recess during school hours.

EDUCATION AND ATHLETICS
The Fieldhouse is a resource center for families, classroom, and intermediate space for children re-entering the education system. Additionally, the academically-oriented resources will be married to the athletic ones, encouraging development both inside and outside of the classroom.

ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT
Tying academics and sports together means progress in one yields rewards and growth in the other. Our sports programs will highlight the skills and values essential to both personal and community development. Points will be earned based on the students’ performance in the classroom, in the community and on the soccer field, encouraging kids to maintain attendance, do their work, and hold their peers accountable.

REINTEGRATION
Adjusting to an academic, safe, and supportive environment is a difficult transition after a childhood of labor. The Fieldhouse will house community-run programs to smoothly transition 100 children per year into the education system.

MEASURING SUCCESS

To make The Fieldhouse the best resource it can be, we rate before and after its implementation and between participants and non-participants. Based on the strengths and weaknesses we find in our program, we will make adjustments, improve as much as we can, and if possible, seek to replicate and scale The Fieldhouse to other communities in need.

PICTURES FROM PROJECT COMMISSIONING