In the rural corridors of Ghana’s Upper East Region, where education is often challenged by limited resources and cultural barriers, one woman is using her talent to make a difference—not with textbooks or computers, but with color, canvas, and creativity.
Georgina Owusu Tabiri, an arts tutor at Bongo Senior High School (SHS), is leading a quiet but powerful revolution in how girls view art—not just as a subject in school, but as a tool for entrepreneurship, confidence-building, and staying in school.
Speaking on the Equal Voices programme on A1 Radio, Madam Owusu shared a deeply personal journey that has inspired her work with girls at Bongo SHS. Surprisingly, she never intended to become an artist. “I wanted to be a journalist,” she said, “but one day I drew something on a wall, and a teacher saw it and told me I had talent. That moment changed everything.”
Taking her teacher’s advice, she pursued art at the tertiary level. But the path was not without hardship. At university, Georgina faced intense financial struggles. She couldn’t afford a laptop, new clothes, or even proper shoes. But rather than give up, she turned to what she knew best—her creativity.
“I’ll use ‘chalewote’ as an example,” she said. “At a point, I didn’t have money to buy new shoes or clothes. I’d take my old dress, embarrassed to wear it to class, and just pick up my poster colors, add some touches to it, and it would come out nicely. I also started creating artworks for people—for a fee.”
This practical application of art became her lifeline. Today, it is the foundation of her teaching philosophy.
Georgina sees art not only as an academic subject but as a revenue-generating module, especially for young girls in rural areas where employment opportunities are limited and social pressures are high. She encourages her students to express themselves boldly and use their talents to create products that can be sold. From painted T-shirts and customized slippers to canvas pieces, her students are learning the value of their hands and ideas.
“I realized that many girls come into the art class with no confidence. But when they create something and receive positive feedback, you see the shift—they begin to believe in themselves,” she said.
To reinforce this transformation, Georgina publicly displays her students’ artworks in the school environment, helping them overcome timidity and gain recognition. Some of her students have started making money from their art, using it to support themselves and their families.
In a community where parents may be skeptical of art as a career path, Madam Owusu has found a subtle way to shift perspectives. She allows students to take their finished works home, giving parents a chance to see first-hand the value and skill their children are developing.
“Sometimes parents don’t support their children doing art, but when they see the pieces their children bring home—and even see others buying them—they begin to change their minds,” she noted.
Her approach aligns with broader calls for gender-sensitive education that empowers girls not just academically, but economically. By turning her own story of struggle into a teaching tool, Georgina Owusu Tabiri is showing that art can be more than a hobby—it can be a pathway to resilience, self-reliance, and social transformation.
As Ghana continues its efforts to keep more girls in school and equip them with practical skills, role models like Georgina are proving that sometimes, the most effective tools for change are already in the classroom—waiting to be picked up like a paintbrush.
Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Nana Yaa Mensah|Bolgatanga
